When a female cottontail rabbit is kindling, or gestating her babies, she will begin to build a nest into which she will give birth to and raise her young. In the wild, cottontail rabbits will position their nests in places that sometimes boggle us humans when we find them. Cottontails occasionally put their nests in incredibly obvious places, like the middle of your backyard's lawn, in hopes that a predator wouldn't dare to venture there. This is more likely if you have tall, overgrown grass in your backyard. The problem is, the rabbit doesn't realize that this is a very dangerous place because cats, dogs and sometimes lawnmowers (yikes) can destroy the nest and the babies within.
To build a nest, the mother will use a variety of different materials. Usually the nest consists largely of her own fur. Also it can consist of hay, leaves, and many other soft materials. The mother will arrange the nest in a circular arrangement that all of her bunnies can reside in comfortably. Once she has given birth to her litter, the mother will visit the nest for only a few minutes every twenty-four hours.
If you should happen upon a rabbit's nest with bunnies inside, do not assume they have been abandoned. The mother is most likely only staying away because that is the best strategy to keep predators unaware of the nest. If you or your dog disturbs or ruins a nest, do your best to rebuild it to how it was before. The mother bunny will be able to find it as long as it is near where the old nest was. Also, unlike birds, she will not mind that there is human scent on the nest.
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