8 days old and getting mischievous!!

[flipp]

Hi guys, well my dear little babies are now 8 days old and beginning to explore! What do you all recommend at this stage? My doe built her nest in the inside compartment of her hutch, inside a cat litter box. I can see it won't be long before the bigger of the kits can escape the nest completely and potentially the inside compartment as he is the most adventurous of the two and he is climbing on top of his sibling to get out of the hole their mother dug! What I want to know is if he does get out completely will he know how to get back? There is a nice sloping exit/entry the doe has made to the inside compartment with hay so I don't think it will be physically impossible but will he know his way back especially when their eyes aren't open yet??!! My doe doesn't live on wire, she has a cosy hutch with the bottom wadded up with newspaper and then loads of hay on top of that so the babies won't be able to get their little feet stuck or anything if they do make it out of the inside compartment, but I would hate to think they couldn't find their way back to their cosy nest. I still have them all inside so they shouldn't freeze and they do have some fur now. Is it still critical they stay in their nest at this age? Also, I sometimes hear little chewing sounds coming from the nest, would they be starting to nibble hay at this age?

 

[Flemishstar]

I dont use kindle boxes,....I never had luck with it, the risk of this, is when the kits start to wander or get stuck to the nipple andget pulled out, you need to check on them and chuck them back in the nest atleast 3 times a day, when they are blind the wander around aimlessly ...somethimes they could fin theo way back, most times not,.... so until their eyes open keep throwing them back in

 

[flipp]

Where do your does make their nests? I don't have a purpose built nest box with high sides and so far none of the babies have been dragged out with her. When they open their eyes is it not as much of a problem if they leave the nest? Sorry, first time doe and my first ever litter! Also, if you freshen up the nest box with clean hay and bedding and keep the clean fur, does this upset the doe?

 

[Flemishstar]

I have Hutches not a metal cage, and my hutches have wood floors, and fence in the front and one side... Some how she figures out to make the nest in the corner thats closed on each side, I also have a lot of hay in there as well , like you, she makes her own HUGE nest and lines it, when they open their eyes and a few days later, when they get REALLY mobile and can actually walk fast, its ok if they scurry around, once they hear an unfamiliar noise , its amazing how they run back into the nest, Until they are 3 weeks old id keep throwing them back in, you can clean around the nest...and Id take both hands, and widen the nest a little so they can spread out and get some air, Make it a little taller around the sides...build it up with some hay, I don't mess up her nest completely just fix it up a bit for her

 

[flipp]

Okay so now my babies are 9 days old and their nest is starting to get a bit smelly - I think it's a pee smell. Will my doe be upset if I really get stuck in and clean it out for them? I would hate her to stop feeding them or anything else to go wrong now!

 

[Miss M]

Nope, go ahead and clean it out and put fresh material in there for them. If there is clean fur, save it and put it back in.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

A lot of our members routinely clean the box at around nine days to prevent the kits from getting "nestbox eye". The doe wont mind a bit.

If you can get pelleted pine horse bedding or wood stove pellets (no accelerant added), you can add that to the nest to absorb the urine. I always add it to the nest hollow the day they are born when I clean out the bedding that is wet from the birth, and rarely have to clean my nests at all.