When are you supposed to take a rabbits nesting box out?.....and more

Question

My rabbit had her kits two weeks ago. All but one of the kits have opened their eyes. In the past week I have found a couple babies out of the nest and then I put them back in but today I found ALL of the babies out of the box so I left them out buti experimented with one ofthem and put it in and it snuggle up to the fur inside the nest. And another thing is that there is and inside to the hutch that has a solid wood floor and the outside which has a grate as a floor that the babies legs could fall through butl luckaly all of the babies have stayed on the inside although if they wanted they could venture out and then they would break a leg. ANd then for the one kit that hasnt opened her eyes what should I do? So my questions are

1) How to cover the grate but still let my mother rabbit's poops and pees go through

2)What to do about the 4th kit's eye not opened?

3) When to take out the nest box and whether I should put them back in or not???

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

1) I wouldn't worry about it unless the wire is more than 1/2 inch apart. If it is, then take a board or towel and make a border so the babies can't get to the wire but, the mom can.

2) They should open their eyes at 8-12 days old. Since your's are 2 weeks, wait another 4-5 days and if it's eyes haven't opened yet apply some vaseline to the eyes. This will make is easier for the baby to open it's eyes but, I wouldn't worry about it much because your baby could be just a little late.

3) You should take the nest box out at 3 weeks. When you take it out make sure there is a layer of hay in one corner of the cage to keep them warm.

BTW- This sounds like your first litter of babies so, I just want to give you a few tips. :-)

*The male can mate with the female and get her pregnant AGAIN if her is present during birth.

*Check the babies bellys first thing in the morning to see if they are getting fed.

*They only get feed once a day (at night).

*Babies should be weaned by 6 weeks and eating and drinking on there own.

*At 8 weeks you should seperate the babies from the mother.

*You should keep good record of the birth date(s) and breeding date(s) if you are planning on breeding in the future.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

1) The kits are fine as long as you used the correct type of wire.  They may look like they're falling all over the place, but they're fine.  Trust me.

2) Rabbits open their eyes around 10 days old, so if he or she is still blind, then just wait around and it'll happen soon enough,

3) If all of the rabbits have tumbled out, take the nesting box out.  It's just taking up room now.

Good luck!

Answer 3

You can take the nestbox, clean it out well and return it the cage but put it on it's side. That way the kits can get in a hide easily.

For the kit who's eyes are still shut you need to get them opened up NOW! If you don't the kits will end up blind. gently wash the eyes with a wet, warm washcloth. There may be discharge from the eyes. Wash this away with the cloth or you can use saline solution(the gentle kind for contact lenses) and wash the eyes. If they have discharge then you will need to get a product called Terramyacin, it comes in a small tube and is available at tores like Tractor Supply. You will need to put this the both eyes once a day for a week. Always wash the eyes first.

You can put a small board in the cage on the wire for the kits to walk on. They will be fine on the wire, all of my rabbits are in wire cages and I have never had a kit break a leg.

If you need more help you can email me.