Black Diamond Kits

Black Diamond Kits
Sage's Kits, Nine Weeks Old

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Weighing Rabbits



We weigh all of our rabbits because it is part of a health check and to keep good records.  A weight loss would suggest they either need more feed or they are sick.  Weight gain is good, but we don’t want them to gain too much.  We monitor them to make sure they meet minimum weights for their class.  If rabbits weigh too much or too little, the judge can disqualify them.  We saw that happen at the West Coast Classic in May. 

Maple at his weekly weighing

We weigh our rabbits every Wednesday.  We stop weighing pregnant does one week before they are due to kindle.  We weigh rabbit kits every day after they’re a week old.  We carefully carry our rabbits over to the scale.  Our scale is accurate to tenths of ounces.  This is an important advantage.  Something that many people don’t realize is that in the rabbit world when weight is recorded, the number after the pound number indicates the number of ounces, not the fraction of a pound.  For example, 9. 5. 5 is read nine pounds, five and one-half ounces, not nine pounds, eight and one-half ounces.  

We always on a solid surface like a table or hard floor, not on carpet or cages or the results may not be accurate.  I learned this by experience.  We all learn from our mistakes.  We record each rabbit’s weight each week so that we can compare their progress. 

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