It's been about five months since we became rabbit owners. I have learned a great deal about them. I hope the children have too. Interestingly, some of what I have learned is counter to all the information available on the internet. Male rabbits actually do help build nesting burrows contrary to what this article states here. https://animals.mom.com/cottontail-rabbits-build-nests-giving-birth-6611.htm
Before Pip's death, he built the burrow with Nip. Also, everything I read about nesting burrows stated that they were built shallow and with a loose layer of grass or hay to cover it. See here: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.instructables.com/How-to-Care-for-a-Wild-Rabbit-Nest/%3famp_page=true
My rabbits built full-fledged rabbit holes that mama Nip fit completely down. Rabbit moms are excellent carers. Her second litter gave me a better vantage for observing the unique characteristics of rabbit mamas.
Nip was very protective of her children. Once she moved into the quail enclosure and I moved out her older kits, she built a new nesting burrow. I was flabbergasted as to how she knew where to make a good burrow. I made the connection that she was digging near tree roots which apparently creates oxygen pockets in the earth. Its amazing. My rabbits were cage kept before coming to us, but giving them natural surroundings allowed them to hone in on their God-given instincts.
Once again I never knew exactly when Nip delivered her kits. The hole which I had seen her dig about two weeks before her due date was covered up and patted down. I would come out and try to spy on her to see if she'd had babies or not. Finally, one day...two weeks after she'd given birth I caught her coming out of the hole! I even saw a few heads pop up of her new brood. She quickly but gently pushed them back down and started covering it with earth in a very meticulous and calculated way. It was quite beautiful. A couple more weeks went by and I started to panic that maybe she wasn't still digging them out and nursing them, so I gently removed the earth and exposed the hole. Mind you, she was completely enclosed inside a shelter so I was not worried about the kits. Apparently once I had done this audacious thing Nip decided since her cover was blown there was no point keeping the burrow closed up anymore. I watched over the next few weeks as the kits started to come up and eat real food. Their mom would even go down and get whichever little one wasn't there when I brought in the food, just to make sure they got some! This litter of bunnies we named: Bluey Jr, Midnight, Shiver, Quicksilver, Powdered Snow, Cinnamon, and Nip Jr.
It's been a riot trying to keep all these rabbits in and safe and not mating! They've definitely made it difficult. Some days I feel a bit like Elmer Fudd and I have a nervous eye twitch and want to just get rid of all the pesky wabbits...but most of the time they bring me great joy and I love them and think of them as darlings.
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