# Using the nest box as a litter box?



## UnlabeledMama (May 19, 2013)

What should you do if you find waste in the next box?  Will it hurt the babies?  Try to clean it?


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## VickieB (May 19, 2013)

I have my first rabbits and two does kindled about 2 weeks ago. One of the does has been using her box as a littler box too. smh   I asked about when to clean the boxes on another thread and was told that they should be cleaned about the time the babies turn 2 weeks, or if the mother has been using the box as bathroom. I cleaned out her box! It is much nicer now! I would recommend you clean yours out too!


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## UnlabeledMama (May 20, 2013)

I might try to clean out that half ...


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## treeclimber233 (May 20, 2013)

Clean the nest as soon as possible.  The smell will not only attract the mother to use the box again (a habit you do not want ingrained) but will also attract flies.  The maggots will kill the baby rabbits.  I have had this happen.  What you need to do is get another box (don't clean this one and put it back in the cage) scoop out the "nest" (hair, hay and bunnies) without getting any dirty hay and make another nest in another box.  Then put the new clean nest in a different corner of  the cage.  The mom will find them.  You can put a couple drops of vanilla in the new nest to disguise the smell of new nest material.  If she continues to use the box as a bathroom you should cull her.  If she does this in the winter she will kill the babies with wet nesting material.


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## greenbean (May 20, 2013)

treeclimber233 said:
			
		

> Clean the nest as soon as possible.  The smell will not only attract the mother to use the box again (a habit you do not want ingrained) but will also attract flies.  The maggots will kill the baby rabbits.  I have had this happen.  What you need to do is get another box (don't clean this one and put it back in the cage) scoop out the "nest" (hair, hay and bunnies) without getting any dirty hay and make another nest in another box.  Then put the new clean nest in a different corner of  the cage.  The mom will find them.  You can put a couple drops of vanilla in the new nest to disguise the smell of new nest material.  If she continues to use the box as a bathroom you should cull her.  If she does this in the winter she will kill the babies with wet nesting material.


X2!


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## DianeS (May 20, 2013)

It is important for the nestbox to be clean, but do not keep it perfectly clean 100% of the time! Remember that the babies get their gut flora from nibbling their mother's poop as they start to move around and discover what is edible and what is not. Without this infusion of her gut flora, the babies will not be able to digest anything other than milk, will not be able to access any of the nutrients in the pelleted or green feed, and will die when they start to wean. This is arguably the main cause of bottle-fed weaning deaths. 

So yes, if the nestbox is actually yuckky or wet, clean it. If mom dropped just a few poop pellets while nursing one day, leave it alone.


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## treeclimber233 (May 21, 2013)

good points DianeS.  However I don't think the babies get the flora from the dried pellets we normally see.  The babies get the flora from the "first poo" that the doe normally eats to recycle the food.  I have seen the babies "go in for some" when the doe is eating it herself.  I also saw cages where the first poo was smeared all over the wire and the babies were eating it.


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## VickieB (May 21, 2013)

Okay, I switched boxes, put fresh wood shavings in, and scented it with some vanilla extract. We did well for 2 days, and I went out tonight and saw where the doe has once again peed in the corner. This was my last available nestbox. The babies were 2 weeks old yesterday, they have their hair. Would it hurt to take out the shavings? That way if the mother pees in the box it just goes through the bottom...


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## DianeS (May 22, 2013)

I'd just scoop out the wet shavings and replace them with dry ones.


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