Why Do Wild Cottontail Rabbits Build a Separate Nest for Babies?
Adult cottontail rabbits don’t live in nests. They simply build them for their young. Since the mother often leaves the young for long periods of time, it gives a false impression she has a separate nest elsewhere.Nest PurposeThe nest gives baby cottontail rabbits a warm, dry place to survive. It does not, however, serve as a home for the mother or father cottontail.CompositionDead grass and chest hair from the mother make up a cottontail nest, according to Rainbow Wildlife Rescue.MisconceptionOften humans find helpless baby cottontails and believe their mother abandoned them. In reality, the mother comes back to the nest once or twice a day.NursingThe only time a mother cottontail rabbit returns to her nest is when her babies need food. This amounts to about five minutes per day, according to Rainbow Wildlife Rescue.FertilityCottontail rabbits are very fertile because so many of their babies die.
