Shelfing Litters

I’ve seen in passing posts and comments about Shelfing litters i.e. bringing in the nesting boxes full of kits into a warmer environment so as to avoid frozen kits/escapees. We’re hoping to do that with our upcoming litters given how rough our litters went last winter. I just had practical questions.
When should we bring the kits in? Sundown or just before we all retire for the night? And when does the nursing doe need the litter back? Would it be too late to bring them in after sunrise when things begin to warm up a little?

We kinda had a rough breeding cycle last winter but we could really use the meat and we’re hoping for better results this season.

Any tips? We really appreciate the experienced input.

Br. Fidelis Ebeyer said:

I’ve seen in passing posts and comments about Shelfing litters i.e. bringing in the nesting boxes full of kits into a warmer environment so as to avoid frozen kits/escapees. We’re hoping to do that with our upcoming litters given how rough our litters went last winter. I just had practical questions.
When should we bring the kits in? Sundown or just before we all retire for the night? And when does the nursing doe need the litter back? Would it be too late to bring them in after sunrise when things begin to warm up a little?

We kinda had a rough breeding cycle last winter but we could really use the meat and we’re hoping for better results this season.

Any tips? We really appreciate the experienced input.

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Hey, me again.

When I'm shelving litters, I keep the box inside almost 24/7 until the kits are safe if they pop out (about 2 weeks). I only take them out to the doe in the morning and in the evening, and I wait for the doe to hop in, feed them, and hop out. Then I take them back to the house. Sometimes, if the doe doesn't jump in right away (usually it's the evening visit), I'll leave them for an hour or so. But since I am trying to keep accidents from happening, I don't leave them outside any longer than necessary.

Many does feed only once a day, and if the bunnies do miss a second feeding, the doe will be that much more anxious to feed them on the next visit. It doesn't seem to be critical what time of day you take them, but of course it is best if it's consistent.

Alaska Satin said:

Hey, me again.

When I'm shelving litters, I keep the box inside almost 24/7 until the kits are safe if they pop out (about 2 weeks). I only take them out to the doe in the morning and in the evening, and I wait for the doe to hop in, feed them, and hop out. Then I take them back to the house. Sometimes, if the doe doesn't jump in right away (usually it's the evening visit), I'll leave them for an hour or so. But since I am trying to keep accidents from happening, I don't leave them outside any longer than necessary.

Many does feed only once a day, and if the bunnies do miss a second feeding, the doe will be that much more anxious to feed them on the next visit. It doesn't seem to be critical what time of day you take them, but of course it is best if it's consistent.

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Thanks for the tips. I really appreciated experienced advice. So it doesn’t really make a huge difference about what time of day I take the litter to feed? Conceivably could I take them out around midday given it’s the warmest part of the day and see if she’s eager to jump in?

shelving. I leave the kits outside unless it's three or less in a litter. I use an empty cage to house them in and towel over top to keep kits contained once they are at the starting to explore stage (so day 10 on). No towel for wee kits inside a well insulated/furry nest. I give them to the doe during the day as I learned I only have kit loss at night. So they are with mom from 6 until about 6. and then shelved for the rest of the time. Once they hit three weeks they stay with mom full time.

Br. Fidelis Ebeyer said:

Thanks for the tips. I really appreciated experienced advice. So it doesn’t really make a huge difference about what time of day I take the litter to feed? Conceivably could I take them out around midday given it’s the warmest part of the day and see if she’s eager to jump in?

Click to expand...

I try to keep it morning/evening since that's when rabbits are typically active, but honestly, when my kids are doing the job, it has often ended up with the boxes being taken out midday (when, like you say, it tends to be a bit warmer, and here, a lot brighter). I've gone into the barn and seen does feeding their litters at all hours of the day, so I'm guessing the time isn't critical. Different does have different habits and preferences, but when they need to be milked, they're usually good to go. I would think consistency might be more important than the actual time of day, for the kits' sake, but especially to keep from prompting mastitis in a good milking doe.

If you notice that the kits aren't thriving, you might consider taking the box out twice at roughly 12-ish hour intervals. Some does feed bunnies twice a day.

ladysown said:

I give them to the doe during the day as I learned I only have kit loss at night. So they are with mom from 6 until about 6.

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Sadly, I have not had that experience. I've come out during the day and found 10 to 16-day-old kits drowned in the water crock, frozen in a corner of the cage when they popped out but were too cold to get back in the box, etc. If I'm trying to keep kits alive in a situation where I think there's a risk of losing them, I pull out all stops and bring them inside where if they do get out of the box, they won't go torpid within minutes. I've had people ask about the abrupt temperature changes, but I've never had issues with that. The fur is such a great insulator that I doubt the temps inside the nest bowl vary much. It would be interesting to put a thermistor in there to test it, but I can't figure out how to keep the rabbits from finding and evicting and/or chewing it.

I do put their nesting box inside a bigger box once they start exploring and the towel no longer keeps them in the nest box. We've had more than one mini bunny rodeo in our family room when we came out and saw tiny feet disappearing under the couches. That's another thing I like about keeping them in the house - they get a lot of attention, and end up the calmest rabbits of all.