Nesting Materials

[SuburbanHomesteader]

Just wondering what others use inside their nestboxes. I need to put some in this weekend and thought I'd get input from others.

My nestboxes have wire bottoms for summer - I put a piece of cardboard in on the bottom this time of year. Then I add a bedding.

I've used hay and straw. Some seem to eat the hay. The straw seems very rough but they don't eat as much. I've thought about pine shavings. I've heard that some people use shredded paper.

I'm interested in learning what others of you use. Please advise. Thanks!

 

[big bucks ny]

Dryer lint on cardboard with straw on top works for me. Just make sure there are no long threads in the lint for the kits to get tangled in.

 

[Truckinguy]

I have straw in the floor of the colony so Morgan just uses that in the nestbox. When I had them in cages in the garage I used shredded newspaper but it needed changing a few times and for some reason some of the does used it as a potty box. As far as I can see Morgan hasn't used the nest in the colony as a potty, maybe because she has the rest of the area to use. I don't change the straw in the nestbox until the kits are grown and out of it. I check the kits twice a day until they are out of the nest and give them a "sniff test" once in a while and they just smell like fresh straw so it obviously drains any pee away from them real well.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I usually line my boxes with an inch or two of pine shavings depending on the current temperatures and then add hay or straw to the nest.

Right now I have Bermuda grass hay, which is very soft and flexible. The rabbits will eat the hay (and straw to a lesser extent), so I also add shredded brown paper. I prefer brown to white paper because it is made of softer fiber, is more absorbent, and is not bleached, but I'm sure regular paper shreds would work.

When I do my initial nest check the day the kits are born to remove wet bedding, uneaten placentas, or dead kits, I add a handful of pine pellets to the nest hollow (and cover with hay and fur) to absorb urine. I rarely have to change the nest bedding before the kits leave the nest because of the absorbancy of the pine pellets.

 

[Teddy2511]

I have wooden boxes with wire mesh flooring.
When I'm preparing the box for mama I put in a piece of cardboard on the bottom and then about an inch of shavings. I usually stuff the box full of hay, or straw if I have doe that tends to eat her nest, and then punch an indent into the nesting material (just as a starting point for her).

Pretty simple and pretty standard.

I usually empty the nest when the kits are about 7-9 days old, take out the cardboard, and re-stuff the box with hay. The kits get a clean nest and can start nibbling on hay.

 

[dayna]

I just give them whatever I have around at the time....

pine shavings, hay, dried grass, straw, papertowels, shredded paper, cardboard that they can chew up.

 

[ckcs]

I use cardboard boxes with 3/4 shredded newspaper and 1/4 hay. It was what I had handy with first couple of litters and it worked fine so I have not switched.

 

[Bad Habit]

I have wood boxes with mesh flooring and I use hay. I used to put pine pellets on the bottom, but found it too messy. I sometimes put a few folded paper towels under the nest, if it's a large litter or if the momma has a tendency to be an idiot. Otherwise I simply put in a nice 1" thick bed of hay and let her to the rest!