is it ever too old to litter train a rabbit?

[1357rabbitlover]

My male bunny Buckley is litter trained as he neutered and is by himself so it was much easier to litter train him..

But i also have 3 un-neutered females together that were half litter trained about a month ago, but then they just stopped using their litter tray. The oldest is 4yrs and the other 2 are 1 1/2 years. Will it be too hard to litter train them now? and how do i litter train them properly as i don't think i did it right before as i find it really hard to litter train a group, so could anyone give me some advise on how to litter train a group of bunnies please? They are getting a shed in about 3 weeks so do you think it would be better to train them after that? because, as they are not spayed they will pee and poop all over the place in the new shed.

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[MiniLopHop]

They will be much easier to litter train after they are spayed. Otherwise, they will continue to mark terrirory, which makes it look like they are not litter trained.

Sophie was spayed two months ago and she is 4. Until we got her she was in a hutch so everything dropped through. She is now a house rabbit and litter trained. Luckily she was bonded to Houdini, who was already litter trained. He basically taught her the ropes. She still misses from time to time over the side of the box, but that is because she has a big butt and doesn't get all the way into the box. I put down puppy wee pads around the box to catch over-flow.

 

[Elliot]

Elliot litter trained as soon as he was neutered! He is 1.5-2 years old.

 

[LakeCondo]

By the time a rabbit is 8, it's probably nearly impossible to train, but who knows.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Litter training really depends on the rabbit. Regardless of age, some just pick it up much faster than others. A rabbit being intact, young or older can make it harder, but it is not impossible. I have 2 intact bucks that are very good with litter habits in their cages, but it has taken some work.

With an adult, they tend to be a bit more set in their ways so that can make it harder. You should start at the beginning, clean the cage really well and put some soiled litter in the litter box. Since you have 3 living in a group, you may want a bigger litter box so they have more room, the base of a small cage will work if you can find one cheap. Clean up any pee and poop that is out of the cage daily (or more often if needed). Put hay near the litter box to encourage them to go in as rabbits tend to eat and pee/poop at the same time. 1.5 and 2 years old are not that old and still fully capable of litter training, 4 is getting a bit older so it could be harder for her.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat:

 

[1357rabbitlover]

Thanks, and it's weird because my bunnies are kind of trained as they poo and pee only in one place (in the corner of their run) they don't do it anywhere else. But once i put a litter box (i use the base of an indoor cage) there they just poop around it, it's only Alice (my oldest bunny) that actually poops inside it, but only sometimes.

They have been pooping in that space since they got the run really, but would i be able to change their ''pooping place'' to somewhere different or would that be too hard to do now?

Thank you!!

 

[LakeCondo]

I'm not sure about changing the position. But I wonder if they're not using the cage base because they think it's still a cage & don't want to go in. Maybe getting a cat litter box mean they would use it.

 

[kkiddle]

The one time when Cheeto didn't use his litter box was when I was experimenting and got him one that was too small. He got up on it, and looked really uncomfortable, then got down and peed on the carpet next to it.
So, maybe it's too small? Especially for three buns, you need to make sure that all three can fit in it at one time; I've heard that they like to go together!

 

[1357rabbitlover]

It's definetly big enough, it's the base of an indoor cage..http://www.indoorrabbitcageschoice.com/indoor rabbit cages 2.jpg
^^ it's the same as this but i have taken he wire roof off, so it's just the base, so they don't know that it is a cage as they have never been trapped in it before, i got given it free of a friend ages ago..

I think i will try changing the pooping place indoors, as when it rains they run outside and get soaking just because they don't wanna pee anywhere else, and i am getting a shed in about 2-3 weeks so i will start litter training them then If they don't wanna do it inside thats fine, i will just put a little shelter over where they poop and pee now
..Just hopefully they will do it in the litter tray!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray: