Moving kits from burrow to nest box

So my rabbit just had her first litter on October 31st! It’s my first time with a rabbit pregnancy too, so I hope this isn’t a dumb question to ask.
I’ve been letting my doe out of her cage and into an exercise run for a few hours each day. At around day 15-16 of her pregnancy she dug a burrow overnight and the next day was stashing hay. I thought it was a sign of a false pregnancy, but I put a nest box in her cage anyway. She never touched the nesting box and ended up birthing her kits in the underground burrow instead. The problem is I just didn’t expect to have kits in the ground, so I would have to find a way to baby proof the whole exercise pen before they get old enough to come out. Also, there’s been sudden heavy rains where I live- started the day they were born (of course)- and I’m worried the burrow will get flooded out!
Has anyone tried moving kits into a nesting box that weren’t born in one? I’m worried that my doe won’t recognize the kits as hers if I do that, since her cage is a good few feet away from where she dug the burrow.

Any input or advice greatly appreciated!

Maybe try to protect the nest from the rain.

Why didn't you keep her in her cage if you knew she was going to have babies? And why did you think it was a false pregnancy?

RabbitsOfTheCreek said:

Why didn't you keep her in her cage if you knew she was going to have babies? And why did you think it was a false pregnancy?

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Yeah looking back I wish I had done that. Since she’s used to getting her exercise time I thought I would only have to confine her for the last two weeks or so. Some things I read on here and other places online said that nesting behavior at 2 weeks or before is a sign of false pregnancy. It was an accidental breeding anyway- my male got into her yard on the 1st so I didn’t actually witness the breeding and since neither of them had been bred before it seemed likely that she might have not been pregnant.

Next time I’ll definitely keep her in for the entire 4 weeks.

Cosima said:

Maybe try to protect the nest from the rain.

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Definitely- I set up some plastic bin lids that are redirecting the water away from it. I think you’re right that for now the best thing I can do it to try to keep it as dry as possible. Thank you

My husband has rabbits in a colony. It is a first as mine are all caged. Last week with all the rain, their burrow flooded. Thankfully the only kits are old enough and were not in the hole. It is still flooded. Concerned with future kindles, we are now faced with moving the colony to cages since the water table level seems to be so high here. Water just accumulates everywhere.

I personally would move the babies into a nesting box and into her cage. But.....how far down are they in the burrow? Tough call!

I had success moving a litter of 5 kits into a nest box, though in different circumstances. The doe was a freebie and I had no idea she was expecting until the kits were on the floor of the cage. We quickly got her a cardboard box with hay and put them in. It was September and luckily, it wasn't that cold as I'm in MN. The mother rallied and figured it out and they all made it. They were born about 8 pm while I was out doing chores and noticed the commotion. The mother had pulled no fur for the nest and still, they were just fine. Best of luck, there are always surprises with rabbits.

Buknee said:

My husband has rabbits in a colony. It is a first as mine are all caged. Last week with all the rain, their burrow flooded. Thankfully the only kits are old enough and were not in the hole. It is still flooded. Concerned with future kindles, we are now faced with moving the colony to cages since the water table level seems to be so high here. Water just accumulates everywhere.

I personally would move the babies into a nesting box and into her cage. But.....how far down are they in the burrow? Tough call!

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That’s awesome that you have both colony and cage rabbits! Thanks for the input, and I’m sorry to hear that you’re having flooding issues as well. Our water table is really high too and it’s a constant struggle, not just for the rabbits but also the house and garden.
Luckily my doe didn’t dig that far down. The nest seems to be only about a foot underground, but I’ve been nervous about manipulating it too much. When the kits are a week old I might try to look again and see how they’re doing. And I’ll just watch the burrow and move them if the flooding gets bad. If it’s between that and drowning it would be worth the try.

Thanks again! I appreciate your advice.

BlueberryApples said:

I had success moving a litter of 5 kits into a nest box, though in different circumstances. The doe was a freebie and I had no idea she was expecting until the kits were on the floor of the cage. We quickly got her a cardboard box with hay and put them in. It was September and luckily, it wasn't that cold as I'm in MN. The mother rallied and figured it out and they all made it. They were born about 8 pm while I was out doing chores and noticed the commotion. The mother had pulled no fur for the nest and still, they were just fine. Best of luck, there are always surprises with rabbits.

