Rabbit Questions and Answers Archive Dan: Health   Tuesday, August 11th, 2009 Question: My son is growing two rabbit meat pens (New Zealand Whites). This is our first year, so not sure what to expect. We have been weighing them every week and they have been gaining about 50% of their weight for three weeks now. They are on full feed now (Purina Rabbit Professional Blend) and are eating great. How long can I expect that type of weight gain. Is that typical weight gain? They are just about 5 weeks old now and will be 8 weeks at fair time (need to be between 3 to 5 pounds). They were between 20 and 25 oz at 4 weeks. Also when should I wean the bunnies and do I just take them away from the mother cold turkey? Answer: Dan, While many rabbit show enthusiasts will not start weighing their rabbits until they are 6 weeks of age, weekly weighing is always a great idea. For a rabbit enthusiast in your position, this will help build up a performance history, so you can better predict future performance. Your rabbits will probably not be maintaining a 50% of the body weight gain for the next 4 weeks, but the amounts of weight gain should slowly increase for the next 4 week. Thus 10 to 12 oz per week will not be unreasonable. Not this is not the easiest to predict, for it will be dependant on genetics, management, etc. You certainly are feeding the right feed Rabbit Chow Professional to maximize growth performance. As to weaning there are some people that like to keep their bunnies with the doe up to show time. They figure keeping everything the same has less of a disruption, so performance is maintained. If you do wean, 6 to 7 weeks of age is the most common time. If you keep the bunnies in their cage and move the does, out, you may reduce less stress on your show rabbits, and help maximize performance. Good luck with your rabbit project. Hope you have a couple of pens of winners. Regards, Gary Lynch, Ph.D. Companion Animal Business Group Joy: Rabbit   Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 Question: This is our first year to show rabbits and broilers. Could you tell me more about the product Oasis and the feeding schedule? I only feed Purina and have heard great things about it. What about rabbits, what is the best feeding schedule for them? Thank you so much! Answer: Dear Joy, Different rabbit breeds will require a different feeding schedule for both a breeding program and to raise show rabbits. As an example, I have attached our feeding program for Mini Rex. If you will let me know what breed you are raising, We can either consult or I can send you our schedule for that breed (I do not have one for all breeds, but we can discuss the best feeding program). We appreciate your interest in Purina Feeds. Regards, Gary Lynch, Ph.D. Companion Animal Business Group Kristi: Rabbit   Monday, January 7th, 2008 Question: We have had judges say rabbits need to be finished off. How do you finish a rabbit off? Also how do you get a rabbit’s fur pretty and white for show…what can you use to wash the fur? Answer: The question relating to finish refers to coat condition, molt vs. prime. A finished coat is influenced by several factors, age, sex, time of year, feeding program, environment and genetics. First, the rabbit needs to be the result of a genetic package which has quality fur in the ancestry. If the rabbit is the product of breedings from parents, grandparents etc. with poor coat quality, then the resulting offspring will inevitably have poor fur and will never finish in coat. Once you have the right genetics then time of year comes into play. Rabbits always finish in the coats easier in the spring than in the fall of the year. As the daylight increases, hormone levels increase and rabbits (both does and bucks) seem to finish their fur as a result of the increasing daylight and warmer temperatures. Conversely, hot summer temperatures in the summer and decreasing daylight hours in the fall will inhibit finished coats, except for junior age rabbits which seem to finish better in the fall of the year vs. 6-8 and senior age rabbits which have a difficult time finishing in the fall and especially when they come out of a hot/humid summer. Feed can also impact fur quality. Feeding higher energy will create more body heat. Thus feeding higher energy feed in the summer will increase body heat and lower the chance of a rabbit finishing their coat. Also feeding schedule and amount of feed can affect coat quality. The kind of facilities can affect how rabbits finish in coat - enclosed facilities vs outside hutches. Bottom line, there is not an easy answer without speaking to the individual to find out in more detail what their current program involves. On the getting nice white fur… first, you should not ever wash a rabbit, as this will take out all the oils and the coat will be ruined! If there are urine stains, then products such as white vinegar and peroxide can be used as spot treatments. Use with care, as both products can do harm if used improperly. The best prevention to this problem of urine stains is to keep rabbits on wire floors without floor mats or pieces of wood to sit on. House bucks separately from does and use solid dividers in pens rather than wire dividers. Thanks, Dave Mangione Extension Agent for The Ohio State University Purina Mills Rabbit Ambassador Julie Marie Thornton: Rabbit   Friday, May 11th, 2007 Question: My pregnant doe has a cist and I was not sure what is this cause of this. Can you please tell me how I can treat this. Thank you. Answer: However it could be one or two of the following MASTITIS or Blue Breast Diseases. The mammary gland or glands become hot, swollen and inflamed abscess are common with mastitis. Caused by over feeding during lactation after weaning or sudden death of young. Check the ARBA official guide book Raising Better Rabbits for treatment and prevention. Pasteurellosis Snuffles Rabbit will have a nasal discharge thin or thick white or slightly yellow in nature. Late severe cases can cause abscess. Not weaning Kits soon enough could cause abscess. Urine burn not keeping cages and nest boxes clean can also cause abscess. Ron Obermark