Doe having first litter & messing all over the floor

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honeybunnies

honeybunnies

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I have an indoor Lop doe, that is now 7 months old & is due to have her first litter any time now.
For the past week, she has been doing her wee all over the linoleum flooring in her enclosure, instead of in the litter box like she usually does.
I don't understand why she is doing this & I keep mopping it up. Her droppings have also become somewhat larger than usual as well & she is making somewhat more of a mess on the floor with them, than usual as well?

Can anyone relate to this & help me to understand what's going on please?
 
That belly full of kits is pressing on her bladder and she might not be able to make it to the litter box on time.

She also cannot reach back to eat her cecotropes as well as she use to so more are ending up on the floor and getting smeared around.

My does tend to gorge on hay a week or so before giving birth and I have noticed their poops do tend to be larger around birthing, most go back to normal size after birthing but one doe poops stay big until the kits are weaned.
 
She may alos be thinking that litter box looks like a good place for a nest, so isn't messing it up. Give her a nest box and see if that helps.
 
Thank you both for your replies! You are both right about the nest box & the poop!

This morning she is intending to use the litter tray as a nest box, despite having a really good nest box in her enclosure, which is nice & large & clean. I moved it away from the wall a little to give her the option of having a nest behind it, to resemble a tunnel, if she preferred.

I took the litter tray out & washed it, put litter back in it & put it back in place. She is insisting on using the litter box for her nest. It doesn't make sense to me as her water bottle is above the litter box as well.

Anyway, I will let her be an animal & let her do her thing :)
 
The litter box is more familiar to her, she thinks it's safer that the relatively new nest box. Put litter in the nest box, she may use it for a litter box. Critters will be critters LOL.
 
Dood":2llosgy7 said:
My does tend to gorge on hay a week or so before giving birth and I have noticed their poops do tend to be larger around birthing, most go back to normal size after birthing but one doe poops stay big until the kits are weaned.
Click to expand...

I have two does that I will be putting the nextboxes into their cages on Friday. I have noticed an increase in their hay consumption and one of the does (who seems wider) had some soft poop stuck to the wire on the bottom of her chosen potty corner. I was concerned but this actually sounds normal for impending popples! :p
 
If she's not using it anyway I'd be tempted to just take out the litter box so she will properly use a nestbox. Without high sides on the nest kits will wander out of it and while that's not a huge deal in climate controlled temps it can still be life threatening if not discovered soon enough. Normally a rabbit would dig a hole down in the ground to hold the kits from escaping. Going up in to a nest box with high sides is less instinctive. They have to be given no other options and taught to use one before they will consistently do so with future litters despite other options available.
 
My doe had her kits in the cleaned out litter tray, that I fixed up for her this morning. All is going well so far. I haven't touched the nest yet. It looks like there may be 4 or 5 little ones in there.

I have given her another litter tray with litter in it, to do her urine & droppings in. The nest box is still in the enclosure. She will probably go in it, as she pleases, or jump on top of the roof of it! I've also noticed her droppings have gone back to normal size, straight after having the kits. Interesting :)
 

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