1st liter!

We have our first liter! She kindled Sunday around 9:30pm. It was a bit of a surprise because she didn’t take the first time and I would have sworn it wasn’t a successful mounting the last time either. I’m glad I left the nesting box in her cage just in case (she didn’t start pulling fur until about an hour before).

She had 8 and so far all are looking healthy! Mom is a Californian, Dad is a New Zealand (or New Zealand mix, not entirely sure).


I had a few questions (I’ve looked everywhere and can’t find the notes I took when we started this journey).

1. I’m giving her unlimited pellets, Timothy hay, BOSS, oats, and calf manna. With the occasional romaine lettuce or dandelion leaf. Is there anything else to help her stay fit?
2. Her food and water bowls are lower. Do I need to move them when the kits eventually start moving around? Or is it okay for them to eat the pellets?
3. I’ve read different things to do with the nest box. Turn it on its side at day 10-12, remove at week 3-4. Any advice? It has a baby scrapper and a top ledge/roof on the back side.
4. Keeping kits cool: The cages are in my screened porch and I have curtains up to filter the sun on some of the panels to keep the sun from being directly on the rabbits. There is still shade and a nice breeze with the fans. We have a couple of days coming up where it thinks it’s summer (Fri/Sat look to be 89, which is hot for now). I’ve used ice bottles for the big rabbits, but not sure other than fans and removing fur from the nest, the best way to make sure the kits don’t overheat.

Thank you so much! I’m still trying to find the notes and will be researching all of this again, but thought I’d ask to get help quicker for the kits. Pic for attention. (This was yesterday morning(Monday), they looked fuller today.)

For 2 pellets are fine as long as the Doe has been eating them for a while

RabbitsOfTheCreek said:

For 2 pellets are fine as long as the Doe has been eating them for a while

Click to expand...

Thanks! She has been on this feed for 4-6 months now.

Congratulations!!!

tepes said:

I’m giving her unlimited pellets, Timothy hay, BOSS, oats, and calf manna. With the occasional romaine lettuce or dandelion leaf. Is there anything else to help her stay fit?

Click to expand...

That should do the trick; I just wouldn't change anything at this point. Once she's weaned the litter, you might think about limiting her pellets to what she'll eat in 24hrs, and backing off or even entirely eliminating the BOSS, oats, and calf manna, though, as that diet is likely to make her very fat very quickly. Fat does are less likely to conceive, less likely to have large litters, and more likely to have stillborns or die themselves during kindling.

tepes said:

Her food and water bowls are lower. Do I need to move them when the kits eventually start moving around? Or is it okay for them to eat the pellets?

Click to expand...

I would leave them where they are. Kits start nibbling on solids (dam's poo, hay, pellets) pretty early, and as @RabbitsOfTheCreek says, as long as the doe has been eating it, it should be fine for the kits.

tepes said:

I’ve read different things to do with the nest box. Turn it on its side at day 10-12, remove at week 3-4. Any advice? It has a baby scrapper and a top ledge/roof on the back side.

Click to expand...

Either of those approaches can work. I haven't used the side-turn myself but it sounds like a decent approach if you have problems with the kits getting out but not back in, although I don't care for the idea of pee-soaked nest box walls. If you have a baby scraper, most likely any kits that pop out will be able to get back in, as they seem to use the scraper as a landing pad. I watch what the kits do and if they seem happy and clean, I leave the box in for longer, otherwise I pull it by about day 18 unless it's very cold out. (Doesn't sound like that'll be a problem for you this time!)

tepes said:

Keeping kits cool: The cages are in my screened porch and I have curtains up to filter the sun on some of the panels to keep the sun from being directly on the rabbits. There is still shade and a nice breeze with the fans. We have a couple of days coming up where it thinks it’s summer (Fri/Sat look to be 89, which is hot for now). I’ve used ice bottles for the big rabbits, but not sure other than fans and removing fur from the nest, the best way to make sure the kits don’t overheat.

Click to expand...

Rabbits can't sweat so I'm not sure fans will do much for them, and you certainly don't want to wet the babies down with a sprayer. But after the kits are a few days old, they get pretty good at uncovering themselves if they're too warm, so it might not be necessary to remove fur from the nest. 90F isn't that hot for babies.

But if I had worries about overheating, I'd be inclined to pull the nest box into the house during the heat of the afternoon. Does usually only feed the bunnies once or twice a day, and most don't seem to miss the kits at all if the box isn't in the cage with them 24/7.

Alaska Satin said:

Congratulations!!!

That should do the trick; I just wouldn't change anything at this point. Once she's weaned the litter, you might think about limiting her pellets to what she'll eat in 24hrs, and backing off or even entirely eliminating the BOSS, oats, and calf manna, though, as that diet is likely to make her very fat very quickly. Fat does are less likely to conceive, less likely to have large litters, and more likely to have stillborns or die themselves during kindling.


I would leave them where they are. Kits start nibbling on solids (dam's poo, hay, pellets) pretty early, and as @RabbitsOfTheCreek says, as long as the doe has been eating it, it should be fine for the kits.


Either of those approaches can work. I haven't used the side-turn myself but it sounds like a decent approach if you have problems with the kits getting out but not back in, although I don't care for the idea of pee-soaked nest box walls. If you have a baby scraper, most likely any kits that pop out will be able to get back in, as they seem to use the scraper as a landing pad. I watch what the kits do and if they seem happy and clean, I leave the box in for longer, otherwise I pull it by about day 18 unless it's very cold out. (Doesn't sound like that'll be a problem for you this time!)


