Nesting box maintenance

[nawma]

My kits are doing great and I'm very excited to finally have a litter that appears to have a good chance at survival. My question is about taking care of the nesting box until they move out of it into the pen. Do I need to change nesting materials after a certain amount of days? If so, do I just move kits and hair into a new nest of hay. Will this upset my doe?

 

[GLENMAR]

I never did anything with mine. Once they are old enough, they will come out of the next box.

 

[greenbean]

For me, it would depend on the nest. If they stay pretty clean, I don't usually mess with them. However if they get dirty or peed in (by the doe) I'll take the babies out and put them in something (I have a little basket I put fleece in so it's soft and warm) and dump the dirty stuff out of the nestbox (saving any clean fur), then put clean hay back in and make a nest and line it with fur, then put them back. I havn't had to do that in a long time. It was usually just with one specific doe or two, they used the nestboxes as litterboxes. I'm not talking peeing in it once or twice, it was all the time, they'd even pee on the kits (I did have a couple die from getting chilled). Those does are no longer with me.

 

[nawma]

Thank you guys for your responses. I will check the box periodically to see how dirty it gets. Doe is using far corner for potty so hopefully that won't be a problem.

 

[sunshine43]

Congrats!!!! I am so happy you have babies!!! I clean mine after they start coming out