Is it too early for bunnies to be weaned

[bunnyjames]

Hi guys, so im glad to post that everything seems to be going well with the baby bunnies, babies seem to be really chunky and running a mock around the house they are 3 weeks but I noticed yesterday that Zoe didnt feed the babies (feeds them once a day, at night ) BUT I also noticed that they had been nibling all day on timothy hay and pellets. Zoe didnt feed the babies at all today either and refuses to feed them, BUT today they ate timothy hay and pellets and learned to drink from the water bottle they’ve been really into the water bottle and drinking every chance they get. Their tummies feel full and round . Is it bad that Zoe wont feed them? In most articles i read it says babies dont get fully weaned until about 2 months, they are not even 1 month yet! just a while ago i put the babies in the cage with her and they tried to feed but she would run away and wouldnt let them. they fially got tired of trying and decided to munch on timothy hay and pellets and drank water. Now they are asleep in the cage with Zoe but dont know whether to leave them in the cage with her she seems bothered by them being in there, but they’ve managed to be able to climb out of the box i had them in  and i get scared that at night when i get up i might step on one of them. So basicaly my question is should i leave them in the cage with her even if she doesnt like it (she doesnt do anything to them just runs away) and should i be worried that she’s not feeding them and are eating solids and drinking water already? 

[Michelle&Lolli]

I really do not have any clue, but I would think as long as they are eating and drinking, they should be fine. I am thinking that perhaps all this is instinctual so they will be fine. But I know that others on the board will have better advice than me.

[jerseygirl]

I use the term “wean” meaning when they can be entirely away from the mother, though technically it’s more to do with coming off milk. The kits can start to do this from 4 weeks of age and begin to eat foods. This is why sometime people can get kits at 5 weeks old. But it’s a critical time in which they build the right balance of good bacteria in their gut. They eat the mothers cecals to help in this. At 8weeks (2 months) they are in a better postion health wise to survive away from the mum. See this article for more detail: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/surpriselitter.html

Can you set Zoe up somewhere higher where she can jump up to and the babies cannot? Then she can go there if she needs to be away from them. If you have them in a safe room, you could put the box on it’s side (or use another cage with door left open?) and set them up there. They can wander but not get to her, but she can visit them. It’s important she still can as she could still be giving them brief feeds.  Sometimes, in a hutch situation, the mothers and kits are together but there is a higher area she can go to escape them.

[Beka27]

Jersey explained it perfectly. We have had members on here adopt bunnies at a very young age and some of them do fine, but there have been a few instances where the babies get very sick, and required treatment, and sometimes they passed away, even months later. The common thread is that they were weaned very early. It’s not worth it to have them away from her. One of the more stressful things about having babies is that there is a constant need for change to accommodate them as they grow. You’ll need to reconfigure the housing again so the mother can come and go as she pleases, but the babies cannot.

[bunnyjames]

So I shouldnt be worried that Zoe wont feed them and that they are eating solids already? should i ration what they eat, they have constant supply of timothy hay so they are eating like every 5 min. scared that might be bad for their tummies. Oh and i did do the separate cage thing and leaving the door open so that Zoe could go in whenever she wants but the babies are like little furry spiders and climb EVERYTHING so they have managed to get out of the cage what’s worse is they climb the walls of the cage so now i even have to keep on eye on that since they will climb to the roof of the cage and are hanging upside down like monkies and end up falling! so i guess i have to figure out a new housing plan =I

[MirBear]

alfalfa hay would be better for the babies than timothy, and if their eating pellets you should give them unlimited.
just what ive gathered from other posts about babies.

[Monkeybun]

From what I have been reading, alot of baby bunnies start nibbling on hay and pellets at around 3 weeks, as well as nurse from mama. At around 4 weeks they will stop nursing. Yours sound like they are right on track

[MirBear]

but being with mom helps then learn how to be a bunnny.

[Monkeybun]

indeed. they still need her cecals and such

[bunnyjames]

Oh kool, was getting worried Zoe had lost interest in them. How would they get their momma’s cecal if she doesn’t want to spend time with them she gets annoyed by them she only shows up to feed. I presently have them in a different cage because Zoe runs away from them and in the process of running away from them she sometimes steps on them. (oh she let them nurse today before i left to work and let her out to the backyard) .

[bunnyjames]

Oh another quest. can i let them be around Chomper his my 1 year old male bunny, his neutered. He seems pretty curious by them and its gotten to the point that he wont exit the bedroom since he know the babies are there. i put one of them up close to him and all he did was chin the baby, lol!!!

[Sarita]

It certainly is possible she has lost interest in them. Let her make the decision and don’t force her. She’s probably tired because babies are hard work and very demanding.

[MirBear]

i wouldn’t suggest having them around “chomper” (lol!) not untill they are fully weaned at least!! if he gets his scent on them mommy may not want them anymore. because then they dont smell like her babies. that couldd possibly be your problem right there. so i suggest no more chomper for the babes.

[bunnyjames]

LOL! okay ill try keeping them away from chomper, I dont think Zoe minds though cuz when he sees him chining the babies she just goes over and chins them herself. LOL! she will lick them too. But i guess your right and ill just keep them away until they are completely weaned.

