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Author: Laurie Stroupe, Precious Pet Rabbits
I'm afraid of heard the same story too many times. "My
rabbit has diarrhea and won't eat." "My rabbit died
all of a sudden.
What happened?" Often the rabbit in question is too young
to be away from it's mother.
Let's look at the early life of a rabbit to understand what
is going on. A rabbit is conceived and born just 31 days later.
It is born blind, deaf, and hairless. In warm weather, the
baby rabbit will stay in the nest for just two weeks; three
weeks in cold weather. Then it will nurse for a few more weeks.
Although some breeders remove the mother when the babies
are 5 weeks old, I prefer to see them nurse until at least
7 weeks. If
left together, a mother rabbit will often nurse the babies
for much longer.
Although the baby will probably begin nibbling on solid food
at the age of 3 weeks, he is still nursing. His digestive
system must learn gradually how to deal with solid food. The
mother's support helps him deal with all of the changes he
has had to make in his short life.
Weaning is a critical time in a rabbit's life. A number of
baby rabbits will develop weaning enteritis and die. Some
do not develop the intestinal flora required to eat solid
food without the addition of the mother's milk and cecotrophes.
Separation from mother is another stress in the baby's life.
I remove mother as one step and then separate babies
by pairs as a second step. Rabbits are moved to their
own cages as a third step to ease the stresses in their
lives.
During this calendar year alone, I estimate that I will have
raised 300 rabbits by December 31. A number of my two-month
old rabbits will die suddenly. I just had two 5-week
olds die last week. Although it is always sad to me
when I lose a rabbit, it would have been so much worse
had the baby been my child's pet.
When baby rabbits are sold below the age of 8 weeks, all
of the stresses of being weaned, being separated from
mother, being separated from the litter, plus getting
use to a new home, new people, new routines, and new
food and water are all affecting this tiny creature
that did not even exist several weeks before.
Although some do make it through, many - far too many - die.
I don't even sell 8-week olds anymore. The last one I sold
at that age was returned to me three days later, very sick.
The rest of his litter, which was with me, was still healthy.
The new owner realized that, in her excitement, she had stressed
him too much.
Eight weeks in the absolute youngest age at which anyone
should even consider getting a new pet rabbit. I recommend
three to
four months old (and older). You can read about other advantages
of adopting older bunnies at Precious Pet Rabbits
http://www.pet-rabbit-care-information.com/.
About the author:
Laurie Stroupe lives in Ararat, Virginia, with her husband,
four
children, and 150 show rabbits. Laurie is an ARBA member who
provides pet rabbit care information on her Precious Pet Rabbits
website http://www.pet-rabbit-care-information.com/. |
