Move the litter Sunday?

[Miss M]

Well, Pearl's babies are spunky and furry! At 15 days old, their fur is a solid 1/2" long now (I measured 3 out of 8 ). They are hopping and binking like crazy... it is so funny!

Here is the forecast:

Today: low 60s Fahrenheit Tonight: low 30s, (at or just below freezing for those on Centigrade) ... radio just said 39*... weird.
Saturday: low 60s Saturday night: low to mid 30s
Sunday: mid 60s Sunday night: low to mid 40s
Monday: upper 60s Monday night: upper 40s
Tuesday: around 70 Tuesday night: mid 50s

Now, these babies will be out of the nestbox as soon as I put them in there. So I'm figuring tonight and tomorrow night will be too cold for them... too much of a risk. So I'm thinking of moving them Sunday. They will be 2 1/2 weeks old then.

So glad I won't have to do this again. Next time, I won't be having to move everybody.

 

[trinityoaks]

I would think Sunday would be good. Just keep watching the forecast.

http://www.weather.gov/

 

[MaggieJ]

If they can get back into the nest box, they should be fine for Sunday. Try to put them out as soon as the day warms up so that they have several hours of warmth before the gradual cooling off in evening.<br /><br />__________ Fri Mar 05, 2010 4:09 pm __________<br /><br />If you get worried, you could take a cardboard box and put some bedding in it, close it up and cut a bunny-sized hole in it, low down so the kits can get in easily. It will take up some cage space, but will give them a snug place to go if they need it.

 

[avdpas77]

I put a short piece of 2x4 up against the front of the nestbox on the outside. When the bunnies first start getting out of the box, they are hardly big enough to get back in. The piece of 2x4 gives them a "step". Within a couple of days they can hop in and out with no problem, and I take the board back out.

 

[Miss M]

Thank y'all so much!!

I really appreciate all the help everybody gives, with much patience and no condescension. And if not for y'all, I probably would have tried putting them out there last weekend, and that may not have turned out so well.

Something I just thought of, looking at avd's avatar... the hutch doesn't have baby wire up the sides... just 1x1. Is this a bad problem, and, if so, is there some temporary something I can put in place?

 

[MaggieJ]

At two weeks old they should not be able to squeeze through 1" x 1" wire. Babysaver is mainly to prevent infant kits born on the wire or dragged out of the box from falling out of the cage altogether. I've never lost a kit from my cages and they have 1" x 1".

If you are worried about future litters, a 4" strip of hardware cloth around the perimeter of the cage should work.

 

[Miss M]

Okay, Maggie! Thank you for saving me from my mini-panic!

 

[trinityoaks]

:slap: I completely forgot baby-saver wire! That might have made the difference in Bran's litter a few weeks ago! <Sigh!> Better make a trip to TSC tomorrow before I forget again and lose some more kits. Do you put it on the inside or the outside of the cage?

 

[MaggieJ]

I've never used babysaver wire, but I suggest putting it on the inside. My thinking is that doing so would eliminate any chance of a kit getting wedged between the two layers of wire, or later on, one getting a leg stuck.

 

[Miss M]

I was wondering about that. If you've managed without it, I'll probably have a go without it. I'd be too worried that I'd missed some sharp point on the metal where I clipped it to size!

 

[MaggieJ]

You could fold the hardware cloth back on itself with the rough edge away from the rabbits to eliminate the sharp edge. I have heard that Dremel tools are useful for grinding/cutting the sharp bits too.

 

[Miss M]

Oh, that makes sense! Thank you, Maggie!