Crazy doe?

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baefull.wolfbunnies

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Within the last few days, my doe has started ... digging (easiest way to describe it) at the hutch door. I bred her back on the 29th of January but I'm assuming it didn't take. She just ate out all the hay and used the nest box as her bathroom. She has done this so much and with such force that she opened part of the hutch door. I have her hutch door secured by two hook and eye latches, and she consistently opened one of them. I thought someone was getting into the yard and messing with the rabbits until I watched her do it.

She has a salt lick, a wood chew, a water bottle, a house (now that the nest box is taken out), and a plastic baby toy. I don't have hay racks for any of the rabbits yet, but those are in the works so the hay is being put into the houses. They get fed their salad (with a rabbit cookie every other day) in the morning and hay twice a day.

I am at a loss as to why she started doing this. My pet rabbit has started to do it as well, they are in hutches next to each other. How can I get her to stop? I don't want her to hurt her paws. None of the rabbits nails are long enough to warrant clipping yet.
 
Put the nest box back in right away, I leave it in for a week after the due day at least, and several times I've been very grateful that I have. That sounds like possible nesting behavior, especially since it started a few days ago.
 
If she is using it as a potty you may have put it in her potty corner (may need to switch corners. You can always dump it out daily if you still have an issue with her dirtying it.
 
I agree with RR Minisatins.. the average pregnancy is 31days but can range fr 28 to 38 some here have reported 40 days. :x
Digging at least for my does is always a nesting behavior.... she may be digging at the door because that is where she saw the nest go... some does will occasionally drop a berry in the box..I don't worry about that..as long as she isn't urinating in it...
 
cmfarm":q3vzq3eb said:
If she is using it as a potty you may have put it in her potty corner (may need to switch corners. You can always dump it out daily if you still have an issue with her dirtying it.

I tried both those things and she still went in it.

katiebear":q3vzq3eb said:
some does will occasionally drop a berry in the box..I don't worry about that..as long as she isn't urinating in it...

She was digging at the door with the box still in the hutch, and she was urinating in the nest box.
 
That would make today day 32- I vote for putting the nest box back in. She might just surprise you.
 
Syberchick70":18w8r972 said:
Maybe she's got Spring Fever and wants to be bred?

Maybe, her hutch is next to the bucks.

Marinea":18w8r972 said:
That would make today day 32- I vote for putting the nest box back in. She might just surprise you.

I hope she does. I have some straw that I am going to put in rather then the Timothy I usually give them (In hopes that she does.
 
some does dig for nesting, some does dig when they want to "create babies".
if she's not preggers.. breed her NOW.
if she is preggers give her a whole whack of straw or hay to mess around with. Then nestbox or no, if she has kits she'll have a place to put them. AND if she does built a nest you know where to put the nestbox... one that has been THOROUGHLY cleaned and doesn't smell like a litter box. :)
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. I put her back in with the buck while I cleaned out the best box and fold it with Timothy. I wanted to fill it with hay but unfortunately my hay was all molded, so she got Timothy. When I checked on them after putting the box in; the buck was grooming her, particularly her tail area.

When I opened his hutch she essentially jumped into my arms and snuggled (stuck her head in the crook of my elbow) me and when I put her into her hutch she jumped on top of the nest box and daintly nibbled on the Timothy while looking at me like I scarred her for life. There was a few tufts of fur floating around the bucks cage floor but I couldn't tell where it came from; if it was him or her. I'll check on them tomorrow as I give them their salad.

I'll let you know in the morning <br /><br /> -- Wed Mar 04, 2015 2:11 pm -- <br /><br /> Here's an update on Roxie.

It's been a few days and still no popples. She has however started making haystaches and stopped eating all the hay in the nest box. Still drinking water like crazy; I had to give her the 32 Oz water bottle instead of her 8 Oz which I was filling two or three times a day, her eating has been less then normal but her berries look fine. She is still nice to me but has become standoffish to DaBunnah; whom before today she would let him hop around her cage and they would groom eachother. She actually growled at him. Fingers crossed I might have popples soon
 
By this post you are at day 34. That is still to soon to give up. I believe that the latest was 40 days. Anywhere between 28 and 38 is considered normal..hang in there.. ;)
 

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