WEANING
Week 2.
Kits will be eating their mothers caecotrophs.
Week 3.
The youngsters starting to nibble at hay and solids.
Week 4 – 5.
The mothers milk will be diminishing. The kits will have started to ingest friendly and not so friendly bacteria which will be colonising in their gut. This is quite normal and is called 'gut flora'.
The pH levels will be changing in both the kits and their mother intestines. The dams antibodies still being provided in the milk will assist in killing the harmful bacteria.
The pH levels will be changing in both the kits and their mother intestines. The dams antibodies still being provided in the milk will assist in killing the harmful bacteria.
Week 8.
The mother should not be removed until the kits are eight weeks old, by which time they will have a well established immune system.
Only if the dam is unable to cope with the demands of the youngsters should she be removed earlier. However, a good compromise would be to offer a milk substitute with added probiotics in one of the drinking bottles (along side a normal water supply)
We are often asked about feeding greens to young rabbits. The simple answer; If you are feeding the mother greens (grass, herbs, kale, sprouted grains etc) then the babies will eat it also. The mothers gut bacteria will help the babies in preparation for weaning. If your babies were not weaned on to greens then start with small amounts mixed in with their hay and watch their poop.