# doe peed in nest box...



## darbyfamily (Mar 16, 2005)

is there a way to clean the kits? they're all yucky and stink.. and ICK... should I put fresh bedding in and clean out the box? should I just leave her to tend to her babies? I just hate it that they all smell like potty now. its so stinky.

bit of info.. she is a first time mom lop ear bunny that we've had for about 5 mths. We had no clue she was pg or due soon and she started having them last friday evening in the cage with no warning and no nest or pulled fur. We got all 7 babies and put them in a box with some straw and put it back into her cage and she's been taking pretty good care of them now for a week...

and an obligatory picture 

five white with some gray on them and two almost all gray it looks like. doe and buck are both mostly white with hints of gray on the ears and nose.











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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Clean out the box, put in new bedding, put the old fur back in if there is any clean, wipe the babies off with a soft dry rag. You have to try to prevent the doe from peeing on the babies again. Was the box recently moved to her toilet corner? If so move it out, if not try putting another box in for her to use as a toilet.


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## darbyfamily (Mar 16, 2005)

thinking we need a smaller box. right now there is a dish pan in there, it was the first thing we could find when we found 5 babies on cold wire cage the other day... but it takes up half the cage we moved her to 

I'll get them moved to a slightly smaller box and clean them up a bit.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Been there, done that. My first litter didn't even get a box and the second was born in a 5 gallon bucket. When you panic you do what you have to. At least they are all ok still. Pretty babies too.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Ah... you moved her to another cage since the kindling? Did the move perhaps coincide roughly with the beginning of her peeing on the kits? If so, I'd say that was likely the trigger.

In your place, I'd likely take the nest box out and only return it to her for feedings 2 - 3 times a day. Just do this for long enough to break the pattern, a couple of days or so. Then gradually increase the time they spend with her again during the day. Their eyes will soon be open and they will be bouncing all over... if you break her bad habit now, chances are that things will settle down once they are mobile.

I'm confused though. If you have had her for five months, she must have got pregnant while in your care. Or did you think the mating had not been successful?


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## trinityoaks (Sep 17, 2008)

What adorable little popples!


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## darbyfamily (Mar 16, 2005)

we got her and the buck and they were babies when we got them... too young to breed... and they had been in a cage together before we got them. We were short a cage so we just kept them together... not really noticing how much time had gone by and she never seemed to look pg... and we never saw any hint of "activity" and we're around them a LOT. 

Anyway, no, she hadn't peed on them at all until yesterday, so almost a full week.

yes we moved her from the cage she shared with the buck into a smaller cage and into the house because of the freezing temps. so lots of changes but despite all that she's been a really good little mama... til she forgot where she was in the cage and 'wet the bed' so to speak


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

I get the picture now. 

I'd think if there have been no further "accidents" that it was just a one-time thing, brought on my nervousness about the changes. With a little luck  chances are pretty good that she will behave herself :angel: from now on. Just keep an eye on her.


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## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

Personally, I went through this with my frenchie doe. I would pull the box and give it to her twice a day until the babies are jumping out of the box. Even in the house they can get chilled and die. I lost a week old one that way.


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## Honorine (Feb 27, 2006)

Normally when a doe pees on her kits it means she's not taking care of them, or is abandoning them. Often it goes hand in hand with maiming. She'll just sit on them like their not there, as if she's unaware of their presence, using the nestbox as a roost and a potty. This normally happens when their first born, and sometimes with first time mothers, or just lousy mothers. I had a mini-rex that came from a long line of excellant mothers, and I had tightly linebred to get her. She was a horrible mother, maimed the one litter I tried to get her to raise(not her first) and peed on them. Yours however sounds like she was frightened, and hopefully she'll settle back down. Good Luck!!!


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## Ozarkquilter46 (Jun 5, 2002)

Its been a couple days can we have another pic. I just love the baby pic's


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