State of the Rabbitry Address

When last I updated everyone on my rabbits, Lisi's and Chesna's litters were just hitting two weeks old, and Sweetie and Aster had just kindled nine kits each.  I am happy to say that all kits have survived.  (I really hadn't been sure that Sweetie and Aster would be able to handle such large litters, since many does can't handle more than 7 or 8, especially since Sweetie's last litter was only two kits).

Sweetie's litter explores the nestbox and beyond at 19-days.

As of today, all nest boxes have been removed (the younger litters are just short of three weeks old, but hopping in and out of the boxes frequently, and I'd rather have them all hopping around the cage than risk one getting stuck out of the box and getting chilled--temperatures are still dropping into the low thirties over night).

Even the youngest of kits are starting to nibble on pellets in the feeder, and are starting to get curious about drinking from the bottle.  Of course, they still try to sneak a few drinks off mom, too.

19-day-old kits eating pellets

Kits learning to drink.

Kit stealing a drink off mom.

Of course, the older kits have got it all down pat. At exactly one month old, they're of an age where many commercial rabbitries would consider weaning them. However, a number of studies have concluded that weaning before 5-6 weeks results in notably less growth, and also puts the kits at a higher risk of weaning enteritis, which is often deadly. Over the next month, I should see an accelerated growth rate from them as they eat more and more while still getting nutrition from their mother's milk.

8 one-month-old Californian kits pile at the feeder.

Month-old Californian kit drinks from water bottle.

Trudy enjoying attention at an Easter Egg Hunt.
(Image taken by The Observer)

In addition to the progress of the current kits, we have a lot of expectant mothers, now.  Mena will get her nest box in a couple days.  Californians Lavender and Laurel; New Zealand Iza; and Rex Mosaic, Princess, and Godiva were all bred on one day.  The goal with the Californians and New Zealands is to have market litters available for nearby counties.  Trudy has been difficult about breeding, but a trip to a nearby Easter Egg Hunt changed her mind (roadtrips can do that to rabbits for some reason, and she really enjoyed all the extra attention).

Another fun happening was that I managed to sell all of my extra bags of manure for about $100!  My "shit list," as some people are referring to it, is now back-ordered.

Kit Development in the First Weeks

Kits change from newborn to 5 days old.

Rabbits are born blind, deaf, and furless (although some may have hints of peach fuzz).  By five days old, their ears are starting to open up, and they'll be completely open by a week old.

7-day-old Californian kits have open ears.

13-day-old New Zealand kit already starting to pose.

Their eyes can start to open up as early as nine days, and most will have their eyes open by 12 days old.  They may open one eye and then another, and you may even see the eye when it's still only partially open.  That's normal.  If the eye still isn't open at a full two-weeks old, you can try to open it, gently.

Eye on 12-day-old kit not completely opened.

Fryer Growth

I see a lot of people asking whether their weights for X-aged kits is "good" or not.  There can be quite a bit of variation in what constitutes "good," depending on what they're being fed, what breed they are, and how good the lines are.  There is actually quite a bit of research out there which documents weights of various meat breeds through various ages, and many which also compare different methods of feeding and/or care.  One of these days, I may put together a list of those papers, but for today, I'll just go through my own data.

Graph of rabbit growth rates.

LEGEND:

Green line - crossbred average

Green field - crossbred range

Purple line - Rex average

Purple field - Rex range

Red line - Californian weights

Blue line - New Zealand average

I compiled data from 15 litters (9 undetermined crossbred, 3 Rex, 2 New Zealand white, and 1 Californian) from 3 to 8 weeks old (the crossbreds were only weighed at the 3- and 8-week marks; the purebreds were weighed weekly).  Litter sizes ranged from 2 to 9 (non-DOA), averaging 6.33 kits per litter.  All litters were fed on a diet of 18% crude protein pellets, plus occasional time on grass and infrequent garden treats.

3-week weights ranged from 9.8 oz. to 21 oz. (1 lb. 5 oz), averaging 13.2 oz.  8-week weights ranged from 43 oz. (2 lbs. 11 oz.) to 70 oz. (4 lbs. 6 oz.), averaging 54.1 oz (3 lbs. 6.1 oz.).

I'll admit that these are not ideal weights (the ideal goal would be 5 lbs by 8 weeks), but they still produce sizable-enough fryers to butcher at 10 to 12 weeks old, especially since at the 8- to 10-week-old range, fryers typically put on about 1/2 a pound a week (which would put the 10-week average at almost 4-1/2 pounds, and the 12-week average at nearly 5-1/2 lbs).  With that gain, they are right on target for the typical backyard breeder's goal of 5 lbs between 10 and 12 weeks old.

The big point of interest that I'd like to point out is how the litter weights cross around the 7-week mark.  I didn't post a graph of the individual litter weights, but there are also crossovers between several litters at 4 and 6 weeks, as well.  That goes to show that weights before 7 weeks are not reliably indicative of weights at 8 weeks or more.

Comparing litter sizes:

	Litter size (number of litters)
	2 (2)	3	5	6 (2)	7 (3)	8 (4)	9 (2)
3-wk wt.	16.4	21.0	16.8	13.5	10.8	11.8	10.5
8-wk wt.	55.6	70.0	68.0	50.8	49.5	52.0	53.1

From that data, litter size plays a marginally significant role in litter weights.

I also thought you might want to look at the data which shows how parents' weights affect the weight of the litters:

As you might be able to see from the data, the parents' adult weights really don't play a role in the growing weights of the kits.

I promise I will collect more data from upcoming litters, and probably make a new post showing weights through 10 or 12 weeks old.  I may also put together a chart showing the breakdown by litter size.