Natural Pet Health Blog

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).

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.

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