Why after 8 weeks?

One of the point I like to drive into a potential rabbit owner's mind is that one should never ever buy rabbits younger than 8 weeks.

It is very obvious that 4 weeks old kits are irresistably cute and that is the main selling factor for pet stores here. If a person genuinely love an animal, it does not matter if it is cute or not. I believe we all have to understand that at the end of the day pet store is a business. And in order to sell their livestock, they need to prolong the shelf lives of their livestock. Therefore that is the reason why they take in younger rabbits.

Kits between the age of 4 weeks and 6 weeks seemed to look alright on the outside. But that is the time the entire flora content of their stomach is developing. Many people do not know that during this crucial period, the kits will feed on their mother's cecal to get those nutrients that they themselves are unable to produce. Consuming their mother's cecal will help them build up their stomach flora content so that they are able to be weaned off in a healthy manner.

One may be lucky to have their underage rabbit grow up healthy without any complications. Most of the time that is not the perfect scenario.

An ideal pet store for me is one that only sells pet supplies and not livestock. But unfortunately for the local market, livestock brings in the biggest part of the profit. So, since we are in a deadlock, the best compromise we can have is pet store continue selling livestock but they should ensure that their conducts are ethical.

So the next time you are tempted to pick up that underage kit, always think twice and be prepared for complications if you bring it home. We as consumer have the power to reverse this situation. If only we stop buying underage rabbits, then the demand for older rabbits will force business to be ethical. Businesses are formed to meet the demands of their customers. So who have the power to decide?

YOU AND ME.