Rabbit people... a question about kindling?

Question

I have a Californian Doe that i think may be trying to kindle outside of her box on the wire floor of her cage... What should i do? I really don't want the babies to die

Answer 1

Pick the babies up and place any ones that are moving, even if ever so slightly in the nestbox, even if they are very cold to the touch. Make a nest in the center, then pull fur out of the mother to cover them up. The warmth of the babies laying together with the fur covering them will keep them alive. Check back each day for the next few days to see if there are any dead babies in the nestbox and remove them as soon as you find them.

There are several reasons why she might do this:

1. Odor in the nestbox

Possible Causes:
- Use of smelly nestbox bedding such as wood chips or hay.
- Not cleaning the nestbox out thoroughly.
- Moldy nestbox bedding
- Putting the nestbox in too soon and she poops and pees in it
- No holes in bottom of nestbox to allow urine to drain out

2. The nestbox is too big or too small

3. It's her first litter and does tend to mess up on their first litter.


Solutions:

1. Use non-moldy straw for your nestbox bedding. It has little to no smell and can be molded easily by the doe. Straw seems to work the best.

2. Build the nestbox 1-2" wider than the doe and 1-2" longer than the doe's length when she is laying down. Make the nestbox tall enough so she can get in and out easily. The top of the back two-thirds of the nestbox should have a top. The board at the front entry should be about 5" tall. If the nestbox is too big, then the doe doesn't feel like she has a place to hide. She will try having her babies in a place where she feels like she can hide. If it is too small and it is hard for her to get in and out then she may not go in it.

3. Use pegboard for the floor of the nestbox to allow the urine to drain out so it doesn't get an ammonia smell in it. Or you can use about a 3/16" drill bit to drill holes in the floor of the nestbox.

4. Make sure the nestbox has been cleaned out and allowed to sit in the sun for a day or so to help disinfect it and get the smell out of it before using it. Sunlight is a natural disinfectant.

5. Make sure there isn't a halfway tight space between the nestbox and the sides of the pen, especially if the nestbox is a little on the big side. Remember she wants a place to hide. If the nestbox is too big she might pick a place between the nestbox and the side of the pen to try having them in since it is tighter and she feels like she can hide more.

6. If it is cold, be sure to not only put straw bedding in the nestbox, but put an inch or so of straw bedding under it too. This will help keep the babies a little bit warmer, especially if the doe scattered them across the pen and they are already cold.

7. Put the nestbox in 2 days before she is due to have them. They normally have them right at 30 days. I normally put the nestbox in on the 28th day. This helps prevent the doe from pooping or peeing in the nestbox before she has her babies.

Answer 2

Whenever I got worried that a doe would ignore her nest box, I stuffed her cage with a 2-3 inch deep layer of straw. Worked like a charm: kept the kittens warm wherever they landed, and since the doe tended to hollow out the nest, there was enough of an incline to keep the kittens in one place. Then I would move the nest into the box, and keep the straw there until I felt the kittens would be okay without the extra safety net. Or the straw got unsanitary.
If she's already kindled on the wire, just move the nest into the box and move the box onto the site where the nest was---provided the babies are warm at the time.
If you find cold, stiff babies, some might still be alive. You never know until you warm them. You can bathe them in warm water or rest them on a piece of plastic rigged to be a water bath. They need to be completely warm before you put them back in the nest.
Keep an eye on them. If she pushes them out of the box, or otherwise makes trouble, you can take the box out of the cage and bring it to her twice a day so she can nurse, until the kittens are resilient enough to be left alone with her.

Answer 3

Are you using a proper nestbox (see kwcages.com for examples)? And is it filled with several inches of shavings and lots and lots of fresh straw?

If you have that covered, there may not be anything you do. But no matter what, leave her alone. If you were in her shoes you would not want someone trying to make a nest and bothering you.

That doesn't mean you should not check on her. If she does deliver the kits (baby rabbits) on the wire, gently place them in the nestbox after first petting her. If she has pulled any fur, place it on top on the kits in the nest.

If she doesn't deliver them in the nestbox, she may or may not take care of them It's hit or miss. Many does lose their first litters.

Answer 4

If it is her first litter then she may not know that the box is where she should kindle. make sure you put the box in there about a week before her due date.so she can get used to it. If she does kindle outside of the cage you can always put the baby in the box and 98% of the time the mom will go into the box and nurse them.

Answer 5

Add another box with diferent bedding she may not like the box she has Has it been used with other rabbits? Is it big enough for her?Or just cover her cage floor with hay so that if she does have them outside the box it will not kill them then pick up the hay and babies at the same time and put them in the box but also wash your hand with a mild smelling soap. cause if she is being picky she may ignore them.

Answer 6

I assume you gave her a nest box. If not, put the nest she has now in a shoe box size box. Add some hay, fleece and fur if you have some. It can be normal for a first time mother to have dead kits. If there continue to be dead kits born in later litters, it is best to not breed her. She should not be pregnant again if you tried before the kits were born. Don't try to breed her again until the kits are weaned (6-8 weeks old). I would recommend that you fix the cage so that she and the buck can't get out again to be safe and prevent accidental litters. Good Luck with the kits.

Answer 7

ooh. that's a tough one. I would say to put hay on the bottom of the cage, but as you know, with wire that doesn't last long. well, most first litters die. I had a rabbit with a litter about a week ago, and they all died. Maybe later, you could try sublevel nestboxes. But, many litters pass, and rabbits die, but even after years of experience, you can't save every litter most of the time.

Answer 8

good question. I had two rabbits that mated and we had an unexpected pregnancy. I came home from work one night and all of a sudden saw babies!!! We thought they were both males! Boy were we mistaken!
I did have a breeding box, but she had already had the babies inside her cage on the wire flooring. Luckily there was a pile of hay!
We had lost one of the babies outside the cage, I dont know if it was kicked out of the cage or it squirmed out or what. It was a pretty gruesome sight.
None of the babies actually survived. I was upset. :(
Sorry I dont have an actual answer for you.
Good luck.

Answer 9

i've had this happen once too. and u should just keep an eye to her. there may be nothing u can do wher it is he first time. if u touch the baies she will kill them. i've lucked out a couple of times adn was able to touch the babies to move them cuz my rabit rusted me adn knew she needed help and that i could help her. brush her and take her fur and make a nest of fur inside he nesting box so u cna somewhat help her know that's what it's designed for. put treats in but not much oor she wont have enough room to give birth. and dont stress her to much by making her go in. but a treat in and leave it/ she eat it after she gives birth and will be greatful of it. she be REALLY HUNGRY rite now and after so give her lots of food even if the babies do live. still give her food to bring her strength up.

Answer 10

I breed rabbits and have had this happen many times. The best thing you can do is make a nest in the nest box for her. keep a very close eye on her and put the babies in the nest as soon as they are born. Putting a heat lamp on them might be a good idea if you live where it is cold. sometimes they live- sometimes they don't.