what size nesting box & a few other ?'s babies on the way

[clanof5]

My kids & I have 2 bunnies. Both are out door bunnies but get lots of attention, walks on a harness etc. Our newest addition turned out to be female, bought her from some one who got her at easter and now wanted to re-home her. We were told her was a he. Didnt check when we picked her up cause in the end it didnt really matter. We live next to my parents, once confirmed she was a She my dad got the idea we should have a litter. I wasn't against it, could be a good learning expierience for my kids, we will probably get some really adorable bunnies from these two.
I told my kids first we need to make sure we can find homes for them. They managed to get in contact with other people who have pet bunnies seeing if they would be interested in a new bunny. We have a list of 8 people now that have an intrest in a baby. I know we could have more/less then 8 and some people could back out but I wanted to atleast have a start on new homes before we even bred Blaze & Bun.

So even though my plan was to wait a bit my dad promised we could breed them now. (a perk? of living next to my parents?) so Monday July 9th they mated.
I am trying to get prepaired for the expected litter Aug 9th/10th.
What size nexting box? Looking on-line I see amazon has 2 sizes 16x9x9 1/2 is the small and 20 x 11 x 9.8 for the large. She is not very big. I'd say 6 lbs range.

Best snacks/treats she should be recieving now to make sure she gets plenty of nurishment? any thing that should be avoided during her pregnancy?

I'm already dreading when the babies are old enough and end up leaving us and they are not even born yet. The dad is such an awsome bunny, mom is good to but not and lovable as dad. Dad is a cinnomon color with black markings on one side of his face and on his back, mom is all black.
Thanks
Jess

 

[wendymac]

You want a nest box that is big enough for the doe to get in and lie down, but not so big that she'll use it for a litter box.

As far as snacks/treats, continue whatever you were doing before pregnancy. I give mine free-choice pellets and hay and about 2 weeks before kindling I start giving them each 1 tbs. of Calf Manna. Once the babies arrive, I bump that to 2 tbs. a day of Calf Manna, with everything else staying the same.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

Also.. I want to add that you should get a wooden nest box. The metal nest box can cause something called "splay leg" it is due to the babies spreading their legs because of the metal floor.

For feeding I do exactly the same that Wendy described. I am not a breeder though, my doe just had a "oops" litter.

 

[majorv]

If your rabbit is 6 lbs then the smaller one might be too small. To know for sure, measure the length and width of your rabbit and then select the one that'sa little bigger than her. I don't have any metal nestboxes, mainly because our litters are outside and since we usually breed in cool weather I didn't want the kits to get cold in a metal box. Other than that, it doesn't really mattersince the bottom of a nestbox is going to be filled with hay, bedding andhair.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

So splay leg can't be caused by a metal box?

 

[majorv]

MyBabyHasPaws wrote:

So splay leg can't be caused by a metal box?

Well, technically,it might if it was empty of all bedding/hair and the kits lived on the bare metal floor. But then, with no bedding as a cushionthe doe could easily kill the kits if she stepped on them. If someone's going to providea nestbox for the kits thatthey would also providehay or beddingto put in the bottom. Most times the doe will add her hair to it, too.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

Oh I see, i'm just asking because I dont want to go spreading fals information around LOL!

I read it on quite a few sites but they didnt mention the no hay/bedding/fur. Makes perfect sense, thanks Vicki!