My babies don't want to be weaned!

[BabyBella]

Hello All,

I have 3 pre-weaned juveniles intended for release. They are about 12 weeks old and they have been at the last weaning stage (1 feeding a day) for almost 2 weeks. They are not refusing the milk even though I have watered it down to 1/3 strength. They are eating solids well. What should I do? Is it ok to just stop giving them the milk altogether? Thanks so much!

[LynninIN]

Sammy did the same thing until 14 weeks then one day he just stopped. This question has been asked a few times on the board and the answer seems to be that they will stop when they are ready. If you want to find the other threads, try the search.

[Buddy'sMom]

From watching our wild-Mom and her baby, Mom seems to be trying to get Sweet Pea to stop nursing (about 13-14 weeks), tho Sweet Pea still really, really wants it, lol.

The rehabbers here have different approaches, with some weaning entirely during (or even before? :thinking ) pre-release and some continuing one feeding until release. The advantages of continuing are to be confident they are getting all the nutrients (Buddy was a terrible eater and we actually pushed formula as long as we could) and also to check on them once a day. The disadvantages -- well, you already know why you'd like to stop :D . If you feel comfortable that they are eating the right stuff in solids, you could probably go either way.

[TexanSquirrel]

Awww...poor little Sweet Pea!

[Gabe]

You can continue to water the formula down until you are feeding them only water, and they will continue to take it. That approach just has never worked for me.

I would stop the middle feeding for 4-5 days, then stop the morning feeding and continue with the evening feeding for as long as they want it.