Doe due right off ... need advice about nesting box

[fuzzywuzzy]

My doe is due today...and she's not showing the least bit interest in using it. I put it in and she starts making a nest in an opposite corner. My question is... is a nesting box necessary? Is there a problem with letting her nest on the wire? I put enough hay in that she's not actually sitting on wire.

I don't know what to do at this point...advice and information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[LauraNJ]

I'd move the nest box to where she is trying to make her nest. put what she did into the box.

 

[fuzzywuzzy]

I've have moved the nesting box and every time she'll find a different spot other than the box. I'm at a loss, I don't want to keep bugging her. She's not started pulling fur yet, she's just making round nests where ever the box isn't.

 

[skysthelimit]

You can put in more than one box.
Or fill the cage with nesting material so there is no bare wire. Even in the summer, kits can get chilled and die.

 

[Miss M]

One of my does did this her first time... I put the nestbox in, she removed the material and built elsewhere. I put her nest in the box and moved the box to where she had built her nest, she removed the material and built elsewhere. Over and over.

Finally, I just left her alone, but when her due date got close, we started watching her like a hawk. We caught her in the middle of kindling in her nest on the wire. I think we had to rescue a couple that wandered out of the nest and onto the bare wire. When she was finished, we removed the kits, the nest, and the box, and rebuilt her nest in the box and put her kits in it (with another doe's fur, since she hadn't pulled any).

She finally accepted that the box was the nest at that point. But yes, you do want the nest in an enclosed area. Even if she builds a wonderful nest on the wire, kits wander like crazy, and they can chill and die quickly.

You might try putting in a small cardboard box for a nest, either open on top or glued shut and a hole cut in near the top. Maybe she'd find that acceptable?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I had a doe do the same thing, and put two nestboxes in her cage so she didn't really have any choice but to build in one of them.

If you don't have two boxes, I would line the bottom of the cage with a towel or a piece of cardboard and then add plenty of bedding to it. Also cut strips of cardboard about 4" high and long enough to fit the sides of the cage. You can use zip ties to secure it.

Once she is done kindling, gather up her nest and kits and put them into a nestbox.

If you are able to keep a close eye on her during the process, you may notice that the kits wander off even before she is finished birthing the others. If so, you can remove them to a safe area (temporary nest, or put them in your shirt) until she is done.

Good luck! :clover:

 

[fuzzywuzzy]

Thanks for the advice and tips... I'm gonna watch her like a hawk...from a distance I'm hoping she'll take to the box at some point. This isn't her first litter and I can't for the life of me figure out why she wont use the nesting box. Maybe I'll get a hold of her previous owner while I'm at it... just hated to bother him since he's been having some health issues.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I had a doe do that her second time, too. It was a real shock because she had them in the nest the first time.

I think they just like to torture us. When I first started raising rabbits, I decided to keep detailed notes on their nesting behavior so I would know that when I saw a haystache, or digging, or fur pulling, the kits were x-amount of time until birth.

Sadly- it doesn't work. The does change up their routines just to make us suffer. :angry:

My does could care less if I am around when they kindle. They often are doing so when I check them in the morning. If you have any chores to do in the vicinity of the rabbits that would be a good way to watch her without hovering over her.

Good luck! Can't wait to see your little popples!

 

[fuzzywuzzy]

The does change up their routines just to make us suffer.

That's probably the best piece of advice I've gotten so far!!! :laugh:<br /><br />__________ Tue Jul 23, 2013 1:12 pm __________<br /><br />Here she is getting her nesting material.