Fluffy Mare Nesting Box by Chikahiro

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Inspired by this video on rabbit breeding and @Carpdime’s diagrams. I was looking up random things on Youtube and saw the video. Breeding rabbits. IN WINTER. So, obviously I had to watch that. And it made sense. Then I wondered, “what about fluffies?”

As @AMDk7 opined in the comments (before I could write this up), it does indeed resemble a cat litter box because why reinvent the wheel? In fact, my cat’s litterbox is very much like this except for the drainage grating and removable tray/pee-pad not being there. Fluffies are closer to cat or dog size than rabbit, I think, so the inspiring nesting box didn’t quite seem right.

I liked the idea because it made a certain amount of sense to me. Since fluffies are generally on the small side, I could see this fitting mama and babies comfortably (easily) or the whole family (mama, papa, babbies) rather snugly. A feature to be sure (fluff-pile, warmth, etc). Adding the nesting material (assumedly from any pet shop or farm supply) would be cozy and fulfill nesting instincts if present in your headcanon. I’d imagine fluffy fluff would be easily obtained (how nicely or unfairly is up to you).

Having a limited in and out would be somewhat reassuring, similar to the classic alleyway box. Can see out of it so its not a sorry box, but still feels protected. An adult might need to stoop to get in, but I don’t see that as a problem. Again, more cozy and secure feeling. More private and safe.

Not a replacement for a litterbox. The grating is there for adult accidents and babies who have no bowel control yet.

I see this for home/pet fluffies, some shelters/rescue operations with pregnant dams and perhaps a bit more funding, rescues/refuges, and low-volume breeders (not sure how this compares to Carter’s Creature Comforts by @BFM101). This would be one part of a larger enclosure.

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Some fluffies get spoiled then.
Getting a bit of a cat litterbox vibe from it though.

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Heh. You beat me to posting. Description now up :slight_smile:

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Fastest keyboard in the west.
Ahem.

Maybe there are versions with a sliding cover on the top ?
Either to let sunlight in or to check on the family\foals with out disrupting them.

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Hrm. Possible! I think mechanical simplicity might be best given the residents. The top could be made from a less opaque plastic to let in light better. Maybe a little camera mount could be put there (webcam, gopro, microphone, whatever is the tech device of the month) as well. A baby monitor, even.

Due to my own personal preferences I mostly ignore alicorns, but other folks might well want something that helps keep tabs on things like that. Having Alexa or Siri keep listening for “Biggest Poopies” should trigger an alarm or something, right?

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Translucent plastic might be a good idea as an option for fluffies who think of the covering as sorry-boxish

Neat idea Chikahiro

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Let’s not go too crazy.
The idea i had was just a translucent top with a slide away covering to either let in light, or check up on the occupants with out having to take the entire top off.

But it’s your concept in the end so you decide.

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Well, I present products like this as a starting point for other creators like yourself (admittedly I’m not doing the usual “Chikahiro Multiversal” thing). So if you wanted to take it and revise it to better suit your creations, by all means. Its kind of a generic thing suitable for most headcanons and I don’t think is uncompatible with hive-canon (although @Thk keeps better track of that than I do).

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Well in that case I think i would use it more like a nest box instead of a breeding box where a fluffy or a fluffy couple, or family could feel safe and secure.
A literal hugbox if you prefer.

This would work best probably in a shelter setting, or where there are lots of fluffies.
But even for pet fluffies it may work since they are fragile creatures that are easily startled.

…So now i wanna draw Rambo in his “nestie boxie” surrounded by his Transformers.

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Hey, look at that, I got the title wrong from the image title. D’oh.

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Again, that rabbit breeding video with the nesting boxes is really what inspired it. They use the same box during summer and winter, although during winter they add cardboard sheets underneath to prevent cold air from blowing up and chilling the baby bunnies. Watching it, the does nesting, etc., just made me think of all the stuff folks have done here with fluffies and nests (@artist-kun did a great job with a few I really liked), It made sense.

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So if the mare ready to bare her foals you can just remove the covering to help her, interesting.

And good cleaning after birth.

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When I first saw this on the reddit I thought about my chicken coop where we can just lift open the nesting box lid and gather the eggs; while also peeking in on any chickens who have decided to sit there while we checked.

I found the thought of “hey! Pwivacy pwease!” Amusing

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I love responsibility in fluffy owners :heart:

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There’s always the idea of modifying things yourself.

Modern internet culture has a culture of DIY along the lines of “buy this, add this, screw in a hole and add this, now you have this at 10% the cost plus its better for the environment and not propping up the economy of that one country”.

Look at all the folks stacking video game consoles for crypto mining, and the subculture of making almost everything in your life from wooden pallets. Or all the old worthless cameras, model kits, and janitor uniforms now worth gold because the crew making Star Wars used them for props, ships, sets, costumes.

Shit gets released as something, explodes in popularity for something else.

A simple litter box home for pillowed Fluffs suddenly is the perfect starter kit for the fanciest breeder Hugbox box for practically nothing.

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Yep. Or palette wood could be used to make a less fancy version of this. The bunny nesting boxes that inspired this were super simple as well, and could’ve been made from recycled wood for all I know! I could see fling to Instructables or even a hardware store website and seeing plans for this.

And all this is would be a starting point. You’ve gone a great direction already! I’m sure there are others!

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One concern over the grating is that little foal legs could get stuck and broken unless it is a pretty fine mesh. It could also corrode from urine, which causes additional potential problems once it starts rusting, like tetanus risk.

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It’d be a fine mesh (I just can’t /draw/ a fine mesh). Good point on corroding. I was envisioning it being plastic, but that’d work well too. I half wonder if a plastic mesh would work? Hrm. Or could the grating be plastic coated?

Having it as a defective product would be interesting too.

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Personally speaking I always saw Lewis using something akin to a large Doghouse with his Fluffies. But I could see him upgrading to something like this for cost-effectiveness and for ease of cleaning.

The doghouse is aesthetically pleasing but a real bitch to wipe down

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I’d imagine he could use a doghouse could be like this:

Hrm. Nicer than what our old dog used to have!

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