Jadette
Active Member
My lionhead had her first litter of 4 kits 2 weeks and 3 days ago and she has been a stellar mommy - made a textbook nest in her nestbox and nurses her kits regularly. All of the babies are healthy and growing rapidly.
The problem I have is that my setup isn't exactly ideal for active babies! I have a hutch for her that I keep open all the time and a 5'x8' pen that she has been accustomed to having free roaming privileges to 24/7. The nest box is in the hutch. Starting yesterday, the baby bunnies have been hopping out their nest box, out of the hutch, and can squeeze out of the pen. I found one of the bunnies last night under the sofa over 15 feet away from the hutch! I closed up the hutch last night with the fear that they may wander off and get stepped on by one of my sons making a night time run to the kitchen or bathroom. I opened up the hutch again in the morning around 7a. I don't know if my doe skipped a nursing session b/c she didn't have access to her kits. I did not want to put her in the hutch with her kits as she is not used to being in such a confined area and I am certain it would give her stress. It's not a very large hutch.
I actually have a large 4'x4' two story hutch that I can put her in and the nest box. It would be perfect as the kits can run around on the first floor and she can have her privacy on the second floor - at least until the kits figure out how to get up on the ramp!
My question is, if I move her and her nest box to a different hutch, would this cause her to potentially abandon her kits and not nurse them any longer?
The problem I have is that my setup isn't exactly ideal for active babies! I have a hutch for her that I keep open all the time and a 5'x8' pen that she has been accustomed to having free roaming privileges to 24/7. The nest box is in the hutch. Starting yesterday, the baby bunnies have been hopping out their nest box, out of the hutch, and can squeeze out of the pen. I found one of the bunnies last night under the sofa over 15 feet away from the hutch! I closed up the hutch last night with the fear that they may wander off and get stepped on by one of my sons making a night time run to the kitchen or bathroom. I opened up the hutch again in the morning around 7a. I don't know if my doe skipped a nursing session b/c she didn't have access to her kits. I did not want to put her in the hutch with her kits as she is not used to being in such a confined area and I am certain it would give her stress. It's not a very large hutch.
I actually have a large 4'x4' two story hutch that I can put her in and the nest box. It would be perfect as the kits can run around on the first floor and she can have her privacy on the second floor - at least until the kits figure out how to get up on the ramp!
My question is, if I move her and her nest box to a different hutch, would this cause her to potentially abandon her kits and not nurse them any longer?