Nest getting smelly

[Sabine]

Pearl's babies are just over a week old and their nest is beginning to smell a bit. As I spot clean on a daily basis I am not used to smells from the hutches. It obviously is too early to clean it out now but I was wondering what is the earliest after they have started hopping around you could clean out the compartment?
It is relatively mild at the moment and it being May it's unlikely to get colder. I was hoping that by next weekend I could replace the litter and bedding in the babies compartment?

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

I wonder if the babies' mom might be soiling the box? Have you also checked to make sure you didn't miss any dead kits?

In either case, I'd go ahead and clean the nest now. Salvage as much fur as you can to put back in, but just remove the soiled bedding and replace it with new. Make a little hole in the kits' usual spot, line it with some of the fur, and stick them in with the rest of the fur on top.

If the nest is getting stinky, you won't want to leave it that way. Usually a nest is fine left for the first 2 weeks, but if it's getting dirty, you'll want to keep it clean to avoid nestbox eye.