Separating mom and kits?

[MandiRock]

My mini Rex has 7 kits that are 3 weeks old. They really seem to bug her now that they spend all of their time out of the nextbox. She has a fair sized hutch (3' x 3') and I try to make sure she gets several hours out in the run during the day. However, I don't have a secure run right now she she can't stay out there unless someone it out with her to supervise. Lots of predators in the country. Building one right now it out of the question. I'm about to have surgery on my leg, so I won't be able to sit out there with her for a while.

I do have a second, slightly smaller cage. Would it be okay to keep the kits in that cage during the day? Probably from 10 am to 4 or 5, just to give her some time alone. She doesn't nurse during the day anyway that I've seen.

Also, at what age can they be moved permanently into their own cage? All together I mean, not separated. 6 weeks?

 

[DianeS]

When my kits get to that annoying age, I flip my nestbox upside down. It still lets the kits have an "assigned" area to go to sleep and snuggle for warmth (under the upside down nestbox, that they can still get into), but then mom can get on top of the nestbox and escape the little kits for at least another week (until they learn to climb).

If your nestbox doesn't have a bottom or for some other reason flipping it upside down won't work for you, and you don't have anything else that would work for her to get higher than her kits, then yeah, you ought to be able to remove the kits for a few hours a day. Not much different than taking a nestbox full of little kits indoors for the night, which is what several of us do regularly.

Kits can be removed around 6 weeks of age, yes. Most will be weaned at that point. Does usually start to wean somewhere around 4 weeks, and complete the process somewhere around 8 weeks. We tend to suggest removing kits 2 at a time, with a couple days in between removals. That lets mom's milk supply decrease more slowly rather than needing to dry up all at once. Start with the couple largest and healthiest rabbits, remove them to a different cage, and keep an eye on them to be sure they are each eating, drinking, and pooping in a healthy way for a couple days. Then remove the next largest. And so on.

Hope that helps!

 

[sonnythebunny]

my kits are 3 weeks old, and are starting to eat pellets, my doe feeds them only once, around 8:00 pm so I don't see her. I take the kits out once a day to play and get some socialising
but I am wondering when I can seperate them too

I also put a cardboard box in (it is about 3 in. high and they jump in it to keep cozy) which they like, and I put a little box in for the doe to jump on to get away from the babies.


oh and thanks DianeS!

 

[Moonshine]

We have 8 that are 4 weeks and 2 that are 6 weeks. We weaned at 5 weeks and then during the day we put the 8 with the 2 in a large baby pin and let the mom rest. We put the 8 back at night and they love playing in the large cage. Its only a couple of days after they open their eyes that they start eating pellets so that's what we do. Plus its so big that we put hay and grass in there too and they just have a ball playing and eating. It sure is going to be hard when 8 weeks come around and its time to eat them!

 

[secuono]

Give the doe a shelf to escape. Weaning before 4wks can be dangerous and most never do it unless something beyond them forces it to happen.
If the kits are eating mom's food and drinking water regularly, then at 4wks, you can start to wean them. But, after a week or so, the kits start to learn that they cannot chase mom and bother her. They start doing their own thing and mom will choose when to feed them. It's what happens with mine. I don't wean until 5-6wks, sometimes later. The kits bother mom after they leave the nest, but eventually they learn it won't work. Some of my pro does just lay flat out and wait it out, they don't bother hopping away when just laying on their stomachs gets the same result w/o all the work.