Recap: Tiny, wiggly, kits sprawled out on the wire bottom cage in the cool garage, less one small runt kit that’s lying in the poop box. All are breathing. 3 are very active. 1 is very weak. 4 are somewhere in between.
We transfer the entire lot into the large cage and move them all into the house.
I then proceed to worry about the house temperature, the noise level, and Coffee’s ability (and willingness) to nurse the kits.
All is well, and we can relax. I sit a respectable distance from the cage on the computer…and I notice one particularly ambitious kit has left the towel stack that we’re calling a nest, and is alone on the cage floor. Then I notice the weak one is off the towel. This can’t be right:
“Hey babe, do you think we should put a box or something in the condo because the kits seem to be scattering about?" I ask.
“No. I think you should leave them alone.”
Leaving them alone is not an option.
A quick internet search reveals that rabbits do not chase or “round up” their stray kits. If one gets out of the nest, he’s on his own. I also realized that the kits indeed require a “box” of some sort, to keep them confined for warmth, and nutrition. At mealtime, the Mama doesn’t look around and make sure everyone gets fed. If you’re not there, you miss the meal. If you miss too many meals, you die. So (by deduction) if the kit is not in the nest, they die.
“Hon? I think we need to make a box nest for the kits” I share with Hubby.
So we get a flat box, put towels at the bottom, a few bunched on top. Then Mama’s fur as lining.
That looks better!
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