I can't seem to litter train :(

[whiskylollipop]

I have two 10 week old bunnies that have free run of the house half the day (when I'm home) and they poop and pee everywhere. Attempts to get them to use their litter box have simple failed. I put fresh hay in it every day, relocate their poops into the box religiously and keep pee-soaked tissues in there, but they just won't get the message! My apartment's pretty small so there shouldn't be a problem with being too far from the litterbox.

I feel stupid, it seems like everyone else has no problems litter training their bunnies. What am I missing?

Edit: Is it because they're too young to know to eliminate in one spot? I've noticed they don't pick a corner of their cage to go, they just do it wherever they please.

 

[curiouscarrot]

Ok, I'm a new bunny person, this is from dog training, but assuming bunnies can learn by the same methods..... I don't know whether they are too young, a bunny person can tell you that.

Until they learn it, don't give them free rein. Confine them with their box in a small area and watch. When they go in the tray, make a fuss, give them pats, treats, let them out to run around a bit, give them playtime with a favourite toy, whatever they like give it to them. Just keep doing this. Eventually, they'll learn that using the box is associated with good stuff and you don't need to actually hand out the good stuff. Until they learn the association "I do this, I get rewarded" you just keep rewarding the desired behaviour. By restricting their area, you maximise the chances of them doing the behaviour you want (as you know, they are not going to go and find that tray, so you need to coop them up so it is right there and they'll have to hop in it) so you can reward it and teach them that it's how they should behave.

 

[missyscove]

Do they have a cage or pen or somewhere that's just theirs? I would start there. Use a solid bottom and only put your litter in the litter box. Make it so if they want to eat their hay, they need to be sitting in the box. Slowly give them access to a larger area and put a litter box in every corner until they figure things out. Some rabbits love to pee on soft things so my rabbits aren't allowed on say the bed.
I'm guessing they're not spayed or neutered since they're only 10 weeks old and that's definitley something that will help with their litter habits.

 

[ladysown]

you need to treat young bunnies like you would a toddler. They need to EARN their freedom. So no letting them run all over the place, they haven't earned the right to do so.

Keep them confined to their cage until they are consistently going in the litter box. ONLY remove them when they are under CLOSE supervision (as in you are holding them, training them etc). If you don't, the problem will continue.

as they get better at going to the litter box, then give a BIT more freedom. As in..you can run around here (safely confined area) and you'll monitor them to see if they go back to their box to go pee. If they don't, well then that tells you something doesn't it?

Slowly and surely, buns will learn.

Part of the problem you will need to deal with is that there will be poop and pee smell scattered throughout your living area. You'll need to do your best to get rid of that before letting them run free again or they will just continue their previous actions.

 

[whiskylollipop]

Thanks for all the replies! They live in our lounge/livingroom, so I'm not sure how to confine them bit by bit though. Their cage is too big to fit in any of the bedrooms, and pen fences wouldn't really work as we have furniture everywhere. It really is a typical little apartment with not much space.

Are they, at 10 weeks, territory-marking with all the scattered poos/pees? I assumed it would be a post-pubescent behaviour. They don't spray, just drop little puddles around. Would neutering stop this and make them just need to go in one spot?

missyscove - Their hay is all over the floor of their cage, I use it for bedding as it's much cheaper than commercial rabbit-safe bedding. I just chuck in a fresh handful every couple of days. When they're outside their cage, their hay is in the litterbox, which they do have to jump in to eat. But then they hop out and go exploring all around the apartment, leaving a trail of little poos here and there as they go, like they're not even aware of it.

ladysown - So I should invest in some of those pee enzyme cleaners? Will a professional carpet cleaning do the job?

 

[Jayme]

When a bunny first gets into any new situation, they'll poop and pee just about everywhere for about 2 weeks or so, as a 'I want this to smell like me' sort of thing. Then they'll stop and seem to be more open to 'suggestions' on where to go. I've never had any litter training success before those 2 weeks. If you keep doing what you're doing, after those few weeks, they should start using the litter box (at least mine did).

 

[missyscove]

They shouldn't need any sort of bedding if they're inside in a solid bottomed cage (if they're outside they may need bedding to keep warm). My rabbits started with just their cage bottom (they're in a dog crate) and a litter box and earned their right to a little cat bed, towel and bath mat in there once they'd shown me they were going to use the litter box.
At this point I would confine them to their cage until they learn to use the litterbox in there and only let them out if you're supervising them. I consider a rabbit litter trained when it pees excusively in the litter box and some stray poos are necessary since they use them to mark their territory, but peeing all over the carpet is a behavior I'd consider to be pretty unacceptable.
At the very least I'd get them a second litter box outside of their cage to use so you can help set them up for success.

 

[whiskylollipop]

Oh! That's very helpful, thanks guys!

 

[misssara.k89]

I have two 10 week old bunnies that have free run of the house half the day (when I'm home) and they poop and pee everywhere. Attempts to get them to use their litter box have simple failed. I put fresh hay in it every day, relocate their poops into the box religiously and keep pee-soaked tissues in there, but they just won't get the message! My apartment's pretty small so there shouldn't be a problem with being too far from the litterbox.

I feel stupid, it seems like everyone else has no problems litter training their bunnies. What am I missing?

Edit: Is it because they're too young to know to eliminate in one spot? I've noticed they don't pick a corner of their cage to go, they just do it wherever they please.

That's really weird, my bunny always picks one side of the cage, but as soon as I clean out the cage she seems to switch sides, but still only goes in one corner. I'm getting ready to litter train in an apartment as well with a corner litter pan so if I have any helpful tips, I will send them your way

 

[misssara.k89]

you need to treat young bunnies like you would a toddler. They need to EARN their freedom. So no letting them run all over the place, they haven't earned the right to do so.

Keep them confined to their cage until they are consistently going in the litter box. ONLY remove them when they are under CLOSE supervision (as in you are holding them, training them etc). If you don't, the problem will continue.

as they get better at going to the litter box, then give a BIT more freedom. As in..you can run around here (safely confined area) and you'll monitor them to see if they go back to their box to go pee. If they don't, well then that tells you something doesn't it?

Slowly and surely, buns will learn.

Part of the problem you will need to deal with is that there will be poop and pee smell scattered throughout your living area. You'll need to do your best to get rid of that before letting them run free again or they will just continue their previous actions.

I got my bunny at 8 weeks and I've had her 2 weeks now, giving her free reign in my apartment. Is it too late to litter train now?

 

[Blue eyes]

@misssara.k89 , this is a 7 year old thread. Most of these members aren't active any more. You'll get more responses to questions if you begin a new thread.