In Canada we have four seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Rabbits, in case you didn’t know, can breed all year round. Caring for babies in the spring and fall is EASY. In the summer it’s pretty easy as long as you check on babies on those super hot days to make sure they aren’t fully covered in fur. There is usually no need to be shelving baby rabbits.
Winter on the other hand… shows the skills of your does. Will they have a large litter? Or will they cover their litters with enough fur? Perhaps they will jump cleanly in and out of the box? Sometimes, your does will need help. Helping a doe in the winter is as simple as shelving them.
What does Shelving Babies Mean?
Shelving babies means you take the babies away from mom. I leave them in their nestboxes, whereas others choose to have a nest of hay prepared for them. Regardless, you take the babies and you put them some place safe overnight. Where you put them depends entirely on your housing, predator issues, and the temperatures.
How I have Shelved Baby Rabbits
I have brought bunnies into the house… usually litters of three or less in the deep cold of winter. Putting them on the corner kitchen counter covered with a towel worked well. We now have voracious Miss Lizzy so this is less of an option for me.
There is an empty wood cage in the rabbitry that I have placed larger litters in overnight. I cover them with a towel to keep babies in their own boxes. In the cold of winter this works well as there are no predators about. But what could I do for the early and later winter times? How could I keep them safe from the odd possum and the neighbour’s idiot cat?
My solution: I made some shelving boxes. Three inexpensive rubbermaid-type bins, clear so I could easily see the kits, with lockable lids.
Building Shelving Boxes
I made three boxes in total, each a bit different as I figured out what would work best. I allowed a couple of them to “accidentally” fall in such a way that I would break a corner off a lid. This allows extra heat to vent. The rest was just some holes drilled in at different levels.
It’s a balancing act right? You want the babies safe in their boxes for the night where they will stay warm, and yet you can’t let them over heat either.
What’s Great About Shelving Baby Rabbits?
What is great about my new shelving boxes is
- They are stackable .. this is why corner vents work!
- I can put two litters in one box.
- Bunnies stay warm enough I don’t need to bring them in the house. Keeping them safe from our hunting cat.
Since using the shelving boxes when the weather is cold (or at least chilly) I haven’t lost a single kit.
- No kits dragged out of boxes by mom when feeding.
- Kits not lost when at that 10-14 day really bouncy mark.
- No separation from the group between 14-20 days when the box is filled on it’s side.
At night the kits are safe. I’ve also not had damage done to babies by passing possum or coon either! WOOHOO!!!
This method works well for me in the area that I live. I don’t have to contend with fire ants, snakes or other such critters that would take advantage of my vent holes. I can leave them outside where they don’t have to adjust to temperature changes between inside and out.
Safe and secure my babies can grow up!
Others in This Series
- American Fuzzy Lop.
- Baby Bunnies.
- Culling well.
- Discussing Death.
- Errors in Judgement.
- Feeding Rabbits.
- The G’s of rabbits.
- Holland Lops.
- Interesting facts about rabbits.
- The Joy of Bunnies.
- Choosing Rabbits to Keep.
- Leaping Lagomorphs.
- The Scoop on Poop.
- Not Wanted Rabbits.
- Over the Hill.
- Educating Pet Rabbit Buyers.
- Quarantine.
- Rescues and Breeders.
- Shelving Babies.
Letter S Link Up
Each week we will be linking up with the hosts of Blogging Through the Alphabet. Please visit some of these other blogs to get things like book lists, vegan recipes, and wonderful places to visit, just to name the topics I can think of off the top of my head.
- Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool
- Christine @ Life’s Special Necessities
- Kimberly @ Vintage Blue Suitcase
- Dawn @ Schoolin’ Swag
- Wendy @ Life On Chickadee Lane
- Yvonne @ The Life We Build
- Jennifer @ A Peace Of Mind
- Kristen @ A Mom’s Quest To Teach
- Kirsten @ DoodleMom Homeschool
I love how you are able to think out of the box (sorry – no pun intended) to take care of your animals. You are doing a great job of educating others about ways to safely care for bunnies.
oh thank you Lori! 🙂 it’s sometimes a learning curve for me too!
Such a creative idea! I have learned so much about caring for bunnies from this series.
thank you Dawn. 🙂
This was really interesting. Kinda reminds me of how some people store their snakes – in shelving units.
ACK! Not like snakes, not like snakes! 🙂 sorry..couldn’t resist. 🙂
Question for you? At what stage do you move the kits into the barn with mom permanently? What about them getting mommas poop? I’ve heard they need it? But at what age is it important? We have 14 day old kits shelved since birth and now wondering about the next step. Its pretty cold in our part if Canada too!
okay, when do I leave them out permanently? In my current set up they stay warm and protected and outside 24/7. I only bring tiny litters in and when I do so, it’s only overnight. They stay out during the day. The trick is to leave them out as much as possible so long as you can trust the doe. If the doe is nasty, then I choose I don’t know where you live, but here in SW Ontario the cold is quite do-able yet. At 14 days they should be able to handle staying outside. I would generally leave them outside all the time once they were a week old, and shelve them only when they pop out of the box. So I would, If I were you, put them outside during the day. and then bring them in at night until they are three weeks old. At that age, you can tip the box for them so they can huddle together in the flipped box.
Thanks for getting back to me. I’m pretty concerned about the temperature change for them. +10 to -10 C is a big difference.
I think it’s much colder here in northern Alberta. You’ve given me food for thought. Thank you.
If they are snuggled into their nest the temperature outside of the nestbox doesn’t matter. All that happens when it is cold is they snuggle deeper which means cleaning out the nestbox earlier. When it is warmer out they snuggle less. Winter weather shows the stellar qualities of the nests that your does make.
yesterday the temps were -10 here with a bone-chilling wind. I would have had NO issues leaving kits outside except for kits three or less in a litter than were less than three days old.
Great idea! I am impressed by your rabbit knowledge!
thank you.
I have a momma that is eating the babies. I have pulled the last one and decided to shelf. When ,if at all can I leave the baby with her again? I don’t want to risk her killing it
Usually if mommas are eating live babies there is something stressing them, so until you find the stressor, shelving is best. Kits are usually safe once they can run away from mom. so about three weeks old. Or sometimes it just works itself out their systems. but normally, it’s a stress thing. bring baby out a couple times a day. It’s probably best with a singleton to make sure it’s kept nice and warm anyways, cold babies can’t digest food and tend to die quickly.
Hi my Holland lop had a litter of 4 2 days ago. This morning I noticed she had one kit separated from the rest and had chewed off its foot. It died. I want to protect her other babies by separating her from them. How frequently and about what time of day/night should I return her to her kits?
so I have to ask… did the kit die and THEN she chewed off a foot, or did you actually see her chewing the foot of a live kit? Does might “clean up” a dead kit (or simply start the process). Knowing which came first matters. 🙂 helps you better understand your does behaviour. if a kit gets out of the nestbox at two days old they chill and die quickly. But to actually answer your question. People have different systems. Mine MOST of the time is simply to remove the kits overnight as, in my herd, that’s the most dangerous period for me with questionable does. I bring the kits out around 7 a.m. and leave them out til 10. IF I am completely shelving I bring them out from 7-8 (basically while I do chores) and then again from 7-8 at night (while I again do chores). MOST of the time the does jump in and feed their kits immediately, the extra time gives me a chance to observe their behaviour. Most of the time I don’t need to shelve beyond a couple of weeks.