Best Rabbit Nesting Box Dimensions, Homemade and Sale

Overview

A nesting box is must-have items for does that are about to kindle (have babies) or outdoor bunnies (as a rabbit sleeping box) since it will help protect them for cold drafts and biting cold winter weather.

Once your kits have been born, this kindling box will help secure and keep your kitten warm. If you do not have one, it is easy for these kits that are yet to grow enough fur to get cold and be separated from their mother.

Making the front entry area slightly lower will ensure that your rabbit does not accidentally injure its kits as it jumps in and out of it.

Also, ensure this box has a roof to help keep your kits warm by minimizing heat loss. However, most people opt for a partial roof.

When should you put a nest box in a rabbit cage

It is recommended that you place it when your doe is about 28 days pregnant or three days before kindling. Setting it too early may encourage the doe to mess with the bedding making the hutch untidy.

Note that when they are about to give birth, most bunnies have a personality shift from their usual sweet-natured temperament to some aggression, hiding, hoarding, collecting papers, tufts of her fur and so on.

When to remove the rabbit nest box

After kindling, your doe will spend most of its time outside the nesting box. It will only hop inside it during feeding time then out, twice a day.

Azrabbits.com recommends that “after three weeks the kits should be hopping in and out of the box often and you can safely remove the nest box from the cage.”

Wooden, Plastic or Metal rabbit nesting box?

On a material of construction, you have the option of going for a wooden, plastic or metallic one. Let us look at each.

Wooden

Wooden nesting boxes are the most natural feeling and they will keep your doe and kits warm. They often have a lower front entry point to allow your bunny to hop in and out of the nest and easily

Although they are the most recommended ones, cleaning and sanitizing them is not easy.

Always ensure they are made from untreated wood that is safe since your bunnies will be chewing it from time to time. You will need to replace it after some time. Avoid softwoods including pine and cedar as they are harmful to your rabbits, warms Rabbit.org.

The bottom of a wooden bunny nesting box should be made of either a pegboard or a ¼" x ¼" hardware cloth which is a wire to allow urine to seep through it keeping the bedding drier and get rid of the noxious ammonia smell in urine.

A pegboard will also help keep your kits cooler in hot summers.

Plastic

Those made from plastic may overcome the sanitizing and cleaning challenges that the wooden ones have.

They come in various designs. Repurposing a plastic littering box can create a suitable nesting place for your rabbits.

Metallic

The metallic ones are durable, sturdy, easy to sanitize and clean. On the other hand, they are colder and may not keep your kittens very warm. They come in various designs with some having a partial roof.

Wire

They can also be made from a high quality galvanized welded wire. It should be closely meshed to avoid trapping the baby’s feet or falling through it.

Although it is easier to clean and sanitize, it might not be able to keep a lot of warm intact.

Drop-down nest boxes rabbits

You can go for this type which hangs slightly below the cage surface. They are mainly made from wire or metal but can be made from other materials.

Rabbit nest box dimensions

According to the University of Nebraska Lincoln, “the size of your rabbit determines the size of your nesting box. The rabbit must be able to move around in the box; it should be a few inches wider and longer than the mom.” Therefore, you need to consider the size of your bunny.

For instance, typical dimensions for meat rabbits such as Californian, Americans, New Zealand White is 18" length, 10" wide and a depth of 8".

If you want to go for designs that have a higher backside and partial roof, the front can be 6" and the backside 10". We will discuss more in detail when we look at how to make a homemade nesting box.

Small to medium-size ones can have dimensions of 14" in length, 9" in width, the lower entry place can be 5" high and the back higher side 9" high.

Large rabbit nesting boxes can be 20" long, 10" wide with the entry side being 7" and the higher backside being 12".

Best rabbit nesting box for sale

Petco.com, Amazon.com, eBay.com, among other websites will give you a wide variety. A few of the good ones we noted include:

Ware Wooden Nest Box for Chickens & Rabbits

If you are looking for the best nesting box, look no further than Ware Manufacturing's Wooden Nest Box as it will offer a perfect place for both resting and nesting. It is safe, thanks to the all-natural unstained wood that is safe even if your bunny chews it.

Furthermore, it is durable, already assembled, and is large enough with dimensions of 11.25-inch Width X 21-inch Depth X 10-inch Height. Your bunnies will simply love it.

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Gladot Pigeon Nesting Bowls and Bed Courtship Breeding House

This Bowls and Bed is a hat-like, handmade nesting place for not only your pigeons but also your rabbits, chinchillas, gerbils, hamsters, among other small animals.

Its shape makes it stable (cannot topple) while the eco-friendly materials used, i.e., corn leaves and straws make it very comfortable, warm and safe for your pets in case they decide to chew it. It doesn't have any contaminants, including pesticides.

Finally, it is very sturdy, you can fix it to your cage, and measures 25 cm in diameter and 7 cm in depth. You can use it during summer or winter, and it will keep your pets warm as they breed.

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Miller Small Animal Nest Box

This brand by Miller is fabricated using galvanized steel with removable wooden bottom making it very durable, comfortable, and easy to clean. Just remove the bottom wood part and clean it thoroughly.  

Your small animals like ferrets, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, or poultry will be very safe and comfortable in it and can burrow it or use it as a den.

