Doe not building nest in nesting box! please help

[EmilyClick28]

Hi I'm new to BYH but I really need some help with this. I recently bred my mini lop doe, who is about 7-8 months old and a first time mother. She is expected to have her babies sometime next week (on the 16-17th) and on day 22, I put the nest box in her cage just like I'm supposed to do. (its a plywood nest box that i built) I put it in there filled with hay, shredded paper, and some feathers and fur i collected from her cage. The box should be big enough i think because the measurements are about 16 inches long, 10 inches wide, and 10 inches tall and shes just a little mini lop.... so thats why I'm confused and concerned that she's not using it! she started pulling hair about 2 days ago but instead of putting it in the box, instead she collected hay into the corners of the cage and tried to make nests just on the floor of the cage! (its a big cage on the ground by the way with solid floors and 3 solid walls with 1 open wire side.) she hasn't so much and gone inside of the nest box once! she seems completely uninterested. so, i thought maybe she was one of those does that likes their box put in empty so they can fill it. so i emptied the box and left it in the cage with plenty of loose hay and things for her to build her nest with. came back out the next day and she had once again tried to build nests in the corners! I'm worried she won't use the box at all and will give birth to the babies loose in the cage... and its been getting pretty cold lately (occasionally below freezing at night) and the kits will all freeze if they're not in the box! im at a loss of what to do.... I thought of maybe trying an open-topped cardboard box for her to birth in? but what if she wont even use that! i just dont want my kits to die. if anyone has any help or suggestions please let me know!!! thanks!

 

[Bunnylady]

Welcome to BYH! Glad you joined us!

To understand your problem, you need to think like a rabbit - or at least, think about what is "natural" for a rabbit. A wild rabbit mother would dig her own burrow and have her kits in a snug little place underground. We try to simulate that snug little place with a nest box, but really, there is nothing "natural" about climbing into a wood (or metal) box and giving birth there. Some does accept the box substitute right away, and some don't.

If you have been watching your doe, you probably noticed her digging in one or more of the corners of her cage. That was her attempt at digging her burrow. If I see a doe doing that, I put the box in that corner; sometimes that's all it takes to give her the idea. On the other hand, she may then choose another corner, in which case, I move the box to that one. Of course, she may now switch back to the first corner. If I find myself chasing the doe from corner to corner with the box, I know this doe is probably going to be a problem come kindling time, and the day before she is due, I stuff her whole cage with several inches of hay. That way, wherever she gives birth, there will probably be enough hay to cushion/insulate the babies until such time as I can find them and rectify the situation.

Sometimes, in spite of all the nonsense, a doe will give birth in the box, just like she is supposed to. If she doesn't, and I find live babies, I put an appropriate amount of hay in the box, move as much of the doe's nest into the box as possible (particularly any fur she has pulled) and put the babies in the box. Most does accept the situation, and go on to use the box on subsequent litters.

I'm a little concerned about the fact that your doe has been pulling fur so early. Most does don't pull fur until just minutes before or after the kits start arriving - if I see fur in a nest, I expect to see kits. Some will pull a few wisps for a day or two just before kindling, but serious fur pulling doesn't usually happen until delivery is imminent. Now, every doe is different, and until you have experience with a doe, you don't know what her pattern is. This may just be the way your doe does things, I don't know - I had a Jersey Wooly doe once that started fur pulling on day 21 and kept it up until the babies came (by which time the silly girl was almost completely bald, and the cage was swimming in wool!). But if I see a doe pulling fur a week or so before her due date, I suspect a false pregnancy. False pregnancies happen a lot in rabbits; they can happen even if a doe was mounted by another doe.

This is this doe's first time out, sounds like it is yours, too. She may just not have figured out what she's doing, so I wouldn't count her out just yet. I would proceed expecting to see kits in a few days, but the possibility that she is faking the whole thing is certainly there. Keep an eye on her, notice what she does - at worst, you will have had a "dress rehearsal" for the real thing.

 

[EmilyClick28]

hummmm well yeah she started pulling fur on day 20.... i hadn't thought about that but yeah i guess that is early.. yeah ive never bred rabbits before so im new to all of this. thank you so much for all this help! the cage that my rabbit is in is a very VERY large cage (it used to be a chicken coop) and i just don't have enough hay to stuff the whole cage. but i did think of an idea and was wondering if you think it's a good one? so i was thinking that maybe when she picked a corner to build her nest in, i could kind of block the other side with a board and make kind of a makeshift box on the ground and insulate it thickly with hay. do you think that would be enough to keep the kits warm or would i have to move them to a box once they were born?

Welcome to BYH! Glad you joined us!

