HELP!! - 8 day old kit out of nest box

[jimmywalt]

We have 2 babies from our holland lop that were born 8 days ago. They have been doing fine and are growing really fast.

This morning my wife checked on them and everything was good. Then about 30 minutes later I checked and found one outside of the nest box. It was all the way around the side of the box on the outside near the back and was scratching like it was trying to get back in. Their eyes aren't open yet, so I know it was lost.

I took some of the hay out of the front part of the nest box so that the front edge (which is 3" tall) hopefully won't allow them to escape just yet. I'm not sure if it crawled out by itself or if it was still hooked to mom after a feeding, but it has me worried now!

What can we do, should we do, at this point to make sure that they stay in the nest box? We both work full time and no one can be at home to constantly watch them.

HELP please................ :bunnyhop:

 

[Dood]

Create a second nest in a shoe box or small tupperware with a lid and air holes that the kits can stay in most of the time and only put them in with their mother twice a day (12 hours apart).

 

[jimmywalt]

Really?

These are our first 2 babies ever so we are new at this. It seems odd to put them in a shoebox and take them from their mom. Won't she reject them? Also we really don't have a place to keep them while we are at work so that they will be safe.

Maybe I should somehow (and I have no clue how) fashion something to the front of the box to make the 3" side higher (maybe 4")???

Thank you.

 

[MaggieJ]

Rabbits do not "mother" in the same way as a dog or cat. Because they are prey animals, they stay away from their kits except at feeding time, typically twice a day. They will be fine separated from their mother.
What do you mean about not having a safe place for them? I'm uncertain from what you are trying to keep them safe.

 

[jimmywalt]

Rabbits do not "mother" in the same way as a dog or cat. Because they are prey animals, they stay away from their kits except at feeding time, typically twice a day. They will be fine separated from their mother.
What do you mean about not having a safe place for them? I'm uncertain from what you are trying to keep them safe.

We don't have another free cage to keep them in. That's the challenge.

Also how does that work if they are away from mom when she "wants" to feed them? How can we expect her to feed them on our "time frame" if we put them into her cage if she's not "in the mood" at that time?

 

[Dood]

It is true some rabbits only feed once a day and she will feed because her teats will be sore, put them with her a second time just incase she is a doe who likes to empty her mammary glands twice a day.

If they are in a shoebox or Tupperware with a lid they cannot escape, even a tall bucket or empty sock drawer will do.

She won't reject them - that is a myth - and even wild rabbits and cottontails won't abandon a litter people have handled.

 

[Marinea]

Maybe I should somehow (and I have no clue how) fashion something to the front of the box to make the 3" side higher (maybe 4")???

We added a piece to the front of our nest boxes. It slants inwards and serves as a "scraper" to hopefully keep any kit inside the box. It adds about an inch to the front box height. So far, it has worked. I don't see kits outside the box until about two weeks of age.

 

[Miss M]

You could also put them in a box that has higher walls than your nestbox, and leave it in the cage with her. The kits would be less likely to get pulled out, and less likely to climb out.

The scraper would accomplish this very neatly, too.

 

[jimmywalt]

Maybe I should somehow (and I have no clue how) fashion something to the front of the box to make the 3" side higher (maybe 4")???

We added a piece to the front of our nest boxes. It slants inwards and serves as a "scraper" to hopefully keep any kit inside the box. It adds about an inch to the front box height. So far, it has worked. I don't see kits outside the box until about two weeks of age.

That sounds like a great idea. Could you post some pictures?

Thanks.

 

[Marinea]

I don't have any pics because we switched breeds and now need bigger boxes, but basically we built a regular nest box and added a piece of one inch scrap lumber across the front top at a 45 degree inward facing angle.

So, basically, as your nest box is already built, find yourself a scrap piece of lumber you can cut down to an inch or so in size ( a piece of 1x whatever, cut down), and cut it to length to fit across the front of your nest box. Attach it to the top of the front of the box, tilting it to face into the box. We attached ours from the sides of the box with screws, making it easier to remove later when it isn't needed.

 

[jimmywalt]

I don't have any pics because we switched breeds and now need bigger boxes, but basically we built a regular nest box and added a piece of one inch scrap lumber across the front top at a 45 degree inward facing angle.

So, basically, as your nest box is already built, find yourself a scrap piece of lumber you can cut down to an inch or so in size ( a piece of 1x whatever, cut down), and cut it to length to fit across the front of your nest box. Attach it to the top of the front of the box, tilting it to face into the box. We attached ours from the sides of the box with screws, making it easier to remove later when it isn't needed.

Thank you. I think I understand what you are saying and I'll try it!

 

[katiebear]

We did basically the same as Mariena, only we used some left over wire,rolled it into a tube and attached it to the front edge. If they do get out they have something to hold onto to get back in. When they are older of course.
At 8 days I would have to agree that he was probably still holding on to mom,that happens to us too.So I change the nest box to the one with the "scraper" a couple of days after they are born.
Good catch though I bet mom was in a panic

 

[dayna]

I just bring them inside in a bucket when this happens. I leave them in the bathroom with the door closed (in the bucket) so the dogs can't get them and take them out to the mom a couple times per day. Heck, I don't even do it on a very accurate schedule and have never had a mom say "no" to nursing her kits.

 

[Marinea]

Wait, I found this pic.

You can see the "scraper" piece, tilted in so that when mom jumps out, any attached kits are scraped off.

Hope this helps.

 

[jimmywalt]

Thanks for posting that picture! Our box looks a bit different....

This is a image I found on Google that looks very like our nest box. I was thinking of adding a 1" board along the yellow part to act as a scraper and to keep crawling kits in the box.

Do you think that would work?

 

[katiebear]

That's the kind of boxes we built. it should work,My only issue is will the escapees be able to get back in? that's why we use the flattened wire tubes, to give them something to hold on to. but after about three weeks they were jumping right over it. :lol:

 

[jimmywalt]

Well maybe then I won't make the modification because I'm not sure that they could get back in even without the modification.

Let's hope that this is a 1 time incident and we won't have to worry about it.

We are first time rabbit parents so all of this is new to us. :?

 

[Marinea]

That modification would totally work. Tilt it towards the inside of the box, and you're set.

What we did to help any who get out was to add a little step to the front bottom of the box- a brick or something similar would work.

 

[Comet007]

3" seems awfully short to me, and when there's nesting material in there it would just be worse. Our subterranean nest boxes are 8" deep and we had babies who started getting out at about 15 days old and by about 18-19 days they were all coming and going easily. Maybe you have a different breed and don't need something quite as deep, but this is just a thought.

 

[jimmywalt]

3" seems awfully short to me, and when there's nesting material in there it would just be worse. Our subterranean nest boxes are 8" deep and we had babies who started getting out at about 15 days old and by about 18-19 days they were all coming and going easily. Maybe you have a different breed and don't need something quite as deep, but this is just a thought.

Ours are Holland Lops. What breed are yours? The back of our box is only 9" tall.