Going through a lot of litter

[Kimmie]

hey everyone. I use carefresh litter for my 3 rabbits. I have to change all four litter boxes that they use every day!! Am I not using enough litter to last a few days or what? They poo and pee a lot and the litter boxes are stinky and heavily soiled. I put about 4-5 large handfuls in each one every morning. I see pictures of peoples litter boxes for their buns and it looks like they use pellets quite a bit and that they have a LOT of litter in the boxes!! I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. Thank you. :-(.

 

[JenGibs]

hey everyone. I use carefresh litter for my 3 rabbits. I have to change all four litter boxes that they use every day!! Am I not using enough litter to last a few days or what? They poo and pee a lot and the litter boxes are stinky and heavily soiled. I put about 4-5 large handfuls in each one every morning. I see pictures of peoples litter boxes for their buns and it looks like they use pellets quite a bit and that they have a LOT of litter in the boxes!! I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. Thank you. :-(.

Hello! I get the 40lb bags of “horse bedding” pellets at my local Tractor Supply. It’s $7. My boxes have a layer of those compressed pellets on the bottom and hay on top. I get a compressed bale of Timothy Hay from there too- $20. Lasts forever! (Like 2-3 months). And that’s it! Each day I toss yukk hay from the top and put fresh and I dump the whole box once a week. My buns pee in the same corner of the box so I scoop out that corner every other day and add a handful of new pellets there. The pellets absorb the pee.
Oh, I have 4 litter boxes bc I have 5 bunnies.

Hope this helps some!

 

[Blue eyes]

^ Yup! Wood pellets will be your new best friend! They absorb urine odor and last longer.

I don't bother scooping out old hay or scooping out pellets. I just dump the whole box once per week (for 1 rabbit) or twice per week (for 2 rabbits sharing). I add fresh hay on top of the litter box twice per day. It naturally gets tamped down as the bunny(s) hop in there. They won't eat soiled hay.

 

[Imbrium]

I also buy equine pine from Tractor Supply; $5.99 for 40 lbs and it's infinitely better than carefresh. I *would* buy hay there if they carried timothy in my area, but all they have in Texas is stinky, yellow coastal hay that our rabbits don't particularly like. Feed stores/livestock supply stores can save you a TON of money - I don't buy any rabbit supplies at all from actual pet stores (due to the prevalence of crummy coastal hay here, I buy timothy or orchard from an online retailer (which still beats pet store prices by a disturbing amount)).

 

[JenGibs]

I also buy equine pine from Tractor Supply; $5.99 for 40 lbs and it's infinitely better than carefresh. I *would* buy hay there if they carried timothy in my area, but all they have in Texas is stinky, yellow coastal hay that our rabbits don't particularly like. Feed stores/livestock supply stores can save you a TON of money - I don't buy any rabbit supplies at all from actual pet stores (due to the prevalence of crummy coastal hay here, I buy timothy or orchard from an online retailer (which still beats pet store prices by a disturbing amount)).

Maybe you could ask your local Tractor Supply to get in the compressed bales for you??? Kind of like ship to store?

 

[Niomi]

It is a long drive for me to Tractor Supply or Fleet Farm for me so I get my wood pellets at Menards. They sell stove fuel pellet, which look and work the same as horse stall bedding, and come in 40 pound bags.

 

[Kimmie]

Thank you everyone for your input!! . Would I Have to put hay on top of pellets? I hang their hay racks above/in their litter boxes. I’m definitely going to get a bag of horse pellets!! That sounds like the way to go.

 

[Blue eyes]

I find that having hay on top serves a few purposes. It makes it softer for bunnies which encourages them to hop in. It acts as a sieve allowing the yuck to go down to the litter while keeping their paws clean. And it helps to keep the odor down below the hay and with the litter. Adding hay a couple times per day allows that litter box to remain odor free for a longer time, making it easier to maintain.

