# weight gain from 6weeks to 10 weeks?



## Wildfire_Jewel (Nov 5, 2006)

Anyone know what the average weight gain is from around 6 weeks to 10 weeks? We have 26 growing out right now and are all 7 weeks old. They all weigh between 2.5 and 3 pounds each. Fair is in 2 1/2 weeks and they need to be as close to 5 pounds as we can get them. Any thinkg we can be feeding them to increase weight gain? They are freefed 18% Manna Gro pellets and have LOTS of water bottles available.

Thanks in advance....


----------



## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

I'm not sure what to suggest in terms of feed, since 18% sounds quite rich to me, but I am wondering about how many rabbits you have per cage. It is my feeling that rabbits grow faster when there are only two or three to a cage. I don't think it's an overcrowding issue... It seems to me that the number of social interactions is the factor. (Think schoolyard. It may be huge, but there is still going to be bullying and stress.) *Please understand I don't have anything but my own informal observations to back this up... and I could be dead wrong.* But it is something you might consider with the fair only 2 1/2 weeks away.


----------



## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

If they are seperated out now and have to be put back in cages for the fair there could be some fighting.
Between 6 and 10 weeks they will grow very fast, you may have to slow down in the feed to keep thm from going over weight.


----------



## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

SquashNut said:


> *If they are seperated out now and have to be put back in cages for the fair there could be some fighting.*
> Between 6 and 10 weeks they will grow very fast, you may have to slow down in the feed to keep thm from going over weight.


That's true... depends on how they are being shown, I guess. I was thinking meat pens, which are usually in threes, aren't they? I'm not into the showing thing, so don't really have a firm grasp of the ins and outs of it.


----------



## Wildfire_Jewel (Nov 5, 2006)

2 pens of three and then 2 single fryer pens are what will be brought to fair.

2 of the litters are in HUGE grow out cages with 2 feeders and two LARGE water bottles (2 of the cages have 1/2 gallon size ones plus a second one) The other litter was just divided and given LARGE feeders and water bottles. I was just concerned about them being close to 5 pounds. THe closer the better and I just do not have enough info to come up with an average growth during these last few weeks.
thanks all


----------



## Guest (Jul 23, 2009)

While I don't have statistics on rate of gain, I think I may be of some help. Meat pen raising was my area of expertise about 10 years ago. 

Do you have access to scales? If not, go buy one. One that measures in ounces.

Are the bunnies individually tattooed? If not, (or not yet), get a sharpie and make your own tattoos by writing in their ears. You must be able to identify each individual rabbit.

Weigh each rabbit and record the weight in lbs and oz DAILY, YES, DAILY. 

Don't use the different cages to keep litters separate (use the tattoos for that), use them to separate weight categories. Figure out the max capacity for each pen, then divide the babies according to weight (biggest babies here, smallest here, etc). 

Make sure all babies can eat at the exact same time. Even if you have feeders that will hold enough feed for everyone, if they can't all eat at the same time, they won't grow correctly. I would think one feeder for every 3-4 bunnies. 

Get some Calf Manna (by Manna Pro) or Animax (by Purina). BE VERY CAREFUL USING THIS SUPPLEMENT. Use it sparingly, and perhaps only on the smaller ones so they can catch up with the larger ones. Your goal is to them all as close to the same weight as possible. Use 1 teaspoon per rabbit per day. So if you have 8 bunnies in a pen, put 8 teaspoons of it into the feed, mix it up, then put in feeders. You should probably start with 1/4 teaspoon per bunny per day, then 1/2 teaspoon, to ease them onto it. ALWAYS MEASURE IT!!!!


----------



## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

Here is one thought, my rabbits are also in a huge growout pen, and when it's cool they run around and play quite a bit, hopping up and down and enjoying life. Like any active kid, this helps to keep them trim even though they have 24-7 access to food. 

My last group were 4-4.5 lbs at 13 weeks, but the group before was closer to 5 lbs at that age. The first group got way less greens so they ate more pellets and seemed to be more willing to sit around and get fat. The first group was 8 and the second 7, so numbers were about the same.

Now the strange thing is the second group actually had more fat on them. 

Cathy


----------



## GentleVoice (Dec 24, 2008)

I hesitate to post, but I learn so much here I thought I might pass this along. 
When we were buying a buck from a meat breeder, he mentioned that one of the early mistakes he had made was having too large a growout cage. The buns DID play and run, burning calories. He noticed that the buns in the larger cages didn't gain weight like the litters kept in 30x30's did. His large cage was 30x60, I think. Seems he had joined two regular cages feeling they'd be happier. 
Happier, yes  Also smaller at processing time. 
Here in Alabama in the summer we do seperate larger litters so there are maybe 6 to a cage as they grow out, it's just sooooo hot. In the winter 10 or so to a cage isn't a problem. We process at 5 lbs / 8 to 9 weeks.

Thanks to all for everything we've learned here!


----------



## Guest (Jul 23, 2009)

Cage size should be "just right". As others have mentioned, too big is no good, but remember not to go too small either. I once had a fellow 4-Her stumped as to why she couldn't get her meat pen bunnies to grow very fast. One look at her setup and the answer was very clear. Rabbits were crammed in cages. She'd have a litter crammed in a cage I'd only think about putting 3 or 4 baby Netherlands in!


----------



## smilesnsunshine (Jun 14, 2009)

Welcome GentleVoice! Please feel free to chime in whenever you want!

Bryan


----------



## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

smilesnsunshine said:


> Welcome GentleVoice! Please feel free to chime in whenever you want!
> 
> Bryan


I agree! It's always good to get different points of view on a topic and I believe we need to share experiences and opinions as well as hard cold facts. So chime in anytime, GentleVoice!


----------



## Wildfire_Jewel (Nov 5, 2006)

Okay, by huge I mean Flemish Giant litters would probably be comfortable in these cages. And the Cal litter was in a 24x24 and it was just wall to wall rabbits. THat litter had to be split. With our cool (so far) summer we are noticing that they are eating alot more. Hopefully, it is worth it as far as price per pound of meat. We don't get the weaning enteritis issues if we leave them with mom until we take them out for butchering. At least we haven't had issues YET. There seems to be a first for everything with rabbits!


----------