Rabbits can't sweat so I'm not sure fans will do much for them, and you certainly don't want to wet the babies down with a sprayer. But after the kits are a few days old, they get pretty good at uncovering themselves if they're too warm, so it might not be necessary to remove fur from the nest. 90F isn't that hot for babies.

But if I had worries about overheating, I'd be inclined to pull the nest box into the house during the heat of the afternoon. Does usually only feed the bunnies once or twice a day, and most don't seem to miss the kits at all if the box isn't in the cage with them 24/7.

Click to expand...

Thank you!
She only got the extras once I saw she had kits (sunflower seeds were a treat here and there, 1-3 at most).
They have already been wiggling out of the fur during the day. Some of them are so active already!

tepes said:

We have our first liter! She kindled Sunday around 9:30pm. It was a bit of a surprise because she didn’t take the first time and I would have sworn it wasn’t a successful mounting the last time either. I’m glad I left the nesting box in her cage just in case (she didn’t start pulling fur until about an hour before).

She had 8 and so far all are looking healthy! Mom is a Californian, Dad is a New Zealand (or New Zealand mix, not entirely sure).


I had a few questions (I’ve looked everywhere and can’t find the notes I took when we started this journey).

1. I’m giving her unlimited pellets, Timothy hay, BOSS, oats, and calf manna. With the occasional romaine lettuce or dandelion leaf. Is there anything else to help her stay fit?
2. Her food and water bowls are lower. Do I need to move them when the kits eventually start moving around? Or is it okay for them to eat the pellets?
3. I’ve read different things to do with the nest box. Turn it on its side at day 10-12, remove at week 3-4. Any advice? It has a baby scrapper and a top ledge/roof on the back side.
4. Keeping kits cool: The cages are in my screened porch and I have curtains up to filter the sun on some of the panels to keep the sun from being directly on the rabbits. There is still shade and a nice breeze with the fans. We have a couple of days coming up where it thinks it’s summer (Fri/Sat look to be 89, which is hot for now). I’ve used ice bottles for the big rabbits, but not sure other than fans and removing fur from the nest, the best way to make sure the kits don’t overheat.

Thank you so much! I’m still trying to find the notes and will be researching all of this again, but thought I’d ask to get help quicker for the kits. Pic for attention. (This was yesterday morning(Monday), they looked fuller today.)

Click to expand...

They all look great. Mama will do all the work now. If it gets hot she will uncover them. She is feeding so that's great! I leave my nest box alone and they all figure it out. Just watch and you will know. Congrats. I like the Cali/Rex mix. That's what I have and all babies have been sweet and healthy.

Congrats on your litter!!
As far as kits overheating I wouldn't worry about it in the slightest. My dogs found a nest of brand new wild kits (eyes not yet open) in a mulch pile in the yard in July - it was during our streak of 110 days - they were all alive and thriving (until the dogs found 'em... dang dogs). It would have been significantly warmer inside the mulch than the ambient temp, as the pile had been decomposing for months by that point.

I typically remove the nest box when I see kits getting out consistently, that's usually around 3 weeks. My nest boxes are plastic baskets that I drilled drain holes in the bottom (though I am planning to line the sides & edges with hardware cloth, as I have one doe that insists on eating the plastic and I don't like it). Sometimes in the week before I pull it, I put a piece of 2x4 in next to the nest box to act as a step for them to get back in. I check the kits and the box daily and spot-clean as needed but most of my does are remarkably good about not using their nest as a litter box as long as I've installed it far from their preferred potty corner.

Phrick said:

Congrats on your litter!!
As far as kits overheating I wouldn't worry about it in the slightest. My dogs found a nest of brand new wild kits (eyes not yet open) in a mulch pile in the yard in July - it was during our streak of 110 days - they were all alive and thriving (until the dogs found 'em... dang dogs). It would have been significantly warmer inside the mulch than the ambient temp, as the pile had been decomposing for months by that point.

I typically remove the nest box when I see kits getting out consistently, that's usually around 3 weeks. My nest boxes are plastic baskets that I drilled drain holes in the bottom (though I am planning to line the sides & edges with hardware cloth, as I have one doe that insists on eating the plastic and I don't like it). Sometimes in the week before I pull it, I put a piece of 2x4 in next to the nest box to act as a step for them to get back in. I check the kits and the box daily and spot-clean as needed but most of my does are remarkably good about not using their nest as a litter box as long as I've installed it far from their preferred potty corner.

Click to expand...

Thank you! I was not expecting it to be 90 mid September!
I have a feeling some of them will be adventurous early, they’re already squirming all around (they’re mom is super active, dad is way more chill, lol)

Scooter1A said:

They all look great. Mama will do all the work now. If it gets hot she will uncover them. She is feeding so that's great! I leave my nest box alone and they all figure it out. Just watch and you will know. Congrats. I like the Cali/Rex mix. That's what I have and all babies have been sweet and healthy.

Click to expand...

She’s surprised me in a good way how she’s doing for her first time. (She’s super energetic, almost fearless, very sassy. I’m very curious to see if she mellows at all after having kits.

tepes said:

She’s surprised me in a good way how she’s doing for her first time. (She’s super energetic, almost fearless, very sassy. I’m very curious to see if she mellows at all after having kits.

Click to expand...

One of my best mommas was squirrley and stand-off-ish until her first litter weaned. She would always run from me when I tried to pet, and when I did get a hand to touch her she would flinch with every stroke. When I checked on her litter she would make threatening squeaks and growls. But after that litter was big enough to not need the nest, she completely changed. Now she greets me at the cage door and practically begs for pets and loves, and her subsequent litters she’s been much more docile about me checking on them. It’s crazy how they can change!