 

[Kimmie]

I find that having hay on top serves a few purposes. It makes it softer for bunnies which encourages them to hop in. It acts as a sieve allowing the yuck to go down to the litter while keeping their paws clean. And it helps to keep the odor down below the hay and with the litter. Adding hay a couple times per day allows that litter box to remain odor free for a longer time, making it easier to maintain.

Thank you!! I never thought of that!! Well now I’m on a mission of operation litterbox. Lol.

 

[Imbrium]

Maybe you could ask your local Tractor Supply to get in the compressed bales for you??? Kind of like ship to store?

Hrm. I wonder why that never crossed my mind?? The employees at the nearby Tractor Supply absolutely *adore* our rabbits; I bet they'd look into it if I asked whether it was possible to have something other than coastal delivered to the store in bale form .

 

[Niomi]

The last time I went to Fleet Farm, they had compressed bales of timothy hay. I bought one, but when I unwrapped it at home, it was extremely dusty. I had to take it outside and drop the hay on mesh hardware cloth to get the dust out before I gave it to my rabbits. If anyone gets hay from Tractor Supply, I would like to know what the quality is like.

 

[Kimmie]

The last time I went to Fleet Farm, they had compressed bales of timothy hay. I bought one, but when I unwrapped it at home, it was extremely dusty. I had to take it outside and drop the hay on mesh hardware cloth to get the dust out before I gave it to my rabbits. If anyone gets hay from Tractor Supply, I would like to know what the quality is like.

I just bought a wrapped bale of Timothy from tractor supply yesterday. It was a little dry but not too bad.

 

[JBun]

If you're getting the standlee compressed timothy, the quality varies depending on what crop, batch, etc your store ends up having. I've bought standlee for years for my rabbits and I've had really nice bales that my rabbits absolutely love, to complete crap full of weeds, dust, or crappy brown clumps mixed in, where I've either had to pick through it, throw out half the bale, or just return it. So it's really a guessing game, particularly if they are the bales wrapped in plastic and you can't see what's underneath.

Sometimes in unwrapped bales there will be a pile of loose hay around the stack. Ask the store if you can take a handful to try it out on your rabbits first to see if they like it, before buying a whole bale. You just want to make sure it's clean and absolutely uncontaminated by anything nearby(such as fertilizer). I would suggest not getting a sample that's been on the floor.

If you do end up with a bale that your rabbits really like, I would suggest buying more bales from that same batch to store for later if you have the space to do this. That's generally what I've done over the years to make sure I have a continued supply of good hay that my rabbits will eat.

 

[New2RabbitsDonna63]

I find that having hay on top serves a few purposes. It makes it softer for bunnies which encourages them to hop in. It acts as a sieve allowing the yuck to go down to the litter while keeping their paws clean. And it helps to keep the odor down below the hay and with the litter. Adding hay a couple times per day allows that litter box to remain odor free for a longer time, making it easier to maintain.

Good to know thankyou

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Well, I use Aspen from Walmart and I change their pan everyday--they pee quite a bit and that's the part that really smells--of course the pans they have are not that big--just enough room to lay in, although they do lay on a piece of carpet most of the time, but, their pan gets all their toilet needs--such is the life of a bunny slave! Remember, "Cats have staff, dogs have masters, and bunnies have slaves!"

 

[JBun]

This is an old thread.

 

[The Bunny Room]

Hello! I get the 40lb bags of “horse bedding” pellets at my local Tractor Supply. It’s $7. My boxes have a layer of those compressed pellets on the bottom and hay on top. I get a compressed bale of Timothy Hay from there too- $20. Lasts forever! (Like 2-3 months). And that’s it! Each day I toss yukk hay from the top and put fresh and I dump the whole box once a week. My buns pee in the same corner of the box so I scoop out that corner every other day and add a handful of new pellets there. The pellets absorb the pee.
Oh, I have 4 litter boxes bc I have 5 bunnies.

Hope this helps some!

I have four 12 pound adult rabbits.

