Bunny keeps peeing in cubby

[mrsmeyers]

I have an outdoor rabbit, about 7-8 months old, unneutered. His hutch is wire bottom. He has an enclosed area, also wire bottom. For the cold weather, I created an extra cubby to place inside this area with a solid bottom. I placed Carefresh on the floor and covered that with timothy hay. Three times now (not in a row), he's peed in the cubby area. Two times the Carefresh absorbed it.

This morning, however, I discovered he'd moved ALL the Carefresh and hay aside and peed on the bare wood.

He clearly doesn't appreciate my efforts to keep him warm, cozy and dry ... and that includes dry from his own urine.

So, what now? If I remove the wood bottom, he'll be more exposed to wind (although I've got the hutch boarded up around the bottom to cut the wind). But I don't want him sitting on urine soaked wood. Not to mention, how the heck am I going to keep up with cleaning that once the snow flies? Replacing Carefresh and hay is much faster than removing the wood floor, cleaning it and waiting for it to dry.

Any suggestions? Would putting larger amounts of Carefresh and hay in there work? Perhaps I need to put in huge amounts that he finds impossible to move so easily ...

Can't believe I'm in a battle of wits with a RABBIT.

P.S. If this should be in a different category, I apologize. It seems housing AND behavior related!

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Can you put a litter box in there instead? It would be easier to clean, you would even get 2 so you can just swap it out quickly. You can line it with newspaper and other bedding so it is warmer.

 

[mrsmeyers]

I could try that. Do you think the litter box has to fill the entire cubby though? Otherwise, I'm afraid he'll just pee in the area not covered by the litter box. He's a Holland Lop ... not sure there'll be a litter box small enough to fit in this area, but large enough for him to use.

Thank you for responding!!

 

[JBun]

You could try taking the wood out and just having the wire bottom, then fill with a thick layer of hay. This way when he pees, it will filter through the hay through the wire floor. You will probably still need to replace some of the hay occasionally, as it gets too soiled.

 

[Bville]

I like JBun's idea except I'd use straw because it's a better insulator than hay. Put a layer of it over the wire floor of the enclosed section and put the cubby (with the wood bottom removed) on top of the straw. Then swap out the straw when it gets too soiled.

 

[mrsmeyers]

Thank you for the advice! Where's a good place to buy straw? My breeder said to be careful about where I bought it, but has been unhelpful when I ask specifically WHERE to get the straw, so I've been using the Oxbow timothy hay that I feed him, for lack of knowing what else to use. I'm wary of those straw bales you can buy at lawn and garden centers ... or maybe those would be okay. ??

 

[Bville]

I got my straw from a garden center. It doesn't look great, but I'm going to use it up anyway. You could look on Craigslist for farms near you that are selling it. I saw some advertised that said "never rained on" which sounded like a good idea if you are using it for rabbits. This option may be too expensive with shipping and all, but it would probably be nice quality. http://www.sweetmeadowfarm.com/animal-food-and-hay/straw.html
I get my hay and pellets from them.

 

[mrsmeyers]

Thank you! First, for reassuring me that garden center straw wouldn't be the end of the world. And secondly, for the link!

:happyrabbit:

 

[JBun]

You just want to make sure that whatever straw you get hasn't been rained on and gotten moldy. So it should be stored somewhere covered. If you can't find any, then you could try to find a bale of good horse quality grass hay instead. It would be MUCH cheaper than the oxbow hay. You can check local hay ads or often feed stores will have hay. You want to make sure it is horse quality, never been wet, clean and not dusty, and no weeds. Be very picky about your hay. Some people will say their hay is good when it is crap. Usually the more they are asking for it, the better quality it is.