All about babies (part 1)

BABIES! Fresh babies in the barn will raise anyone's spirit and ushers in hope for the next generation of your line. Often in groups we see newer breeders ask a bunch of questions about when/how to do many things associated with kindling and kit rearing, below we will go through some of the most popular FAQs. When should I put in the nest box? The gestation period of a rabbit is roughly 28 days from breeding to viability; this means day 28 AFTER breeding is the earliest your doe can kindle and kits survive, so you should give them their box before this day. In our barn most of our does kindle on day 30 or 31 but it is possible for rabbits to hold on to their babies until day 42, so don't take the box away too soon. What should I use as a nest box? Nest boxes can be just about anything as long as it can contain the kits for the first few weeks of life; there are commercially available nestboxes, these are often made of metal or wood - the latter can be very difficult to clense because wood is porous and can absorb some pretty nasty stuff (like waste!), metal are easier to clean but often have wood bottoms or no bottoms at all which can make nest checks challening. In our barn we use plastic totes with high walls to keep the kits in the box; they are easy to clean, wightweight, easily stackable for storage and easy to pull out for nest checks, but we've also seen folks repurposing large kitty litter totes as nest boxes. Cardboard should never be used long term as it absrobs waste and will break down quickly but can made due in a pinch. How big should my nest box be? Your nest box should be big enough for your doe to fit inside and have approximately 2" of space on each side, smaller rabbits obviously need smaller boxes and giant breeds need more space. The plastic totes we use are 14" x 9" x 6" interior measurment and comfortable fit a very pregnant SW Charlotte, who is just over 9 lbs. What should I use as nesting material? The less foreign matter in the nest box the better; natural and synthetic fiber can easily become wrapped around a kits limbs, cutting off ciruculation cuasing damage or even loss of the limb or kit, so while it may seem like a good idea to use cotton balls or fiber filling to help insulate a nest, it can be detrimental in the long run. Stuffing a nest box is pretty simple; we add 2-3'' of shavings to the bottom of each of our boxes to absorb as much of the waste as possible, after that we give our does a few good sized handfuls of timothy hay to build their nest with and that's it! When the time comes they should pull more than enough fur to keep their kits warm until they grow fur and can better regulate their own body temprature; however sometimes does don't pull fur... what do you do then? As I said before, "does will often pull more than enough fur to keep their kits warm" so take some of that freshly pulled fur and set it aside in a plastic bag for just such incidents when a doe fails to prep properly; you can also attempt to GENTLY tug at the fur on her chest and stomach to see if you can pull the fur for her, I do stress GENTLY because if the fur does not release on its own, do not rip the fur from the rabbit as this will cause pain. When can I safely handle my new babies? Depending on your doe you may be able to handle kits as mom has them, but this requires a level of trust between you and the rabbit; however you generally should be able to handle your kits once mom has cleaned them and left the nestbox. Agressive does who box or attempt to bite you while you are checking the kits should be monitiored and given a second thought if they will continue in your breeding program, protective is good but you shouldnt be risking your fingers simply to make sure everyone is still alive. How often should I check the kits and why is it important? The first week of life we generally check the kits once every 2 hours during the day because we are lucky enough to work from home, not everyone has that luxary, checking kits 2-3 times a day is just fine. Keeping a close eye on the nestbox during this time is pretty important as most of your losses will happen within the first few days of life; dead kits can cool pretty quickly and can bring down the temprature of the entire nest, chilling live kits. After the first week we cut down our checks to 2-3 times a day, just making sure the nest is staying dry and the kits are warm and comfortable. When do I clean the nestbox? Sanitation is very important when kits are in the nest box, bacteria from waste can cause infections that can effect kits eyes (nestbox eye) or even effect your does mammory glands (mastitis). Our nestboxes get cleaned on day 7 after kindling so long as they have stayed reasonably clean, bigger litters can dirty a box fast so make sure to check it daily. This is our cleaning process: -Save any clean, dry fur -Dump contents -Rinse -Spray with 50/50 mixture of brown Listorene and 91% isopropol alcohol and let sit for a few minutes (we usually take this time to weigh each kit indvidually) - Rinse again and wipe dry -Add 2-3" of clean shavings and replace fur if necessary, if the ambient temprature is staying between 70-80 degrees Kits will often begin to leave the nestbox around 2-3 weeks of age and once the first one figures it out, it's only a matter of time before the rest follow. Once the first kit pops out we tip our nest boxes on their side, which gives babies easier access to explore and our does will take advantage of the long side of the box to enjoy some baby free time. Our next article will focus on weaning procedures and information, hope to see you there!