The Bunny Chat Thread - For Bunny Owners

[ChocolateMouse]

Love that idea! hopefully the rabbits do not chew it away, sometimes they do sometimes they don't.

They do chew on them, but they're free and I can get as many as I need whenever I need. So it's fine.

Some rabbits will leave a nest box in tact for months, some break them violently as soon as the kits start leaving the nest. I like to think of it as enrichment. The ones that get left in tact but are messy get emptied and turned on their sides and used as hidey holes and jumping platforms for the adult rabbits and grow outs. Eventually they disintegrate too into the bedding, usually torn apart by the adults, and then they get taken to the compost when I clean the cages.

Also this means I don't have to sanitize the nest boxes ever, or worry about disease really. The boxes can be composted when they are done being used and I can bring in new, clean ones constantly that have never been in contact with a single rabbit, ever. It's a system that works really well for me.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Since all the costco boxes are "display" boxes, they tend to have one wall that's perforated down to a couple inches that gets ripped open to display the product while the rest of the box is enclosed. This is very similar to how commercial nest boxes are built, and my extra big bunnies fit into them comfortably. Costco just lets you just take them for free if you have a membership and you can use them to carry out your groceries or if they have a lot you can just take as many as you want. We pick the ones that are just the right size for the rabbits and bring them home whenever we go grocery shopping.

 

[Compost King]

@ChocolateMouse I have used the very same type of boxes for nesting boxes for my Seramas and other bantams. it almost feels like they were made for nesting boxes and someone just used them to carry food.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

They really do! They're so useful if you have access to them.

Regular cardboard boxes work too, but not as well. The costco ones just hold up better.

 

[Compost King]

They really do! They're so useful if you have access to them.

Regular cardboard boxes work too, but not as well. The costco ones just hold up better.

I actually get mine from walmart, although I haven't been there much this year. They have boxes that look just like the costco boxes. I haven't needed a new nesting box in a while though and I put in tunnels/caves for the rabbits. I am going to regret doing that if I end up with stillborn rabbits. It will take a lot of work to get it out. I still like the underground tunnel/cave for female rabbits to give birth in because its warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

 

[Fishychix]

Thanks! I definitely wasn't expecting 13!

Neither was she I bet

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Hmm, ran into a weird problem today that I've never run into before.
On of my kits managed to slip the nest box (think mom pulled it out accidentally), move all the way around the nest box and wedge itself between the wire and nest box during the labor day storms. I got it cleaned up, warm, and tucked back in with the others with little more than a bad chill.

But today.... It had pasty butt. Like full-on plugged up, I had to give it a long soak, badly swollen, just like a baby chick in a brooder. I think I got it cleaned up and feeling a little better but I've never seen it before.

I know getting chilled can mess with their digestion, I just wasn't expecting this yellow sludge and I've never seen it before. :T Probably gonna have to clean it up again for the next few days. I think mom is doing a half-hearted job grooming the babies as some others were messy too but not plugged up or swollen. I might have to wipe a few bums when I go to count them every day.

 

[Compost King]

Hmm, ran into a weird problem today that I've never run into before.
On of my kits managed to slip the nest box (think mom pulled it out accidentally), move all the way around the nest box and wedge itself between the wire and nest box during the labor day storms. I got it cleaned up, warm, and tucked back in with the others with little more than a bad chill.

But today.... It had pasty butt. Like full-on plugged up, I had to give it a long soak, badly swollen, just like a baby chick in a brooder. I think I got it cleaned up and feeling a little better but I've never seen it before.

I know getting chilled can mess with their digestion, I just wasn't expecting this yellow sludge and I've never seen it before. :T Probably gonna have to clean it up again for the next few days. I think mom is doing a half-hearted job grooming the babies as some others were messy too but not plugged up or swollen. I might have to wipe a few bums when I go to count them every day.

what breed are they?

 

[Fishychix]

Hmm, ran into a weird problem today that I've never run into before.
On of my kits managed to slip the nest box (think mom pulled it out accidentally), move all the way around the nest box and wedge itself between the wire and nest box during the labor day storms. I got it cleaned up, warm, and tucked back in with the others with little more than a bad chill.

But today.... It had pasty butt. Like full-on plugged up, I had to give it a long soak, badly swollen, just like a baby chick in a brooder. I think I got it cleaned up and feeling a little better but I've never seen it before.

I know getting chilled can mess with their digestion, I just wasn't expecting this yellow sludge and I've never seen it before. :T Probably gonna have to clean it up again for the next few days. I think mom is doing a half-hearted job grooming the babies as some others were messy too but not plugged up or swollen. I might have to wipe a few bums when I go to count them every day.

Weird. Keep us posted.
That was a heck of a storm yesterday!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

what breed are they?

These are a mini rex over NZW. The mini rex is a little more aggressive breeding and I was having some trouble getting her to breed, so I stuck her in with him to see if he'd get the job done and he did - we have nine in the nest box. They'll probably all be meat.

I found this page with a nearly identical situation but no chilled kit. But the post blockage swelling and redness and the almost gaping wound look to it is the same;
http://rabbittalk.com/blocked-swollen-vent-graphic-t16303.html
It turned out OK for them with just some daily cleaning for 5 days. Hoping for the same results.