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Wow! Your doe must have really good instincts. I’m glad she was able to figure it out and keep the kits healthy in the end, even with no fur.
Thank you for the input! You’re right, rabbits always have surprises in store for us lol.

Juci said:

That’s awesome that you have both colony and cage rabbits! Thanks for the input, and I’m sorry to hear that you’re having flooding issues as well. Our water table is really high too and it’s a constant struggle, not just for the rabbits but also the house and garden.
Luckily my doe didn’t dig that far down. The nest seems to be only about a foot underground, but I’ve been nervous about manipulating it too much. When the kits are a week old I might try to look again and see how they’re doing. And I’ll just watch the burrow and move them if the flooding gets bad. If it’s between that and drowning it would be worth the try.

Thanks again! I appreciate your advice.

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You are welcome. Hubby has a colony for dog food rabbits. Mine are for our own consumption and selling.
I agree, keep watch. If you can keep them in their original nest for the first week, that would be good. In my book it is impossible to keep younger kits alive if the mother rejects them.

I moved our billy goat into the woodshed tonight because he got flooded out of his shelter. Hopefully the woodshed is still standing in the morning. LOL

Juci said:

That’s awesome that you have both colony and cage rabbits! Thanks for the input, and I’m sorry to hear that you’re having flooding issues as well. Our water table is really high too and it’s a constant struggle, not just for the rabbits but also the house and garden.
Luckily my doe didn’t dig that far down. The nest seems to be only about a foot underground, but I’ve been nervous about manipulating it too much. When the kits are a week old I might try to look again and see how they’re doing. And I’ll just watch the burrow and move them if the flooding gets bad. If it’s between that and drowning it would be worth the try.

Thanks again! I appreciate your advice.

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Meet Aqua. Incredibly, I found this little kit running around the colony tonight. She managed to survive several days in the burrow even though it is flooded. The entrance is still filled with water. She was pretty soaked when I found her, but otherwise looks great. Doing some research I learned that rabbits can swim when needed. I am guessing she survived on her momma's poop and the nest is in an air pocket. Or maybe her momma was still going in through the water to feed her. Now we will watch to see if any others appear.

Buknee said:

Meet Aqua. Incredibly, I found this little kit running around the colony tonight. She managed to survive several days in the burrow even though it is flooded. The entrance is still filled with water. She was pretty soaked when I found her, but otherwise looks great. Doing some research I learned that rabbits can swim when needed. I am guessing she survived on her momma's poop and the nest is in an air pocket. Or maybe her momma was still going in through the water to feed her. Now we will watch to see if any others appear.

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Omg what a cutie! She’s such a lucky bun to have survived the flood and been found. I love the name too, so perfect.
Rabbits are so resilient. And that’s interesting about the swimming, it’s kind of hard to picture, lol.

Buknee said:

You are welcome. Hubby has a colony for dog food rabbits. Mine are for our own consumption and selling.
I agree, keep watch. If you can keep them in their original nest for the first week, that would be good. In my book it is impossible to keep younger kits alive if the mother rejects them.

I moved our billy goat into the woodshed tonight because he got flooded out of his shelter. Hopefully the woodshed is still standing in the morning. LOL

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Yeah, I have some kitten formula on hand but I’ve also heard that the survival rate is pretty low in the younger ones. It’s still raining here but only 2 days to go! The puddles are getting bigger but I think they’ll be able to make it until day 7 at least.

Poor goat lol, I hope he still has his shelter when things dry up. We also had a couple of goats before the rabbits, and they sure do hate water. They would find the most dry spot and hunker down.

Juci said:

Yeah, I have some kitten formula on hand but I’ve also heard that the survival rate is pretty low in the younger ones. It’s still raining here but only 2 days to go! The puddles are getting bigger but I think they’ll be able to make it until day 7 at least.

Poor goat lol, I hope he still has his shelter when things dry up. We also had a couple of goats before the rabbits, and they sure do hate water. They would find the most dry spot and hunker down.

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Unless the nipple for the formula bottle is super tiny, it is really difficult. I tried using one when a first time momma had a litter of eleven. The nipple was way too big. Thankfully I had two other does that just kindled and I gave them each a couple until I knew that momma could handle them. I underestimated her. She did great.

Poor baby