Nest Box Maintenance?

[Lapin]

Should I completely clean out and replace the nesting material in my nest boxes between brith and time young come out of the box? If so how many times? I'm new to raising rabbits and recently had and issue with a doe scraching up the kits. I took out half the nesting material to do a clean out later and when I put the box back she was not happy. She jump in and out of the box and began digging in the box. Maybe I shouldn't have done that were she could she me?

 

[LilFish_JWQueen(:]

I just clean it out when they open their eyes and just put hay back in it. (i put shavings and hay in my boxes). That way the shavings dont get in their eyes and they get an eye infection.
Im not sure why your doe acted like that...sometimes they dont like when you mess up their nest though so.

 

[ollitos]

I check the bottom layers daily to see how wet it is. If it's damp, I take the kits out and put them in a container with a towel around them. This is a good time to check them over and make sure everyone is looking fine. I save as much of the fur and top layer as I can, then take out all the wet or poopy stuff, reassemble, replace the kits and put the nesting box back in. I have a couple does who pee and poop in their nests, a lot. And those little kits can produce a lot of urine. I try to keep it sanitary as possible without losing hay and fur.

Sometimes if I can reposition the kits to a different part of the box, I'll use a hand spade to dig out the wettest parts.

I clean it out as often as it needs it, even before they open their eyes.