| Welcome to Rabbit Addict. The forums are a place to discuss all things related to rabbits and cavy. From breeding to pet, emergency to genetics questions. Our members are a mix of genetics enthusiasts, breeders, and pet owners looking to share their animals. Hop on in and join the fun! We don't bite. I promise. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as joining the discussion, customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| When to clean out the nestbox? | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 12 2014, 12:10 AM (177 Views) | |
| greenfairy | Jan 12 2014, 12:10 AM Post #1 |
|
New to the Addiction
![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Hi everyone, my nest box was starting to smell bad so I decided to clean it out. The kits are one week old today so I've been removing the soiled hay and matted fur from the nest box. Their eyes are gonna open soon and they've grown some fur... It's pretty warm here most days, around 73 - 96 F so I was wondering if I should still put fur back in the nest box? I also read that when they start nibbling on hay they might get gastroneritis or something like that from eating fur covered hay. I'm planning on putting some newspaper down to cover the metal bottom of the nest box and then add some fresh hay in to keep them warm. Would that be warm enough? The coldest it gets here is 73F and they're in my room so I can always adjust the temperature if its too chilly for them. I've also noticed crust on one of the 7 day old kits' eyes and crust in another one's ears, was wondering whether to clean it or not but am worried about touching its eyes too early and doing more harm than good. Am planning to leave the nest box in until one of them hops out, or possibly until the 14th day before turning it on its side so they can sit on it and the doe can jump on top of it to hide from the kits if she has to. Thanks for your help! |
![]() |
|
| ZRabbits | Jan 12 2014, 06:25 AM Post #2 |
|
Love My Lions!
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
You did the same as me. By 7 days, I did clean the nest box, but did put a little fur back, just so the kits would know nothing really changed. The scent was still there. Having them inside, I did remove some of the fur because it did make the nest box too warm IMHO. Newspaper on the bottom with nice hay, will definitely keep them warm. I've read many breeders line their nest boxes that way. Plus you are right regarding kits munching on the hay. I was so surprised at how early kits start eating solid foods. Regarding crust on the eyes, a nice warm compress could help with wiping away the crust. I had to do this with one of my kits. To help her open her eyes. Soft warm cloth helped. I just made sure that she wasn't wet, but patted dry before I put her back. Only had to do it several times and it helped her open her eyes. The kits that had the problem is my Ginnie. Had no problems, no infections at all. Two weeks, I would definitely turn the nest box on it's side. By that time, my litter was very active and you want to make sure they can get back into the nest to snuggle with each other after time out exploring. KAZ |
![]() |
|
| sidd-says-gimme | Jan 12 2014, 10:22 AM Post #3 |
|
sidd says stay gold
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
When I clean the nestbox out depends on the litter. Some larger litters (4-5 for mine) that are well-fed will pee quite a bit. If that's the case, I increase the amount of shavings that are around the "sleeping area" and try to put a lot of the fur on top of the shavings and hay so it's like a blanket and less likely to get soiled. Then I clean out the litter around them if it's gross... every day or two. After they open their eyes I usually do a big clean. Most of my does pull a ton of fur... if there's 3+ babies and lots of fur I will take out half of it and put it in a baggie. When do a complete cleaning of the box and most of the original fur is thrown out, I'll add the clean fur. ![]() I currently have a small singleton that recently opened her eyes. I haven't needed to clean her box out yet but I think I will today. Her mom didn't pull as much fur and I needed to keep her warm, so I didn't want to take the fur away until now. If any of the fur isn't soiled, I would keep that in for a few more days. If there's a decent amount of babies, it should be fine after that. |
![]() |
|
| NCK | Jan 12 2014, 12:37 PM Post #4 |
|
Somebunny is a awfully chatty
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I usually try and wait until my kits are 10 or 11 days old until the first major cleaning. They never appreciate my efforts and always seem to think that they have "graduated" from the nestbox after that, lol, so I try to wait until right before their eyes open. (If it's a larger litter, then I periodically have to remove soiled fur and shavings before then, and do usually end up cleaning the whole box a day or two early, as you did .) I do save the clean fur to put back in, but I put in much less because, like you have read, I worry about them ingesting the fur if it sticks to the hay. I like to leave the nestbox upright until they are at least 2 weeks old. I just like for them to have a nice warm place to sleep:) I used to place a clean brick right in front of the box, to give the kits a little boost getting back in. These past 2 litters I have just kept returning them to the box before they were big enough to get in and out on their own, but I need to find my brick again:) I usually don't flip it to its side until I feel like they are spending just as much time out of the box as they are in, but my nestboxes are on the smaller side so they don't have as much space to rest after its been flipped over. |
![]() |
|
| NeuBunny | Jan 13 2014, 08:32 AM Post #5 |
|
Genetics Geek!
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Temperature is a factor too. In cold weather, soiled litter is dangerous (cold and damp is nasty), but they need the box to stay warm, so cleaning is essential. In hot weather, ammonia seems to hang longer and nest box eye is a bigger concern once eyes are open and the box isn't really needed for warmth - so I tend to be quicker to remove it. Moderate temperatures in spring and fall, I tend to keep the boxes in but they don't need cleaned. |
![]() |
|
| SundewRabbitry | Jan 13 2014, 09:33 AM Post #6 |
|
Hopelessly Addicted to the Fuzz
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I clean my boxes right around 10 days. I don't turn the box on its side until the kits are 3 weeks though unless it's a very active litter. But almost all of mine have no interest in ever leaving their box and I have to force them out at 3 weeks. I remove the box at 4 weeks in mild weather and 5-6 in cold weather. |
![]() |
|
| greenfairy | Jan 14 2014, 02:56 AM Post #7 |
|
New to the Addiction
![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Okay thanks for all the advice any idea when would it be okay for me to remove all the fur from the nest box? There's still some fur in there now so I was thinking maybe by the 12th day (after they open their eyes) I'd remove all the fur from the nest box and just have newspaper and hay in there
|
![]() |
|
| NCK | Jan 15 2014, 10:41 PM Post #8 |
|
Somebunny is a awfully chatty
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
As long as they seem to be keeping each other warm, it should be fine to remove the fur when they open their eyes. I usually leave mine in for a few more days, but I think they should be warm enough without it too .
|
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · Breeding Basics · Next Topic » |





![]](http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c319/bunniluver/pip_rgt.png)




1:40 PM Jul 11