nest box q

[Secuono]

I wanted to know if there was a better 'nest box' than the shallow commercial stuff?
My Am Chin doe got her box today, eventually she got in after trying to eat the box, lol. She was digging at the back bottom. That made me think a deeper box may be better or get the instincts working again. They wouldn't step on kits if the boxes weren't so small in general

Why such shallow boxes?
Why such small boxes?

Are the only reasons that they may get buried and the doe would live in the box? Those aren't good enough reasons for me...Anyone have something else? Anyone use a different nest?

 

[Bramble Hedge]

Hi Chickies, I do not use commercial nest boxes, in fact over the years I have used many things, from cardboard boxes from the supermarket to plastic storage boxes with a hole cut in the side, a friend of mine uses the square 5 gallon farm containers that the local farmer gets his molasses in. When you stop and think that a wild rabbit just uses the end of a dirt tunnel you can pretty much make anything work.<br /><br />__________ 14 Dec 2011, 08:31 __________<br /><br />Hope some of these help

 

[kotapony]

I'm only on litter #2, but am quite happy with the nest tunnel I built. Mine is 1' high x 1' wide x 2' long, and seems plenty big for my californians. I have pictures here. Even in a colony with 11 kits at 9 weeks old now no one really stays in it - they have other places to hide/sleep. I was a little worried at first, but with the 2' long and the nest at the back even when the older kits do wander in, the babies don't get squashed/stepped on.

 

[Bramble Hedge]

they look great kotapony

 

[akane]

Most people use fairly small cages for the size of the rabbit and require space efficient boxes. Standard cages also tend not to be very tall. The boxes are also designed to make it less likely a doe will trample the kits (after making a nest the doe often doesn't go in to the back part of the box again), use the box to potty in, or drag kits still nursing out on to the floor. Occasionally some does still manage to drag kits out and something has to be put at the front of the box to help prevent that. In a cage this works fine and most does figure it out by their second litter. In a larger pen or colony the rabbits often turn up their noses at commercial boxes and look for something bigger, more tunnel like, or just pile several feet worth of bedding and fur in to a corner.

My colony has become a mine field. I threw 2 bales of straw in one half for them to tear up and now I've got kits hidden in little pockets all over. The does are great at making the nest invisible so you have to watch your step and avoid areas that look more than a few inches deep in straw. The only boxes they've used since adding the straw has been as one of the walls to the nest put on the floor. I've got 4 kits behind a nest box in a pile of straw and 8 kits in another pile of straw between 2 cat litter pans and the 3rd side is the wooden colony wall. They are using the boxes just not exactly how it was planned....

 

[Bramble Hedge]

My new hutches now have permanent nest boxes in them so they have kinda got the idea down pat to use them lol

 

[boundarybunnyco]

I like the picture of the large white bucket used for a nest box. I think that would accommodate my flemish doe much more comfortably. I've seen cat litter pails used as nest boxes for hens. think I'll use them for that and my flemish doe from now on. I'm glad to see others using stuff they have on hand, not all of us can, or want to rush out and buy the standard items offered.