In my previous articles, I have stressed that wealth from rabbits stems from the good care of the young ones from a tender age— one to 45 days to adulthood. Like for human beings, the journey to adulthood starts from weaning.

During the weaning stage, the digestive system of the rabbits is quite sensitive. For that reason, the kind of feed given to the rabbitshould ensure smooth transition from mother’s milk to dry feed.

Wean the rabbits gradually

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Many rabbits die at this stage due to bloating and coccidiosis. Therefore, it must be done gradually. To avoid blunders at this stage, it helps to group the animals depending on their development stages and needs.
You need to carefully place the animals in the long rooms (section of the farm where weaned rabbits from different mothers are put together to not only compete for feed and get get warmth from age mates) as opposed to just lumping them together.

How healthy are they?

Another point to note is the health of the rabbits. Weaned ones should be healthy before they are put in the long room.
If they appear sick, place them in the sick bays and do not mix them with healthy ones until they get well.

Many weaned rabbits suffer from bloating, mange, coccidiosis, pneumonia and ear canker, so identify the condition and address it with help of a vet.



Life in the long room

Weaned rabbits from good mothers should be earmarked for conversion to mother and fathers. As they grow, note their characteristics so that you confirm conversion.
Once the weaned rabbits are in the long rooms, the farmer should be ready to face new challenges.
Diet is the most important aspect for the rabbits in the long room. The farmer should ensure the rabbits access a balanced diet that ensure moderate growth for all of them.

To grow healthy and strong, the rabbits need feed that has high protein and foliage. The foliage should be washed and  wilted weeds. Since rabbits eat more than 80 per cent of foliages available widely, the farmer should be careful not to cause bloating among the rabbits at weaning stage as it can be deadly.

Water provision

Simple as it may appear, water provision to the rabbits can tricky. If you use the open pots, there is a high likelihood that the rabbits may die of pneumonia due to the tendency to get inside the containers as they play. With this in mind, a farmer should ensure they limit the water provided to the rabbits. Better still automate the water system.



Dry matter


Weaned rabbits should be fed with dry matter. Hay is the best at this stage. Wheat straw hay, barley straw hay, rice straw or even oats are very good weaning feed to your rabbits. The rabbits normally feed on the grass leaves so the farmer should ensure they buy the hay from reliable sellers and those who move hay stocks fast. If not, cut grass, dry it and feed your young rabbits.

They love to play

Just like young children, young rabbits like to play. Use corked plastic bottles and place them in the long rooms for the young rabbits to play with. Avoid moving the toys every time you go to the long rooms as this may disorient the bunnies.
Note that young rabbits tend to be gluttonous. They overeat every time feed is availed to them. The challenge is bloating.

To get around this, the farmer should monitor them closely and improve the water provided to include anti-bloating agents.

Because of gluttony, always separate slow eaters and fast eaters in the long room. It is important you keep monitoring growth of the weaned rabbits to ensure moderate growth using a digital weighing scale. You will notice slow eaters as you observe the rabbits more closely. The fast eaters will always finish the feed before the slow ones. The slow ones will always struggle gaining weight. 
Most of the rabbits in the long room will never leave to the normal cages except the few that the farmer is keen on. For health reasons it is important to keep the cages in a space that is not so warm nor too cold.

[George Kibanya, Rabbit breeder Alcare Kenya. georgegkibanya@gmail.com]