Your cute little bunny is acting strange. She begins to panic a lot, acts more aggressively, and hoards such things as papers and tufts of her fur. While these all things are quite unusual, this is a normal behavior of a female rabbit who’s about to give birth. It’s time for you to help her prepare by setting up an excellent nesting area in a cardboard or wooden box.
Creating the box
Humans have nine months to prepare for the birth of their babies, but you may not have any time for preparing your rabbit for her birth experience. You should be quick on creating a nest. If you want a nest quick, then you should opt for a cardboard box. All you need is a box that is 12-14 inches in diameter. Then poke holes in the side of the box and then cut the front of the box down to four inches above the ground level. This will enable the mother rabbit to move freely in and out of the box or nest.
Bedding down
Once you have created the box of the right size, you will need to finish it with bedding and straw. In the bottom of the cardboard box, you need to place a one-inch layer of shavings. A second-inch layer should be added during cold weather. Now, lay straw on top of the shavings, this will fill the box altogether.
You can also create a burrow for your rabbit; all you need to do is use your fist to chisel out a small area. With this, you have done your part and helped the rabbit get a nest. But don’t be surprised if your rabbit makes her way into the cardboard box and rearranges everything. It’s quite reasonable.
Wooden box
The cardboard box is undoubtedly the best choice for a nesting box; it has some downsides too. If it survives for an extended period, it can become urine-soaked. Rabbits love chewing and will gnaw on the cardboard continuously, and most likely, they’ll end up destroying it.
Cardboard is the best choice for temporary periods until a wooden box is created with a metal grate bottom. You can quickly put the cardboard box inside the wooden box without even disturbing the nest.
Mother knows best
All mothers, whether humans or animals have a natural tendency to care for their newborns. Rabbits have a habit of leaving their nest for a long time and returning to feed their kids only. If your little mother rabbit seems disinterested in its newborns, don’t worry. She is merely doing what she’d probably do in the wild.
Final words
So, to sum this up. The cardboard box is ideal for temporary periods until you don’t create a wooden nest. For a permanent nest having a wooden box is the ideal choice. If you’re in a hurry to create a box, go for a cardboard box until your wooden box isn’t ready.
