Our last litter was a surprise and we were unprepared with a nesting box. We used what we had on hand which was a plastic dishpan and the doe used it as a litter box and the kits froze before we realized what was happening. We removed the doe and kits from the male rabbits when we first discovered the litter, however she apparently got pregnant again before we removed her and we found another surprise litter today. My husband is building a nesting box now but how do we keep her from using it as a litter box?
Doe used nesting box as a litter box help!
- Thread starter KaceyP79
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This is just a guess but I think she'll stop since there are kits there. I've never had a real nestbox. I put expecting does in cages with solid bottom areas and put some kind of cardboard or wooden box in there. If I have them indoors in plastic bottom indoor cages I just give them lots of hay to build their own nests. I tilt the cage a little so any pee will drain away from the nest.
You want to check you kits to make sure she's not peeing on them. Poop won't hurt them but being wet with pee in the cold weather will kill them.
You want to check you kits to make sure she's not peeing on them. Poop won't hurt them but being wet with pee in the cold weather will kill them.
Thank you, that is what happened to the last litter, we came home one night from church and they were too cold to live, even after warming them back up. We lost the whole litter and that is when we realized that she was using it as a litter box. They were cool earlier when we discovered this litter, so we brought them in and warmed them up, while my husband built a nesting box. I brought her in and flipped her to let them eat. Now they are warm with full bellies I will keep a close eye on this litter hopefully we will not loose any.
:bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop:
:bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop:
Make sure your not putting the box in her potty corner. If she is doing it anyway try putting in the nest box along with a dish pan for a litter box.
TF3
Well-known member
With my gals who used the box for their business, they quit once real nesting started and babies came 
Some are fussier than others about location, it seems.
Glad all are well!
Some are fussier than others about location, it seems.
Glad all are well!
I've heard many people claim that it peeing on the babies is to hide their scent, but frankly, that never made any sense to me.
A wild doe peeing on her kits would kill them just as readily as a domestic doe doing the same, and I think, smelly doe urine would be a perfect way to ATTRACT predators.
Rabbits tend to hide their nest and stay away as much as possible. A threatened doe might eat newborns, but I don't think she would intentionally pee on them from predator-fear. I've never seen any evidence that wild rabbits do that, anyway.
So, I tend to view nestbox pottying as a housekeeping issue, or else, a territorial problem. (Rabbits sometimes use urine/feces to mark their territory to other rabbits.)
A small nestbox (just large enough to turn around in) with a wire bottom(to drain pee) filled with straw (for the very best drainage and the most insulation to keep kits warm) might solve the problem for you.
That is what I'd try anyway, if I wasn't so heavy-handed about simply culling all issues.
A wild doe peeing on her kits would kill them just as readily as a domestic doe doing the same, and I think, smelly doe urine would be a perfect way to ATTRACT predators.
Rabbits tend to hide their nest and stay away as much as possible. A threatened doe might eat newborns, but I don't think she would intentionally pee on them from predator-fear. I've never seen any evidence that wild rabbits do that, anyway.
So, I tend to view nestbox pottying as a housekeeping issue, or else, a territorial problem. (Rabbits sometimes use urine/feces to mark their territory to other rabbits.)
A small nestbox (just large enough to turn around in) with a wire bottom(to drain pee) filled with straw (for the very best drainage and the most insulation to keep kits warm) might solve the problem for you.
That is what I'd try anyway, if I wasn't so heavy-handed about simply culling all issues.
An option I often use with first time moms and when the weather is cold is to bring in the nestbox and take it out twice a day for feedings. I do that for the first two weeks. It can prevent a lot of problems.
Thanks everyone, it was supposed to get down in the 40's here last night, I checked them every couple of hours up till 1 am and they were nice warm and dry. I checked early this morning still warm and dry and full little bellies. She is doing her business in her regular corner. Looks like we might have better luck with this litter.
Congratulations on the litter! I'm glad everything seems to be going well this time.
We lost one baby during the cold spell, little guy got pushed or wandered out of the nest and I found him the next morning. Others are doing good, I have 2 at 4oz ea, 1 at 4.6 oz and one little guy at 3.6 oz. How do I know if I should start supplementing feeding the little guy? They were all the same size at birth except for a grey, who was the biggest of the litter. Three of them have caught up with him now, and one surpassed him.
