The American Beagler Forum

I was going to try to raise some rabbits to turn lose in the wild to run this summer. How old do they need to be before i turn them lose?

We Always Cut ours loose as soon as they are weaned usually around 4 weeks, This seems to work well for us as it gives them Time to get better adjusted and they are still real skittish at that age. they just seem to learn how to survive better.
Anyways that is what we have determined works best for us..

the best age i have found for my starting pen is 3 mo old. i tried turning them loose at 4-6 weeks and none lived. pen is 5 acres

TC - You did not specify if the rabbits to be released were wild ones or domesticated ones. Wild bunnies are difficult to cage raise, but releasing them at about 4 weeks is fine as they will survive at that age. If they are domestics, I would wait until the are about 6 weeks of age and then help the make the transition from rabbit pellets to a diet of foliages. I do this by placing them in a small pen, 10 ft X 25 ft for a couple of weeks. During this period the bunnies are given access to a good quality hay, salt, rabbit pellets and green leafy plants. This helps strengthen their digestive systems. With domestic rabbits, ticks seem to cause the death of many of them. Their life span in the wild is usually 6 months or less.

As you know, raising rabbits to start pups is time consuming and reasonably expensive. I have a much better approach;
When I need a rabbit to start pups, I go to the flea markets and buy the biggest Buck rabbit that I can find. They are usually cheaper than a bag of rabbit food and I have a rabbit when it is needed. The big bucks are less timid than a Doe or a young rabbit. At times they will run from the pups and at other times they chase the pups. This kind of gives you an idea of which pup is going to be the most agressive toward the chase as well as having the most grit.

Be sure to control the predators as best that you can. Young rabbits simply do not know how to survive and do not know that they should be animals of the night,

Good luck !!!