Finally, it is large enough for your bunnies, i.e., it measures 18 inches long by 10 inches wide by 9.5 inches height.

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Ware Manufacturing Galvanized Nest Box W/Floor for Rabbits & Chickens

Like its counterpart, Miller, we have just looked at, it is made from galvanized metal and has a wooded panel floor. However, it is open on its top and measures 10"W x 18.5" D x 8.5"H.

It is chew-proof, will provide not only a nesting but also a sleeping and a place to raise kittens for a very long time of period. Don't worry about cleaning or storing it as it is the wooded floor is removable and metallic sides collapsible.

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KW Cages metallic nesting boxes

If you need varying sizes of nesting boxes, KW cages won't miss what you need. They have brands for extra small bunnies like the polish and dwarf nesting box for dwarf bunnies like Britannia Petite, Dwarf Hotot, and Netherland Dwarfs.

Also, you will find small (for Dutch, Mini Rex, Jersey Wooly, Holland Lop, Himalayan, Lion head, Mini Satin, American fuzzy lops, and tans), standard and giant nesting boxes.

 Buy a standard one if you have bunnies such as New Zealand, Californian, American, Champagne D Argent, Bevern, Havana, Belgian hare, or English Spot. Others in this category are Lilac, Harlequin, Silver, Rhinelander, Satin, English Angora, Silver Marten, French Angora, Thrianta, Rex, and Mini Lop.

However, you will need the giant if you have Checkered Giant, Flemish Giants, French Lop, English Lop, Giant Angora, or Giant Chinchilla. 

Your bunnies will love them as they look or less like natural burrows.

Precision Pet 7029286 Single Nesting Box

Precision nesting boxes are wooden boxes available as single, doubles, or triples. Choose the number of want, depending on how many bunnies you are keeping together, as this will ensure they don't share.

While they are meant for chicken, bunnies can also use them as they are safe and suitable for these pets.

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Wood Nest Boxes Small by Wood Nest Boxes - Solid Bottom

People with little assembling skills can buy this ready to assemble brand, which comes with instructions, finishing nails, and precut wood. It measures 8Wx14Lx8H and will serve your bunnies well.

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Most hideouts, hideaway and bunny beds

Most hideouts can also serve as nesting places if they are spacious enough. If you prefer them, some of the excellent brands include the following:

• Ware Manufacturing Ware Rabbit Den
• SunGrow Grass House for Folding Woven Hut for Laying or Sleeping
• Kaytee Natural Tree Trunk Hideout
• Peter's Woven Grass Pet Bed
• Kaytee Woodland Get-A-Way
• Kathson Woven Pet hay Bed for Hamsters, Guinea-Pigs, Rabbits, and Cats
• MODEMODE Natural Seagrass Mat Bed Hideaway Toy, Hand
• Prevue Hendryx 1100 Nature's Hideaway Grass Couch Toy
• PAWCHIE Grass House for Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, Natural Seagrass Hand-Woven Folding for Small Animals

Checkout on the best rabbit hideaways and hideouts, where we have reviewed some of the best brands in the market.

Homemade rabbit nesting box - DIY

Instead of buying these kindling boxes, you can make one at home.  Here are diagrams and a DIY rabbit nest box steps to follow.

In our DIY, we will use dimensions of 18"x 10" and 8" in length, width, and depth respectively with a partial roof. The thickness of the wood we will use is ¾" thick and will use a pegboard at the bottom.

Step 1: Cut all the necessary pieces in the dimensions shown below. The pegboard will be slightly longer by half an inch to give you a place to hold while sliding it out for cleaning.

Step 2: Make a groove at about 0.5 inches from the bottom side of the sides, back and front pieces for sliding in and out the pegboard. The slot should be large enough to allow the pegboard slide in and out but not so big that it will it will easily fall off.

Step 3: Join it together using screws one on each corner. The front part should be placed just above the groove to allow the pegboard to slide in and out.

Step 4: Do not paint or apply varnish. Just leave it that way since rabbits will be chewing it from time to time.

Note

If you are using hardware cloth (wire), you do not need to make the grooves. Instead, you need to mount it from the bottom side.

To avoid it being tossed around, you can put some hooks to attach it at a specific position in your cage or hutch that you prefer.

You can follow the same procedure to make a rabbit nesting box out of cardboard. However, do not opt for grooves. Just fix the pegboard on the bottom of your hardware cloth.

Bedding

For the bedding, you can go for hardwood shavings about 1-2 inches deep and a good brand of hay such as Timothy. Wood shavings together with the mother’s fur will provide excellent insulation against cold.

Hay will work both as food as well as enable the doe to build a hole inside the nest when it nears kindling.

Using your fist, make a small burrow on the bedding but not deep enough to reach the wood shavings. This is not mandatory since the doe can still burrow one on its own.

Cleaning

A rabbit's box for nesting can be a breeding ground for bacteria that might cause infections. Ensure you clean it after 3 to 7 days by removing the bedding except for fur if it is dry and replacing them with dry ones. This might be done often for large rabbit sizes and older kits.

After the kits have grown, thoroughly clean the box before you disinfect it with a mild disinfectant or bleach solution before keeping it. Let each of you does use their own box and do not mix them.