# Watering The Babys..



## ktown55 (Aug 11, 2010)

Yep, It's Me Again, And As Most Of You Know I'm New To The Rabbit Thing.....I Have Four 2 Wk Olds, And Of Course They Have There Eyes Opened Now, And I Still Bring Them Inside Because Of The Heat. But What I Would Like To Know Is, How Soon Will They Start Drinking Water ? I Keep A Small Bowl Of It In There With Them But Don't Ever See Them Drink, And How Old Do They Start Eatting On there Own? When I Went Out This Morning to Get Them I Feed The Mom And They ( The Babys) Went To The Feeder And I Thought They Were Goin To Eat, But Didn't...How Long Will Mom Feed Them? Thanks For Everyones Help..........


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## KrystalMarie (Aug 12, 2010)

We started putting pellets in with the babies at 2 weeks and they really didn't eat them until around 3 weeks. At 3 weeks they also started drinking water. Be careful that you only put a shallow container in with them because ours used it as a swimming pool first. Now ours are 4 weeks and some of them drink from a water bottle. We are first timers too!! Having babies has been so much fun!


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## ktown55 (Aug 13, 2010)

KrystalMarie said:
			
		

> We started putting pellets in with the babies at 2 weeks and they really didn't eat them until around 3 weeks. At 3 weeks they also started drinking water. Be careful that you only put a shallow container in with them because ours used it as a swimming pool first. Now ours are 4 weeks and some of them drink from a water bottle. We are first timers too!! Having babies has been so much fun!


Thank You For Your Replie,Krystal, Yea Your Right, Have The Kits Has Been Fun, I Just Need To Know When I Can Take Them From Mom...Or When She'll Quit Feeding Them...I Raise Mine To sale..
And I Raise Chickens Also...Thats Been Fun Too...I Enjoy It All....Thanks Again....


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## Bunnylady (Aug 13, 2010)

Commercial rabbit breeders often wean babies at 4 weeks of age. DO NOT TRY TO SELL THEM AT THIS AGE! They stress easily, and are likely to die on the person you sell them to - not good customer relations! (The commercial fryers may have been weaned, but they remain in the familiar setting of their home rabbitry for several more weeks, until they achieve slaughter weight.) Most people who are selling for pets do not wean until at least 6 weeks of age, and won't sell them until they are 8 weeks or older. In fact, there are some states where it is illegal for a pet shop to purchase rabbits less than 8 weeks of age. 

Some people will tell you that a doe will wean her kits at a certain age. I have had does that continued to nurse thier kits until whatever age I separated them - and some of the kits were nearly as big as the doe by the time I did so! Obviously, the majority of the calories the kits consume come from the pellets after 2-3 weeks, but they still aren't ready for the stresses of moving to a new location with new sights, smells, people, routines, etc, for several more weeks.


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