Should I bring pregnant doe inside

[lindseykaye05]

My rabbit should be having babies today/tomorrow and I am considering bringing her inside due to the weather. Its cool outside (low 50's) and raining. She is in a wire cage with a cover but not in a completely inclosed building. I just went to check on her and the materials in her nesting box are all damp.

She has somewhat made a nest but has "dug" all the way through the nesting materials to the bottom wire, which would leave the kits exposed to a draft under the cage and nesting box.

Last time she had kits they all died from the cold. I am now considering bringing her inside to have her kits and I was hoping for some validation that this the right move.

If I bring her in, do you have a suggestion on what I could keep her in? I was thinking a big tubberware container that would provide plenty of room for the nesting box, her food/ water, and for her to move around in. My hesitation with the tubberware container is her urine and pee will be stuck in the box with her.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[lindseykaye05]

Sorry, wrong board... reposting on correct one.

 

[cattlecait]

It sounds like it'd be warm enough, but since the bedding is getting damp I'd definately suggest bringing her inside.

This is what we do when its super cold outside - I have about three solid-bottom extra large guinea pig cages from the pet store. They were expensive but are one of the best investments we made with the rabbits. We put them in the basement and fill them with about 1" of pine shavings and a few handfuls of straw. Mama picks her nest wherever she wants, we don't have to worry about being out of the box because her whole cage is the box. I just scoop out her chosen bathroom corner every day or so and it works great. Mama and babies move to the barn when they start running around, usually between 3-4 weeks old.

Before we did this, we kept them in Rubbermaid tubs and it worked out pretty decent but you have to clean the bucket every day religiously because it gets stinky quick! I also made a little top for it out of chicken wire because some of the mamas like to escape. If you only have a few does, this would probably be better than buying the big solid bottom cages.