Monday, August 22, 2005
Nest Boxes
It seems to me that rabbit breeders are very particular about the type of nest boxes they like. Once they find what they like, they look down their noses at other types. I'm probably no different. I got some boxes from another breeder that she just loved. And I hated them. I'm sure she was able to use them well, but they just didn't suit me and my style and my routine.
Regardless of the type you like - metal, wooden with solid bottom, wooden with wire bottom, built-in with liner, or other type - there are several things that are common to all.
First and foremost, nest boxes must be sanitized between uses. That doesn't mean just brushing them out or even spraying them out. They must be either bleached or sanitized with an iodine-based biocide. If my husband Andrew prepares my nest boxes, which is normally the case, he sprays them off and removes any old hay. Then he dips them in one part bleach and five parts water. After twenty minutes or so, he rinses well and then puts them into the sun to dry, if the weather cooperates.
If I do them, I spray them off like he does, but then I saturate them with a diluted iodine based biocide (Povidone or Vanodine). Then I place it in the sun to dry. I'm sensitive to bleach but not iodine.
I once got caught short without a nest box for a doe who needed one. So I took one that wasn't visibly dirty, but used, and placed it with the doe. I thought that it wouldn't hurt "just this one time." Everything seemed to be fine. The kits didn't die from a mysterious illness or anything. But when I took the doe out to see if she was in good enough condition to rebreed, I found a huge lump under one teat (golf ball size). I took her to the vet and he told me it was the worst case of mastitis he'd ever seen. It had to be lanced in two placed. Then I read that mastitis was one of the things that could happen if you don't sanitize your nest boxes. Boy, did I feel terrible. I will never do that again.
The next thing that is important is that the nest box is added to the doe's cage on day 28. I was late one time and didn't get it in until day 30. The doe delivered an hour later. You can just imagine her in her cage with her legs crossed wondering where the heck her pet person is with that box!
The box should be comfortable to the doe. Rabbits can scrunch into much smaller areas than we give them credit for. All the same, different does prefer different things and your nest boxes should accommodate different preferences.
The box should also protect the kits. I like boxes with a shelf above so that the kits can be nestled underneath and protected from the dam's jumping in and out. The kits need to stay close together in a protected part of the nest box.
The nest box should protect hungry kits from wandering out in search of a midnight snack. Our first litters were disasters. We bred two does and had no idea what we were doing. I put a hole in end of a plastic shoe box for a nest box. The doe loved it and climbed right in. She had lots of privacy and was very snug. But when I swept the dining room the next day, I found a kit 16 feet away behind a basket of books! The box should allow the doe to get in and out easily. It should allow older kits the ability to get back in when they are not quite ready to graduate the nest box, but it should keep tiny kits inside.
The nest box should allow urine to flow through and not build up in the nest box. This point is especially important with big litters that need to stay in longer because of cold weather. A lot of urine can build up on a solid bottom in a hurry.
A good nest box, in my opinion, should not overbake babies in the summer or chill them in the winter. I'm sure there are a lot of nifty advantages to using metal nest boxes, but those two issues will probably keep me from ever doing it.
Nest boxes are easy to build and your can build nest boxes (or build kindling boxes) quite easily if you can saw, screw, and hammer. You can make ten boxes or more per sheet of plywood, depending on the size you make.
To read more about using nest boxes, you might want to check out the following webpages:
Rabbit Nest Boxes (Rabbit Kindling Boxes): How to Build Ten Nest Boxes From a
Sheet of Plywood - also contains information on how to use this type of nest box.
Breeding Holland Lops - the main page for a series of webpages on breeding rabbits, contains a page on nest boxes.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry
"Holland Lops of Distinction"
http://www.thenaturetrail.com/
http://www.thenaturetrail.com/blog/BLOG
¶ 2:10 PM
Regardless of the type you like - metal, wooden with solid bottom, wooden with wire bottom, built-in with liner, or other type - there are several things that are common to all.
First and foremost, nest boxes must be sanitized between uses. That doesn't mean just brushing them out or even spraying them out. They must be either bleached or sanitized with an iodine-based biocide. If my husband Andrew prepares my nest boxes, which is normally the case, he sprays them off and removes any old hay. Then he dips them in one part bleach and five parts water. After twenty minutes or so, he rinses well and then puts them into the sun to dry, if the weather cooperates.
If I do them, I spray them off like he does, but then I saturate them with a diluted iodine based biocide (Povidone or Vanodine). Then I place it in the sun to dry. I'm sensitive to bleach but not iodine.
I once got caught short without a nest box for a doe who needed one. So I took one that wasn't visibly dirty, but used, and placed it with the doe. I thought that it wouldn't hurt "just this one time." Everything seemed to be fine. The kits didn't die from a mysterious illness or anything. But when I took the doe out to see if she was in good enough condition to rebreed, I found a huge lump under one teat (golf ball size). I took her to the vet and he told me it was the worst case of mastitis he'd ever seen. It had to be lanced in two placed. Then I read that mastitis was one of the things that could happen if you don't sanitize your nest boxes. Boy, did I feel terrible. I will never do that again.
The next thing that is important is that the nest box is added to the doe's cage on day 28. I was late one time and didn't get it in until day 30. The doe delivered an hour later. You can just imagine her in her cage with her legs crossed wondering where the heck her pet person is with that box!
The box should be comfortable to the doe. Rabbits can scrunch into much smaller areas than we give them credit for. All the same, different does prefer different things and your nest boxes should accommodate different preferences.
The box should also protect the kits. I like boxes with a shelf above so that the kits can be nestled underneath and protected from the dam's jumping in and out. The kits need to stay close together in a protected part of the nest box.
The nest box should protect hungry kits from wandering out in search of a midnight snack. Our first litters were disasters. We bred two does and had no idea what we were doing. I put a hole in end of a plastic shoe box for a nest box. The doe loved it and climbed right in. She had lots of privacy and was very snug. But when I swept the dining room the next day, I found a kit 16 feet away behind a basket of books! The box should allow the doe to get in and out easily. It should allow older kits the ability to get back in when they are not quite ready to graduate the nest box, but it should keep tiny kits inside.
The nest box should allow urine to flow through and not build up in the nest box. This point is especially important with big litters that need to stay in longer because of cold weather. A lot of urine can build up on a solid bottom in a hurry.
A good nest box, in my opinion, should not overbake babies in the summer or chill them in the winter. I'm sure there are a lot of nifty advantages to using metal nest boxes, but those two issues will probably keep me from ever doing it.
Nest boxes are easy to build and your can build nest boxes (or build kindling boxes) quite easily if you can saw, screw, and hammer. You can make ten boxes or more per sheet of plywood, depending on the size you make.
To read more about using nest boxes, you might want to check out the following webpages:
Rabbit Nest Boxes (Rabbit Kindling Boxes): How to Build Ten Nest Boxes From a
Sheet of Plywood - also contains information on how to use this type of nest box.
Breeding Holland Lops - the main page for a series of webpages on breeding rabbits, contains a page on nest boxes.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry
"Holland Lops of Distinction"
http://www.thenaturetrail.com/
http://www.thenaturetrail.com/blog/BLOG
¶ 2:10 PM
