Nest box eye might sound concerning. But as long as quick action is taken, it’s nothing to worry about. However, if the eye is not treated immediately, then permanent damage like blindness can occur.
What Is Nest Box Eye?
Nest box eye occurs when a baby rabbit gets debris like hay or urine in their eye while they are in the nesting box. The affected eye gets crusty and sealed shut. This generally happens when baby rabbits are opening their eyes for the first time.
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How To Treat It?
Kits begin to open their eyes at about 10-12 days old. Once your doe has had a litter of kits, it’s a good idea to start checking for nest box eye by 12-14 days old. This will be soon enough to catch any cases before they reach the infected state. It’s as simple as checking over each kit and seeing if both eyes are opening normally. If they appear to be sealed shut, you will want to treat the affected eye by gently wiping it with a soft cloth and warm water to remove the crusty debris and carefully get the eye open. Continue to check the eye twice per day and continue to wipe as needed.
Often times, that’s all you have to do. But if you caught it late and the eye is infected, then you can try brewing up some chamomile tea and gently wiping that over the eye twice per day. Chamomile can help with inflammation and getting rid of the infection.
If you caught it really late then the damage may be done, and the rabbit will go blind. You’ll still want to wipe and clean the eye to get rid of the infection. But the rabbit will have permanent eye damage.
Conclusion
And there you have it. Pretty simple stuff. Catch it early and nest box eye is no big deal. Catch it late and it can impair your rabbits’ quality of life forever.
Nestbox Eye Care Video (CLICK TO VIEW)
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Hi we just experienced this with one of our baby new borns that was 5 weeks old. We didnt know it was called nesting box till today and the warm water and cotton ball cleaning worked. The little thing was able to open both eyes finally on its own for the first time tnis afternoon. But a rabbit website I am on said I shouldnt ever use that rabbit for breeding and I am confused as to why anyone would say that when I thought this is caused from dust ect getting into their eyes causing it to dry over and crust to where they can’t open the eye or eyes. Is there a concern for future breeding too or is that false?? Thanks
That’s curious. You might want to ask them why and for additional details. I’m not sure why an environmental (not genetic) condition that is easily resolved would be a deciding factor in whether or not a rabbit would be a good breeding specimen. It sounds like false information to me. However, if a rabbit is born blind, then that would be an instance where you would not want to breed that animal as it could potentially transfer to future offspring. That’s my opinion. Hope that helps.