Nest Box

My doe bunny one day was going crazy putting together a nest in her cage. We were worried because we hadn't put a nesting box in yet, so we put one in. When we put it in, we had messed up her original nest. She hasn't made a new nest yet, and I am worried if she won't make a new one because we messed up her old one.


Will she make a new nest? If not, what should we do?

***** Karen Sez *****

You weren't ready with a nest box, because the doe was building the nest really early, right?

Can't be positive, but it sure sounds like your doe is actually in the middle of a false pregnancy. That means that your doe by now has probably forgotten she ever needed a nest. But for the record, does know very well how to repair a nest that has been messed up. If she needs it, she'll fix it.

I'm just thinking she probably no longer is interesting in nest-building.

However, you should probably stick to the plan - leave the nest in the cage until day 31 comes and goes. (I might be wrong and she's pregnant after all!) Wait till day 35 - if no babies, then rebreed the doe.


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Dec 12, 2013
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starstarstarstarstar 		Nest box
by: Anonymous

I have two rabbits, (Netherland dwarfs) they were both supposed to be males so I decided to put them in the same cage but sit with them and watch them as I know two male rabbits can get a bit nasty with each other. They then started mating so I was wondering if maybe one is a girl after all. I did some researching and was prepared for some babies within around the 29-35 day mark.

I went out to the 'female's cage, which I thought was a male, and there were three babies scattered on the wire floor, all three were dead and no nest out of hay or fur pulled, and my doe was eating one.

I have a two story hutch, the top bit has a little box, which I thought would be good enough for a nest box. Is it? Or should I buy a proper nest box? My doe is pregnant again by accident and is due in around 10 days. Will my doe pull out her fur and make a nest and accept her babies this time or will she do the same as last time and just scatter them on the floor and kill them with no nest made??! Please any info would be great!! Thanks :)

***** Karen Sez *****
Does often use that little upstairs bedroom box as a nest box and have their babies there. Problem is that the kits can fall out of the space. If you can put a 4-5 inch barrier in front of the doorway, allowing enough space for the doe to hop over the barrier and enter the bedroom/nest box, this would be much better. (You can of course obtain a proper nest box if you prefer.)

Also, on day 28, put lots of shavings, straw and hay in there. I think that chance is good that she'll take the hint and build a nest out of all the materials you've given her. She needs more than just her fur; she also needs these beddings to construct a proper nest.

Good luck!
Feb 23, 2013
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starstarstarstarstar 		Rejecting nest box
by: Anonymous

We didn't know my doe was pregnant then a couple of days ago she started making a nest so I tried to put a box in for her but she keeps tipping over and trying to move it away, this is her second litter, she didn't have a nest box for her first litter and half of the kits died within the first couple of days, will this be because of no nest box? And how can I get her to accept it this time?

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