Instructions
Start the kits on solid food. The kits must be able to provide for their own nutritional needs before they can be separated from their mother. At around two weeks the kits should be able to begin eating small soft leaves like alfalfa. By four weeks they will be able to begin eating rabbit pellets. Because rabbit digestive systems are very sensitive, watch for diarrhea, which indicates the bunnies are overindulging on solid food. Trimming the fur around the vents can help prevent other digestive problems.
Wait six to eight weeks. If the kits are particularly well nourished, they can be removed from the doe as early as five weeks but the safest time frame to prevent infection while still not overworking the doe is six to eight weeks for weaning.
Prepare a separate cage for the doe. The easiest course of action is to remove to doe from the kits instead of trying to remove the kits at this vulnerable stage in their lives. Set up a comfortable cage where the mother can recuperate and gain her strength back.
Remove the doe but leave the kits together. Keeping the kits together for an additional two to three weeks lowers the stress they are feeling from being separated from their mother.
Separate the kits from one another. Two to three weeks after weaning the kits will need more room to grow on their own. They should all be moved to individual cages.
How to Separate Bunnies From a Doe
Separating bunnies or kits from their mother can be a daunting task for anyone new to rabbit breeding. Remove the kits from the doe too early and they will starve. Remove them too late and the doe will be exhausted from feeding the rapidly growing kits and may try to drive them away by biting. Timing is very important as is creating as little stress as possible for the tired mother and skittish bunnies.