Nest boxes kept inside

SarahMelisse · Mar 18, 2012

I have a couple questions for those of you who keep the kits in their nest boxes inside:

Do you remove the nest box as soon as you notice the kits have been born or do you wait until they have been fed for the first time?
Do you take the nest boxes out to the doe once or twice a day; if so, around what time of day or night?
Where in your house do you keep the nest boxes and how much monitoring do you do (if at all)?
I've read that most people who use this method put the kits and nest box back in with the doe full time at 2 weeks old. Is that about right?

I'm trying to decide if this is a method I want to try with my upcoming litters (first time moms) and I'm just trying to get a general idea of your methods. I know it's not necessary to take the kits from the doe, but with rabbit's notorious poor-mothering habits and our surprisingly unpredictable weather here (70 degrees Friday and snow today), I'd hate to lose kits on the wire.

skysthelimit · Mar 19, 2012

I remove the nest box as soon as I notice kits. The boxes are taken out twice a day, 5:30 am, when I go out to feed the animals before work, then around 5pm when I get back. I collect the box again around 9pm. boxes are kept in my bedroom. They get used to me, sounds (eventually) smells and I handle them a lot. Not because I'm monitoring, but more because they are so cute.
The kits go back around two, mostly because they are ready to climb out of the always open box, and I certainly don't want them crawling around the house; they are too big for the box, this last litter of 11 needed to come out of the box sooner.
i've been taking them in because when it's cold in Ohio, it's bitter cold. Also, one of my first time moms dumped the nest box and killed two kits, so I stopped leaving it in there with her.

SarahMelisse · Mar 19, 2012

Thanks for sharing! As much as I'd like my does to just do their thing, we get some severe weather this time of year in "sunny California". I would rather not risk it. Plus, like you said, then the kits can get used to our voices and handling. I've done chick brooders inside so baby rabbits couldn't be too much more obtrusive.<br /><br />__________ Mon Mar 19, 2012 7:44 am __________<br /><br />Anyone else with tips?

AnnClaire · Mar 19, 2012

I leave the nest box until I am sure the kits get their first meal ... then, take it out at sundown and bring back in about 9pm ...

When the kits get to moving around, I keep them in a laundry basket liked with towels until time to go out. Since I use enclosed nest boxes, I can carry the kits back and forth in the nest box until they are weaned.

If I am leaving the nest box with the doe, I do bring the kits in during the day until they are weaned, then raise them wholly in the house. Gotta people-ize them so they can go to just about any situation and not freak out or pout or whatever :lol:

skysthelimit · Mar 19, 2012

AnnClaire":3fjx9ptw said:
I leave the nest box until I am sure the kits get their first meal ... then, take it out at sundown and bring back in about 9pm ...

When the kits get to moving around, I keep them in a laundry basket liked with towels until time to go out. Since I use enclosed nest boxes, I can carry the kits back and forth in the nest box until they are weaned.

If I am leaving the nest box with the doe, I do bring the kits in during the day until they are weaned, then raise them wholly in the house. Gotta people-ize them so they can go to just about any situation and not freak out or pout or whatever :lol:

The laundry basket is a great idea, usually after they are weaned they go into a grow out pen. At 10 weeks I separate the ones I am keeping from the fryers . Maybe I should bring in the ones I am keeping, one each night.

AnnClaire · Mar 19, 2012

Oh, Sky, I have the boys inside in a cardboard corral, and the girls outside in a growout pen ... I forgot about seperating when I built the outside one :lol:

Because I did that, I have found that the babies don't start generating their own warmth effectively until they are 8-9 weeks old ... and with the cold temps, I decided to keep them inside which also gave me the opportunity to totally socialize them to people and sounds, etc.

I probably won't go to those lengths with the meat mutts, but for my pedigreed babies, oh, yeah, an inside grow out pen makes a big difference in their "people skills" :lol: I will also be raising an occassional meat mutt as a pet, so I will be redesigning the growout pens to be a bit more flexible to accommodate future litters <sigh>

a7736100 · Mar 19, 2012

I usually take them to the doe or bring the doe in around 10am. I find that if I put the doe in the box too early she may not have milk yet and will not nurse. They are always eager to nurse if they're filled with milk.