To understand your problem, you need to think like a rabbit - or at least, think about what is "natural" for a rabbit. A wild rabbit mother would dig her own burrow and have her kits in a snug little place underground. We try to simulate that snug little place with a nest box, but really, there is nothing "natural" about climbing into a wood (or metal) box and giving birth there. Some does accept the box substitute right away, and some don't.

If you have been watching your doe, you probably noticed her digging in one or more of the corners of her cage. That was her attempt at digging her burrow. If I see a doe doing that, I put the box in that corner; sometimes that's all it takes to give her the idea. On the other hand, she may then choose another corner, in which case, I move the box to that one. Of course, she may now switch back to the first corner. If I find myself chasing the doe from corner to corner with the box, I know this doe is probably going to be a problem come kindling time, and the day before she is due, I stuff her whole cage with several inches of hay. That way, wherever she gives birth, there will probably be enough hay to cushion/insulate the babies until such time as I can find them and rectify the situation.

Sometimes, in spite of all the nonsense, a doe will give birth in the box, just like she is supposed to. If she doesn't, and I find live babies, I put an appropriate amount of hay in the box, move as much of the doe's nest into the box as possible (particularly any fur she has pulled) and put the babies in the box. Most does accept the situation, and go on to use the box on subsequent litters.

I'm a little concerned about the fact that your doe has been pulling fur so early. Most does don't pull fur until just minutes before or after the kits start arriving - if I see fur in a nest, I expect to see kits. Some will pull a few wisps for a day or two just before kindling, but serious fur pulling doesn't usually happen until delivery is imminent. Now, every doe is different, and until you have experience with a doe, you don't know what her pattern is. This may just be the way your doe does things, I don't know - I had a Jersey Wooly doe once that started fur pulling on day 21 and kept it up until the babies came (by which time the silly girl was almost completely bald, and the cage was swimming in wool!). But if I see a doe pulling fur a week or so before her due date, I suspect a false pregnancy. False pregnancies happen a lot in rabbits; they can happen even if a doe was mounted by another doe.

This is this doe's first time out, sounds like it is yours, too. She may just not have figured out what she's doing, so I wouldn't count her out just yet. I would proceed expecting to see kits in a few days, but the possibility that she is faking the whole thing is certainly there. Keep an eye on her, notice what she does - at worst, you will have had a "dress rehearsal" for the real thing.

Welcome to BYH! Glad you joined us!

To understand your problem, you need to think like a rabbit - or at least, think about what is "natural" for a rabbit. A wild rabbit mother would dig her own burrow and have her kits in a snug little place underground. We try to simulate that snug little place with a nest box, but really, there is nothing "natural" about climbing into a wood (or metal) box and giving birth there. Some does accept the box substitute right away, and some don't.

If you have been watching your doe, you probably noticed her digging in one or more of the corners of her cage. That was her attempt at digging her burrow. If I see a doe doing that, I put the box in that corner; sometimes that's all it takes to give her the idea. On the other hand, she may then choose another corner, in which case, I move the box to that one. Of course, she may now switch back to the first corner. If I find myself chasing the doe from corner to corner with the box, I know this doe is probably going to be a problem come kindling time, and the day before she is due, I stuff her whole cage with several inches of hay. That way, wherever she gives birth, there will probably be enough hay to cushion/insulate the babies until such time as I can find them and rectify the situation.

Sometimes, in spite of all the nonsense, a doe will give birth in the box, just like she is supposed to. If she doesn't, and I find live babies, I put an appropriate amount of hay in the box, move as much of the doe's nest into the box as possible (particularly any fur she has pulled) and put the babies in the box. Most does accept the situation, and go on to use the box on subsequent litters.

I'm a little concerned about the fact that your doe has been pulling fur so early. Most does don't pull fur until just minutes before or after the kits start arriving - if I see fur in a nest, I expect to see kits. Some will pull a few wisps for a day or two just before kindling, but serious fur pulling doesn't usually happen until delivery is imminent. Now, every doe is different, and until you have experience with a doe, you don't know what her pattern is. This may just be the way your doe does things, I don't know - I had a Jersey Wooly doe once that started fur pulling on day 21 and kept it up until the babies came (by which time the silly girl was almost completely bald, and the cage was swimming in wool!). But if I see a doe pulling fur a week or so before her due date, I suspect a false pregnancy. False pregnancies happen a lot in rabbits; they can happen even if a doe was mounted by another doe.

This is this doe's first time out, sounds like it is yours, too. She may just not have figured out what she's doing, so I wouldn't count her out just yet. I would proceed expecting to see kits in a few days, but the possibility that she is faking the whole thing is certainly there. Keep an eye on her, notice what she does - at worst, you will have had a "dress rehearsal" for the real thing.