Stinky Rabbits

[amyrj16]

Have anyone got any ideas to make the hutchessmell nicer, their pee really stinks it out. I have the disenfectantbut it doesnt make *that* much of a difference. What does everyone elsedo about the smell? Oh, and does a rabbits pee ever smell less?! Lol.They all stink, esp the males and one has been neutered!

 

[dajeti2]

How often are you cleaning the cages? Thereason I ask is, Apollo is intact also. I clean his cage 2 times a weekand his litter box everyday. I have not had any problems with him orhis cage smelling.

Tina

 

[amyrj16]

We clean ours about 2-3 times per week, and scoopout the dirty bits every day. But they're all still smelling of pee.What do u mean by intact? 2 of my rabbits have been neutered/spayed,but it hasnt helped any.

Ugh, stinky bunnies :?

 

[dajeti2]

Apollo hasn't been nuetered. I have found thatonce your done cleaning the cage, wipe it down with some white vinegar.Another thing that is a big help is putting a bit of vanilla extract inthe drinking water.

Tina

 

[Buck Jones]

The problem with some intact bucks is that theywill spray a lot, thereby saturating the wooden components of ahutch. The soil beneath the hutch can retain the odor ifallowed to accumulate.

I clean hutches with soap, hot water, vinegar, and bleach , then allowfor sunshine drying. We were recently given a portable steamcleaner which I will definitely add to my cleaning regimen. Iclean when I think is necessary, which is seldom or seasonal.Our rabbits are on wire floors, so there is little mess heldinternally. The soil beneath the hutches does not suffer fromover saturation because I've mounted my hutches on lawnmower andchildren's bicycle wheels in order to preclude such aproblem. I've read of people spreaing lime beneath theirhutches to cut down on odors, but, as I have no need to do that, Icannot vouch for its efficacy.

Some feeds contain a yucca extract that minimizes the ammonia affectwithin rabbit urine. I add vanilla flavoring to the drinkingwater to discourage fly strike because the odor of the vanilla in therabbits' urine and stool repels flies. Conversely,it does not smell as bad to us. It also tends to increasewater consumption by the rabbits, which is a good thing.

Buck

 

[champa&chess]

wow, i have never heard of putting vanilla in therabbits water. do you just use regular vanilla extract, and how much?is this totally safe for your rabbits? would it be reccommended forindoor rabbits as well?

thanks

 

[dajeti2]

I believe it's half or an eighth of a teaspoonadded to the drinking water. Apollo is an indoor rabbit and I use itfor him. I am surrounded by farms so the flies are awful here. I put alittle less than a teaspoon in Apollo's water. I use a bit more thanrecommended because he is a bit bigger than most bunns and the fliesare so bad. You can use a brand name or a generic, it doesn't matter.Most people use generic because it is cheaper. As a cute little sideeffect is Apollo smells very lightly of vanilla lol. It does reallywork well.

Tina

 

[CuddlesMom]

Id try bakingsoda also in the litter box

 

[pamela227]

You might want to check therabbit'sbottoms also & make sure that theres nothingstuck on their fur like urine or poop that might be causing them tostink.

~pam

 

[trekcip5]

The vanilla works very well. I used tomeasure, but now just put some in each gallon of water, it turnsslightly brown. Our rabbitry is in an old schoolbus. At last count, including kits in nest boxes, we have75. We use drop pans, I clean once a week, dump in pile, hosedown, and put back. We have 40 cages, somme with double pans,so it takes a while. The windows are all open and I have 2fans running one at each end. Considering the heat we hadlast week, the odor wasn't really bad. We also have 2 buns inthe house. Their pans have store brand kitty litter inthem. It does a great job controlling the oder. Ifound that it was harder during the winter as the bus was sealed up,and when below 20 I had a heater going. The odor was reallybad as I would have to wait for it to get to above 32 so I could dragout the hose to clean. I think this winter I am going to keepputting the vanilla in and see if it makes a difference. Donna

 

[AmberNBuns]

trekcip5 wrote:

...Their pans have store brand kitty litter inthem...

You don't use clay litter, do you?

 

[Lovely Bren]

Hey there, "my main rabbit man"!

How in the world are you? I have aquestion: How much vanilla extract do you add to the water? And isimitation vanilla extract ok to use?

Thanks a bunch for your answer!

Bren

 

[dajeti2]

Vanilla extract is fine. You generally addabout half a teaspoon to a gallon of water. You can add a little moreif you need to.

Tina

 

[Lovely Bren]

Thanks Tina. I appreciate your help!

 

[Buck Jones]

Bren,

I say 1 tsp per gallon of water because most people "demand" an exactquantity, but I usually don't measure it as it is not rocket science byany means. I pour until the color of the water begins toalter.

Can't hurt. Buns consumption of water may increase due to theenhanced flavor. Don't worry about exact amount.Should reduce the number of flies attracted to the rabbits' urine/poops.

Buck...in Hollywood, as I type these very words. Spentafternoon/evening at San Pedro Elks Lodge overlooking harbor andPacific Ocean. God, what magnificent weather!

 

[Loz n Ebony]

In england we have this lavender spray speciallymade for small pets, after cleaning it out you spray it. you can sprayit on their bedding (to reduce oder) and stains on the carpet. Even therabbit itself. You can use it for their food bowls when youclean them out as well. apparently flies hate lavender but you can alsoget it in Lemon and coconut.

So really any sprays like that are good I find cos it makes their hutch smell nice.

Luv 4rm loz

oxoxoxox