"Babysaver" alternatives????

[Kyle@theWintertime]

Just had a terrible scare!!! Got home, gathered up frozen bottles, and headed out to deliver them to the rabbits...ONLY TO FIND MY BLACK KIT MISSING. Cue the panick!!!! He'd somehow gotten out of the nest box (?!?) and tried crawling out the side of the cage...and got stuck. His beefy little head barely fits through the space and his big fat milk-filled belly was too big to go all the way through. NO idea how long he's been like that, either. In a total frenzy I threw myself on the ground (Nellie's mom-cage is on the bottom row) and began trying to coax him one way or the other. Found out fast that fat tummy won't budge so I had to finagle his chunky head back through. With him still trying to go forward. Those poor tiny ears, I mooshed 'em pretty hard but it was the only way to get him unstuck without squishing his SKULL. Once freed, I looked him over, and so far he seems fine, but...eek!! It's ungodly hot out so I put the nest box in the garage. The otter kit is for sure a peanut...amazing how just one day shows the dramatic difference between the black and the otter. But for now the otter peanut is thriving, he's obviously getting fed (fat tummies make me smile!!!) and he's just as wiggley as the black, so good and vigorous. Unfortunately the angle I was working at, to get the stuck kit out of the wire...it put a lot of pressure on my left shoulder, which began popping and crackling. It hurts like heck right now and is swelling pretty bad. Small price to pay though, to save that wee thing!!!!!!!

So anyways....I'm poor right now and can't afford a roll of baby-saver wire. What would be good alternatives??? I'm almost desperate enough to just zip-tie some cardboard into place until this kit is too big to fit his dern fool head through the wire. Thoughts???

 

[CarsLops]

So glad that you saved him!

The way I built my new cages, I couldn't use babysaver wire because the baby saving part would have run up the sides. So, I just used regular wire and then got a roll of hardware cloth (a 24" wide roll that's 10' long is like $10 at Lowes) and put 4" strips around the cages I have does in. There was plenty left over from the two cages I did, so I'll be able to do two more cages when I have does worth keeping out of my current litters to put in them, plus I was able to make 6 hay racks! Pretty great for $10. I j-clipped the strips on, but zip ties would work well or just cut up the piece of wire that holdS the roll closed when you buy it and use the pieces to tie the hardware cloth on.

 

[Secuono]

Strips of plastic, urine guards, anything will work if it's stiff enough.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

You know I think I have some hardware cloth left over from my a failed garden experiment. AWESOME, I'll just clip some of that onto there. Thanks guys!!!

 

[Cottie]

I used 1/8th inch board in the colony. Just zip-tied it on.

 

[ladysown]

hold old is that kit? eyes open yet?

Best solution I've found for wandering kits, once their eyes are open is to tip the nestbox so they can snuggle as desired.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

The kit is about 48 hours old. It wants to roam though!!! No idea why, it's being fed almost constantly so it isn't hungry. Darn thing somehow got out of the nest box while I had it in the garage and it crawled away and hid in a toolkit. :x I think I'll name it something like "Wanderlust" or "Traveler"...if it doesn't get itself KILLED somehow by wandering off that is!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SatinsRule]

Get some hardware cloth and secure it to the bottom 2-4 inches of the cage walls. If a small kit is going to get out, that is where it normally occurs.

Hardware cloth is generally very cheap and easy to find at any home improvement outlet, feed store, or hardware store. It can be cut very easily, as well as secured with little more than cheap zip ties.

 

[ckcs]

I've lined the inside of my does cages with a square made from 1" x 4". Not had any problems

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

I put hardware cloth (the 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch) all around her cage so no more kits crawling out or getting stuck. Going to do the same to a few other cages...I have does due soon, and I don't want this happening EVER again!!!

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I put hardware cloth (the 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch) all around her cage so no more kits crawling out or getting stuck. Going to do the same to a few other cages...I have does due soon, and I don't want this happening EVER again!!!

Yep, do that to all your doe cages. What happens is the kit latches on and gets pulled out of the box while nursing. Then, since it cannot see, it crawls all over trying to find its way back to the nest, which it never finds, and ends up crawling completely out of the cage. Sometimes into an adjacent cage, sometimes falling onto the floor, etc.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

I put hardware cloth (the 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch) all around her cage so no more kits crawling out or getting stuck. Going to do the same to a few other cages...I have does due soon, and I don't want this happening EVER again!!!

Yep, do that to all your doe cages. What happens is the kit latches on and gets pulled out of the box while nursing. Then, since it cannot see, it crawls all over trying to find its way back to the nest, which it never finds, and ends up crawling completely out of the cage. Sometimes into an adjacent cage, sometimes falling onto the floor, etc.

That still doesn't explain how the little goober was able to get out of the nest box when it was in the garage away from the doe...or how he got INTO the toolbox...unless the kit teleported. I swear, the black kit is a BUSY kit!!!

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I put hardware cloth (the 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch) all around her cage so no more kits crawling out or getting stuck. Going to do the same to a few other cages...I have does due soon, and I don't want this happening EVER again!!!

Yep, do that to all your doe cages. What happens is the kit latches on and gets pulled out of the box while nursing. Then, since it cannot see, it crawls all over trying to find its way back to the nest, which it never finds, and ends up crawling completely out of the cage. Sometimes into an adjacent cage, sometimes falling onto the floor, etc.

That still doesn't explain how the little goober was able to get out of the nest box when it was in the garage away from the doe...or how he got INTO the toolbox...unless the kit teleported. I swear, the black kit is a BUSY kit!!!

:shock: Guess I missed those parts! :lol: Yep, you got your hands full with that one, Kyle!

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

That still doesn't explain how the little goober was able to get out of the nest box when it was in the garage away from the doe...or how he got INTO the toolbox...unless the kit teleported. I swear, the black kit is a BUSY kit!!!

:shock: Guess I missed those parts! :lol: Yep, you got your hands full with that one, Kyle!

I was taking them out of the nest box a few minutes ago to take some pictures, and I set the black kit down...turned away and grabbed the next kit, turned around and OMG the black kit was scuttling away as fast as it could. :shock: I was all "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" :lol: It's a little mover and a shaker!!!! I bet that one will be heck on wheels when it's old enough to actually be out of the nest box for real. :lol: