nest box for flemish giant

[jupiterannette]

i have been reading into this, and majority of people use pine, and or card board...

cami has a little card board box just big enough for her to huddle in, but when it comes time to make a nest and have her babies wont she need something bigger...

what is a good size, and meterial...

also is cardboard, straw,a nd woven straw mats, good for her to nest with?

any suggestions and ideas would be appreciated?

 

[Bo B Bunny]

how about a nice big storage bin? You can even get the ones like the postal service uses that are made of coroplast.

 

[jupiterannette]

I didnt even think of that... tiped on its side?

so she can get in and out? wont the babiesrol out?

can it be to big.. i was kinda thinking of building one maybe, i dunno

if coroplast would be safe thaty would be great!

im so scared im gonna give her somehting not safe and she is gonna die.

i worry alot!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I wouldn't even tip it. Maybe one of these would be good!

http://www.quantumstorage.com/img/3a-01.jpg

Bo used to have a tiny plastic basket this shape and it was his little bed - he can't fit into it very easily anymore LOL!

OR!!!

A cat litter box! You can get some nice ones and she would probably love that!

 

[jupiterannette]

i was thinking that... do you think it would be big enough?

what are normal demensions for a big bun?

 

[tundrakatiebean]

If I remember correctly it needs to have four sides so the babies can't get out but the mama can still get in. I think the cat box would be a great idea if you shoved some fleece in it!

 

[jupiterannette]

awesome...

im sorry im so nervous,

i have just been scared she would crush the babies in something too smalla, nd she would lounge in something too big,a nd eat bedding and get a blockage....


i guess i shouldnt worry so much, if she were at the farm she would have jsut had to have them in a pile of poo with her fir... maybe some hey if she was lucky....

so coverd litter box and flece it is!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I just realized something!!!:shock2:

YOU SAID BABY FLEMISH ARE ON THE WAY!!!!!! ullhair:

When? when? when?!!!!

Do you have a camera so you can take pics and put them here?

:camera

 

[gentle giants]

What I always went with is measure your rabbit, and make the nestbox 2 inches longer and2 inches wider than the rabbit. You want the sides to at least come a little more than halfway up the doe's sides when there is bedding in it. (When she is in the box, that is. I always used straw or hay as bedding, they like to make a little tunel in it. Don't put it in her cage more than two or three days before she is due, so she won't make a litterpan out of it.

What you need to do after that is-relax! Everything will be fine. Flemish are great moms, and the babies are the most fun! From the time they can walk, they will be giving you nose kissesand exploring everything.... Gee, nowI miss having kits of my own.....

 

[Bo B Bunny]

GG - that avatar - the ears!!! I have been meaning to tell you how wonderful they are!

 

[RAL Rabbitry]

Don't put any fleece in it!! Just some pine shavings on the bottom and

hay or straw the rest of the way. The doe will rearrange it to suit herself.

If you are using a plastic box make sure that it is heavy enough that the doe

doesn't tip it over. You might have to drill a few holes in it and zip tie it to

the side of the cage.

Good luck with the babies.

Roger

 

[jupiterannette]

i was scared she would chew and eat the fleece....

i put the card board box in yesterday, and it is about 2 inches all around.... so i think that will wor.. she is due oct 3rd ish

lots of pics will follow!

 

[Pipp]

Yay! Flemish!

Just make sure the sides are high enough to keep the babies from climbingout, but low enough so that Mom can jump in without landing on them. If the sides are too high and she jumps in blind from too high up, she can hurt them.

Here's a great site link and thread -- the one pinned to the top of the Rabbitry from Deb Mark's site. (She recommends a foot-high box for a Flemish).

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=5541&forum_id=8

:goodluck



sas

 

[Pipp]

jupiterannette wrote:

i put the card board box in yesterday, and it is about 2 inches all around.... so i think that will wor.. she is due oct 3rd ish

Oh, and don't put the box in until a few days before she's due in case she decides it makes a better litter box.

sas

 

[jupiterannette]

ok ill take her box out and give it back what 3-4 days before she is due... well i THINK she would be due oct 3rd.

because she came fromt he stock yard on the 4th of sept.... and was put in with the male, and then i got her the 8th, so sometime between the 4-th and the 8th then right.. ok so i will give her the box ont he 1st of oct?!

ok

 

[gentle giants]

Bo B Bunny wrote:

GG - that avatar - the ears!!! I have been meaning to tell you how wonderful they are!

Thanks! I will tell Sally, she won't be surprised someone was admiring her. :biggrin2:

 

[jupiterannette]

SOOO i think i know what to use as a nest!!!

A rubber made bucket witha hole inthe side!

its big, easy to clean, and sturdy!

like this but with some vetilation holes drilled in the top, and a door hole cut in the front!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Great idea! That was something I was thinking about.

Cloverbunny grew up (her first few months) in a rubbermaid tub with vent holes. She could escape the grids in a NIC cage since she was so tiny. That's something to be aware of with the babies... might want to reinforce your pen/cage with some smaller gauged wire or something. Clover got through a cat carrier door.

 

[jupiterannette]

how big ar flemish babies when there born?

could they get htrough 1 inch x pen?

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I don't know for sure but Clover was about 3 weeks I'd say and she got through easily!