I use Timothy pellets or Straw Pellets as the foundation for the litter trays. I think I might try wood pellets If I can find a type that is made from wood that is safe for rabbits. I will try to find hard wood over pine because we add the spent litter to our compost and I am not sure if my rabbits would try to eat the pellets or not and our compost balance would do better with hard wood.

Back to the litter tray, at the end of the day, when zingibe the rabbits fresh hay, I layer what is left from the day’s Timothy Hay or Orchard Grass on top of the litter tray.

I change the cement tray sized (2ft by 2 1/2 ft?) litter box every other day for my two large rabbits, George and Gracie who share a litter box.this helps them stay clean as the urine soak down and they sit on top of the hay. I might start adding a handful of straw, for extra protection when I switch completely to Orachard Grass as as their primary diet.

Hazel and Maude live in their own private enclosures and so their individual trays are changed out completely every 3 days (or twice per week). Keeping a layer of hay and stray on the surface helps all of the rabbits stay clean and comfortable.

I add the spent litter to our compost and it makes the most incredibly rich soil for our large organic garden! Friends actually ask if they can have some of our compost to use in their garden and we always have enough to share.

 

[The Bunny Room]

I have four 12 pound adult rabbits.

I use Timothy pellets or Straw Pellets as the foundation for the litter trays. I think I might try wood pellets If I can find a type that is made from wood that is safe for rabbits. I will try to find hard wood over pine because we add the spent litter to our compost and I am not sure if my rabbits would try to eat the pellets or not and our compost balance would do better with hard wood.

Back to the litter tray, at the end of the day, when zingibe the rabbits fresh hay, I layer what is left from the day’s Timothy Hay or Orchard Grass on top of the litter tray.

I change the cement tray sized (2ft by 2 1/2 ft?) litter box every other day for my two large rabbits, George and Gracie who share a litter box.this helps them stay clean as the urine soak down and they sit on top of the hay. I might start adding a handful of straw, for extra protection when I switch completely to Orachard Grass as as their primary diet.

Hazel and Maude live in their own private enclosures and so their individual trays are changed out completely every 3 days (or twice per week). Keeping a layer of hay and stray on the surface helps all of the rabbits stay clean and comfortable.

I add the spent litter to our compost and it makes the most incredibly rich soil for our large organic garden! Friends actually ask if they can have some of our compost to use in their garden and we always have enough to share.

Funny typos on that post! Sorry!

 

[JBun]

Good to know thankyou

Well, I use Aspen from Walmart and I change their pan everyday--they pee quite a bit and that's the part that really smells--of course the pans they have are not that big--just enough room to lay in, although they do lay on a piece of carpet most of the time, but, their pan gets all their toilet needs--such is the life of a bunny slave! Remember, "Cats have staff, dogs have masters, and bunnies have slaves!"

I have four 12 pound adult rabbits.

I use Timothy pellets or Straw Pellets as the foundation for the litter trays. I think I might try wood pellets If I can find a type that is made from wood that is safe for rabbits. I will try to find hard wood over pine because we add the spent litter to our compost and I am not sure if my rabbits would try to eat the pellets or not and our compost balance would do better with hard wood.

Back to the litter tray, at the end of the day, when zingibe the rabbits fresh hay, I layer what is left from the day’s Timothy Hay or Orchard Grass on top of the litter tray.

I change the cement tray sized (2ft by 2 1/2 ft?) litter box every other day for my two large rabbits, George and Gracie who share a litter box.this helps them stay clean as the urine soak down and they sit on top of the hay. I might start adding a handful of straw, for extra protection when I switch completely to Orachard Grass as as their primary diet.

Hazel and Maude live in their own private enclosures and so their individual trays are changed out completely every 3 days (or twice per week). Keeping a layer of hay and stray on the surface helps all of the rabbits stay clean and comfortable.

I add the spent litter to our compost and it makes the most incredibly rich soil for our large organic garden! Friends actually ask if they can have some of our compost to use in their garden and we always have enough to share.

This is an old thread.

Please create a new thread if this is a topic you all want to discuss.