Momma rabbit nesting again??

[Sanderee]

Hi . I'm new here and I have a question about my doe. She is a 1yr old house bunny and she just had 3 kits one week ago today. She's been an excellent mom too . Today she has started acting like she's trying to nest again. All of the sudden she's digging at the corners of her cage like crazy and carrying around hay and shredded paper. I checked babies and they are fine, but she keeps adding more covering over them, then they wiggle aroun like they don't want to be covered and she repeats the process. I guess she just seems uneasy or something. This is my first time to have a rabbit with babies so maybe this is normal? She's not always confined to her cage but was when I heard the obsessive digging going on, so I opened the doors to let her roam around a bit. She scratched up a bunch of paper towels I put down thinking she just needed to expel some energy but now she's back in her cage acting restless again. She was only with our buck one time and I was there watching the whole time so she was only bred once and she has not been exposed to him again. Thanks for you're help!

*Sorry I just realized I posted in the wrong place. I'll try to move it.

 

[tonibun]

I don't know why she is behaving this way, she obviously has her reasons. Are you giving her lots of green veg or grass, this is what they crave most when they have babies. This is if she is already used to eating greens of course. Dandelion leaves also will be appreciated. Make sure to wash the veg. Has she got some privacy and there are no predators around to frighten her? Hope she is ok.

 

[Sanderee]

Yes, she get's plenty of greens and hay. I feed her greens twice a day, unlimited timothy hay, and pellets once a day. She is in our laundry room where we keep the door shut when we are not in there. She's confined to her cage except for a couple of hours in the morning and an hour or so in the evenings. We do have a small house dog, but she is used to our dog and we've never had any issues. They are never alone together.

 

[marleysworld]

It sounds like she is scared of her babies being found and attacked. Is the dog allowed near her when you are there? If so it could be the dog and you will need to keep it from going in the room with her. It could also be her worrying if she is a 1st time Mum. Try not to go anywhere near her nest. She should be able to look after them on her own.

 

[Fri]

If her babies are fat and happy I would advise covering her cage up darker area with a towel if she is indoors and leave her until she has settled don't interfere with her babies until they start leaving the nest make sure I am assuming she is in an indoor hutch nothing falls through the bars ie babies just feed her twice a day add a few dandelions incase she has milk issues and keep predators cats dogs children away see if that calms her down.
First time mums are funny sometimes (0;

 

[Tamsin]

Is it a mesh cage - I agree she could be feeling abit exposed. Rabbits would usually nest in an underground quite enclosed space. I'd suggest getting some cardboard and covering the top, sides and half the front. That may make her feel more secure. I'd keep the dog away too, although she might be used to him, it's normal for rabbits to keep everyone (human or animal) away from their nest. They rely on stealth (no one knowing it's there) to keep the kits safe. Remember she'll have a lot of hormones driving her instincts at the moment.

I would stick to your normal routines for exercise/time out of the cage. Rabbits don't spend a lot of time nursing and she'll get bored cooped up - make sure she can get back if she wants to though.