What Materials To Offer Her When Making A Nest?

[Heather-M]

Hi Everyone Just Need To Know What Materials To Offer My Bun As Shes Building A Nest And I Do Think She Is Pregnant All the Obvious Signs Plump Belly And Her Teets Are Getting Bigger Too. Is Eating And Drinking More Than Her Normal Amount Signs Too?

 

[~Tracey~]

I give plenty of hay

 

[naturestee]

Moved to the Rabbitry.

Has she been with an intact male? Is that why you think she is pregnant? Some unspayed girls will go through "false pregnancies" where they build nests and their teats can swell too.

You can have an experienced breeder or vet palpate (feel) her to see if she is actually pregnant.

If she is pregnant, she will need an appropriate nest box for the kits. Then just give her lots of hay.

 

[Heather-M]

Hi, She And 3 Others Have Been In Contact With My ''Escaped'' Male The Only One Showing Obvious Signs Though Is ''Ebz'' what About The Over Drinking And Eating? Are Those Signs To Awell As She Is Making This Sond Sorta Like She Is Crying When I put my hand into her cage ( Its An Indoor Cage Indoors I Dont Have ANest Box ) Is There Something Else I Could Use Even Tho She Is Already Making The Nest?

 

[TinysMom]

You could give her a shoebox or something to have the babies in.....but if she doesn't have them in some sort of a"box" - they can wiggle out and get cold and die.

I wouldn't feed her extra food until AFTER she gives birth and then I start to increase her food every day for about a week till she's getting almost double of what she normally gets.

Peg

 

[Heather-M]

Hi Peg I Have Not Increased Them Food Yet But What I Ment By Eating More is....Usually She Only Eats About Half The Amount I Give Her Now Shes Eating It All.

She Has Been Hard At Work With The Nest, Would It Be Ok To Put All The Material She Has Already Made Into a Nest Into The Shoe Box? And How Would She Get In the Box To Feed Them?

 

[RAL Rabbitry]

If you do not have a wood or metal nestbox the next best thing would

be a small plastic tote not much bigger than the doe. You can punch a

couple holes in the bottom for drainage. If it is unstable when she jumps

in you can punch a couple holes in the sides and zip tie it to the cage wire.

I would fill it with a couple inches of wood shavings and then fill it with hay.

If your rabbit is not litter box trained make sure that you do not put the

box in the area that she eliminates in.

Roger

 

[Heather-M]

Hi Roger,

Whats A Tote?

 

[Heather-M]

In my other litters they had i never put any kinda nest box in there which probably counts for the ouple of deaths in the litter which i thought was becase i handeled them too mch.

 

[aurora369]

A box is a good idea because it keeps the babies together and they can't wander off and get cold. Most babies die of exposure when they get out of the nest.

--Dawn

 

[RAL Rabbitry]

A tote is a plastic storage box that usually comes with a cover.

They come in a variety of sizes and work quite well for a nestbox.

I am going to switch to them completely for nestboxes because

they are inexpensive and can be easily sanitized. If you breed in the

winter and need to bring the kits in because of cold you can just

pop the cover on to transport them into the house otherwise you

will not need the covers.

Roger

 

[Heather-M]

Hi Again Roger,

I have plastic storage boxes like you mentioned bt how would she get in there? Do you cut a hole in it or something but higher than the floor so the little uns dont get out?

And i still need to know if its ok to move the nest into the box?

Also i was going to ask if useing a cople of house bricks would work one each side of the nest as she has built it in the cornerso i could kinda create a square around it?

Heather

 

[RAL Rabbitry]

You want the box to be high enough to keep the babies in but low

enough to allow the mother to jump in over the top. Do not put the

cover on the box.

If you can box them into the corner that would be OK as long as what

you use is high enough for them not to get over it. If they wander away

from the nest they will likely get cold and die. The mother will not put

them back in the nest.

Good luck!

Roger

 

[Heather-M]

Ok so i have made a nest box out of the box but not took the roof of as she can get in and get out easy. and the other parts are low enough for mom but high enough for babies not to get out.

Heather