My rabbit gave birth in her own nest she made from the bay in her cage instead of the nest box. Should I move them or leave them alone?

[YOHONOMOTO]

My rabbit gave birth in her own nest she made from the bay in her cage instead of the nest box. Should I move them or leave them alone?

 

[YOHONOMOTO]

Update: they’re all dead. It’s currently 52 degrees and raining. Not sure if it’s weather conditions, them being in the nest the mother made, or the mother not nursing.

 

[ladysown]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss. It looks like she was pooping in the nestbox, so either it was placed in the wrong spot, or she simply found it unacceptable. Is this her first litter? if so, some bunnies simply struggle with their first litter of kits. If the kits got cold from the rain they would have died. if momma didn't feed them for at least three days, they could have starved.

 

[Olbunny]

Yeah tough call. I probably would have moved them. Mom will find them. If she doesn't like that you moved them than she will move them back. And new moms are worth a couple chances.
It's not uncommon to find new born outside the box or nest. I move them back n haven't had problems.
Good luck, all you can do is keep learning.

 

[Buknee]

I am sorry that you lost the litter.
I have some does that next outside the box. I evaluate the situation and go from there. My second time mama (11 kits) had a litter outside the box but didn't the first time (6). The nest was beautiful and well protected. I put up a small barrier board and left them be. The extra room proved to be helpful as her littles grew and filled the area.
If the area looks unsafe in any way, I would move to the box.

 

[Captaincatholic]

Yeah tough call. I probably would have moved them. Mom will find them. If she doesn't like that you moved them than she will move them back. And new moms are worth a couple chances.
It's not uncommon to find new born outside the box or nest. I move them back n haven't had problems.
Good luck, all you can do is keep learning.

Has anyone had a doe move her kits?

 

[tambayo]

Has anyone had a doe move her kits?

From what i know they can't. It is also why does will ignore kits that end up outside the nest, not able to move them back in.

 

[Alaska Satin]

Has anyone had a doe move her kits?

The only time I've ever seen anything like a doe moving kits is when she doesn't like something in the box and she digs them all out/scatters them. I've never seen a doe pick up/carry kits, or move them back into the nest. Like @tambayo says, does pretty much ignore a kit outside the nest, unless it's dead or there are mice around, at which point she may eat it. Unless they're feeding them, does mostly ignore kits inside the nest as well, which is why a kit that wanders up to the front of the box and can't find its way back to the huddle will die - the doe won't usually even shove them back.

 

[Rosey1]

The only time I've ever seen anything like a doe moving kits is when she doesn't like something in the box and she digs them all out/scatters them. I've never seen a doe pick up/carry kits, or move them back into the nest. Like @tambayo says, does pretty much ignore a kit outside the nest, unless it's dead or there are mice around, at which point she may eat it. Unless they're feeding them, does mostly ignore kits inside the nest as well, which is why a kit that wanders up to the front of the box and can't find its way back to the huddle will die - the doe won't usually even shove them back.

I’ve actually had a doe that moved her kits one time. I had built a drop down nest box for her but she wouldn’t use it. So I put a nest box inside for her and she wouldn’t use it. She pulled all the hay to make a nest in the corner of her cage. So I pulled the nest box out. Well she ended up delivering in a cold snap in the corner of her cage. The next day she moved them to the drop down cage to try to keep them warmer… which I hadn’t insulated with cardboard (I was out of town and didn’t realize it was going to get so cold) and all her babies froze. However she tried.

 

[Alaska Satin]

I’ve actually had a doe that moved her kits one time. I had built a drop down nest box for her but she wouldn’t use it. So I put a nest box inside for her and she wouldn’t use it. She pulled all the hay to make a nest in the corner of her cage. So I pulled the nest box out. Well she ended up delivering in a cold snap in the corner of her cage. The next day she moved them to the drop down cage to try to keep them warmer… which I hadn’t insulated with cardboard (I was out of town and didn’t realize it was going to get so cold) and all her babies froze. However she tried.

I'm not inclined to say animals "never" do something...that's a great way to find them doing it in front of your own eyes immediately after you say it! Your doe could very well have done that. But is it possible that they fell into the drop-down box whil they were crawling around? Newborn kits are surprisingly vigorous and if they're not well-contained, will often crawl around until they find warmth or freeze; of course they're blind so they're just casting about. The record in my barn is 26 feet, when a kit a few days old fell out of the cage and crawled from one end of the barn to the other.