[MirBear]

chinning is a way of marking territory, cats do it, she’s scenting them.
once they can be away from mom, they should be fine with chomper.

[Kyoshi]

Hmmm. Thats a toughy. It sounds as though the babes are healthy and happy though! I definetely suggest alfala, but (Soory to post a questiom in an answer folks!) To other BB members, if they have alfalfa, should mom eat it too? And if not, How can she keep her away from the hay(Hey, That Rhymed!)? And, and tell me if im wrong, but Ive heard things on males trying to mate with babies because they have momma’s scent. I dont know if this reigns true for neautured bunnies who had no part in raising the litter (Whos the daddy? im not sure if i might have skipped it), but you never know. Can he CRUSH a baby if hes humphing them (This is more of a straightforward, in general question, Im not reffering to Chomper)? Again, Hmmmm.

[MirBear]

momma should eat the alfalfa too i would assume because so much nutrient and stuff is going into her milk for the babes. so offer momma both, and offer babes alfalfa. and unlimited pellets for both mom and babes. kyoshi makes a good point. if chomper trys to assert doinance over the babies in way of humping, depending on their size he could crush them, so another reason to have him moved away from them.

[bunnyjames]

Zoe gets plenty of alfalfa ever since i saw she gave birth to the babies, actually one of the members told me that on the very first post i had posted. I did some research and found that was correct, nursing does need alfalfa since it contains alot of protein needed for the momma and babes. The little one’s seem to go more for the Timothy they have both in the cage, they will now and then pick at the alfalfa though. Their pellets are Alfalfa based also. Oh and Kyoshi im not sure who the daddy is i adopted her from a shelter and later found out she was pregnant (once she had the babes). But from the time’s i have let chomper near them he just sniffs them and chins them, he hasnt tried humping them, I dont think Zoe would let him either, I’ve heard rabbits will usually leave their babies when faced with danger but i just got proven that is false, Zoe is fine with me sticking my hand in her cage to grab the babes, she will even lick my arm but yesterday my neighbor was over and decided to stick his hand in there to grab one to carry it (he couldnt resist) and zoe lounged at his hand and bit his finger pretty badly, he decided to go to the doctor since the bleeding woldnt stop, he ended up needing stitches. =l So yeah i dont think Zoe would allow Chomper hurt the babies she keeps a close eye on them and gets bothered if she sees the babes are outside the room, she will stomp her back legs against my wood floor which sounds pretty intimidating. She is my baby alarm, lol thats how i know the babies have hopped out of the room, i gather them while she watches and she follows me to the room to see that i put them back in their cage. LOL!! Im really amazed at how smart rabbits are. Especiallly a momma rabbit. I think it depends the rabbit also, Zoe is a very Sweet rabbit and never gets tired of giving you kisses and wont hesitate to let you know her feeding bowl is empty!

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Yea I agree with the others, keep the babies with the mother. They don’t necessarily have to be drinking, but they need to be with their mom for her cecals. The only case where you would ever take them away from their mom before 8 weeks is if the mom starts acting violently with them. This apparently happened when Fern was just a baby so the breeder had to take the babies away from the mom and I got Fern at 7 weeks old. A bit early but she ended up fine.

[BinkyBunny]

Moz— Wow, Zoe sure knows how to protect her babies! Sounds like one nasty bite your neighbor got…stitches even! Hopefully he won’t hold a grudge! I doubt he’ll be reaching in to hold any of the babies any time soon.

[BinkyBunny]

Posted By Moz on 08/28/2010 01:01 PM
 Zoe is fine with me sticking my hand in her cage to grab the babes, she will even lick my arm but yesterday my neighbor was over and decided to stick his hand in there to grab one to carry it (he couldnt resist) and zoe lounged at his hand and bit his finger pretty badly, he decided to go to the doctor since the bleeding woldnt stop, he ended up needing stitches.

YaOUCH! Stitches even!  Zoe sure knows how to pack a punch!  Hope your neighbor wasn’t mad. 

[Beka27]

As far as hay, at this point there should be both timothy and alfalfa available to mother and babies. Mothers should have alfalfa supplemented to their diet during pregnancy and nursing, babies can have alfalfa up to about 6 months- 1 year. You do not have to feed the babies alfalfa pellets. They can be just fine on timothy pellets, but with some alfalfa hay in addition. And I think it’s great they are liking the timothy hay, that is so important for their long-term health. When it comes time to switch them to an all-timothy diet, they maybe won’t snub it because they will be familiar with it already.

I would also agree with the others that your Chomper rabbit should be kept away from the babies.  You are not keeping the babies, so in fact, they never have to meet.  Rabbits can be “carriers” of E. Cunniculi without showing symptoms.  I think I heard the statistics of 1 in 4 rabbits might have this and their owners do not know.  So I think it’s just safer to keep your other bunny away.  If he was a carrier of EC, and passed it on to the babies, I’m sure their weakened immune systems might not be able to handle it.

[Author]

Messages