NZW 1st litter, no motherly instincts.

[Bunnylady]

I'm not sure how the empty water bottles are supposed to work? For starters, who has that many water bottles just sitting around? They don't weigh very much when empty, so what's to stop the doe from just moving them out of her way? And if you make it impossible for the doe to move the water bottles or kindle anywhere other than in her box, doesn't that mean she's going to be basically trapped in the box until you come in and clear away the bottles? That could be a lot of pee and poop in the box, to say nothing of squashed babies.

 

[Tale of Tails Rabbitry]

With the warmer weather I may just put hay in the cage, but I would hate for them to fall through the side wire.

All our cages for kindling have baby catching wiring around the lower sides of the cage, about 4 to 5 inches up, however the kits really need to be together in a "nest" to survive even in warmer weather. I have seen them climb blind up and over our baby catching wires when they cannot find the nest or other kits.

The water bottles...? The only think I can think of is that they would annoy the doe and she would prefer the box, maybe? But then when she needs to be outside of it after kindling, I am in agreement with @Bunnylady: How does that work?

 

[pintail_drake2004]

The breeder told me that anything to take up the extra space in the cage and suggested extra feeders and water bottles to do the trick. He said he used it when his does kindle on the wire, he will fill up the cage to force her to kindle in the box.

 

[Tale of Tails Rabbitry]

A doe laying in the nest can smother or crush the kits. She needs to be out of it once she has kindled.

 

[Bunnylady]

He has 250 rabbits, in his operation.

This guy fills water bottles for 250 rabbits?! I have never had more than 80 holes at any one time, but I've been using an automatic watering system for 30 years. I'm wondering just how many times this guy has tried this trick of his; I've known rabbits that would throw/knock something as light as a bottle into the nest box (repeatedly), just for the entertainment value of it.

Another trick you might try, is turning the nest box on its side. The idea behind that is that it puts the entrance on the same level as the doe; having to move up to go into the box is a foreign concept (the burrow that the doe would naturally dig being entered by moving down). People who use dropped nest boxes (boxes that are placed in a space under the cage, and entered through a hole in the floor) report that they almost never have does kindling on the wire.