This is my little bun that I got on Friday at 8 weeks old and I love him to bits. When I first I got him and put him into his new area that I setup (picture attached), he was expectedly apprehensive. I read somewhere that when you first get a rabbit that you should give it 1 hour by itself to get used to and explore the area, so that's what I did.
As I came back, I was pleasantly surprised that there were lots of poop in the litter box as he nibbled on hay and only 2 poops in the play area outside his hutch. I know its only been 4 days, since I've gotten my bun, however since that morning he has literally been pooping and urinating everywhere else besides his litter box.
I constantly pick up the poop and soak up the urine spot with kitchen towel and I would transfer that into his litter box to indicate to my bun that this is where it should go toilet. My ability to tell when the bunny is about to go isn't as good as I'd like as his tail seems to be up most of the time when on his hind legs. When I see that he would excrete 1-2 poops, I'd push him towards the litter box or sometimes pick him up and put him there. Most of the time he would not poop more in there as he would hop out straight away, or if I force him to stay there by blocking the entrance into his bed room (one with the towel), he would just sit there or sometimes play dead. I would think, oh maybe that is all he had to excrete. So after leaving him in the litter box for 5min, I'd let him back out to only find out he would poop (multiple pellets) outside in the play area and/or bedding -.- I tried coaxing it to excrete in the litter box by giving him a small piece of apple as soon as he is in the litter box, this did not work as the same thing would happen. Ie ether do nothing or run out.
This leads on the the fact that my bun runs and poops at the same time, so some of his actions don't allow me to coax him into the litter box. He has pooped more in his intended bedding area rather than the litter box, and he rather's sleeping in the litter box rather that his bedding.
The first 2 days I was alright with the situation, however the last 2 days I admittedly have gotten very frustrated and I have unfortunately expressed it towards my bun. This is not ideal as a strong bond hasn't been forged yet and he is still yet to respond to his name.
As back ground information that may be helpful, I feed my bun outside the hutch where I leave the food mix for the whole day in a ceramic bowl and I feed it vegetables my hand throughout the day. The litter material is paper based, I have put hay in between the wall and litter tray so the bun can supposedly eat and poop. Its bedroom is made up of a soft blanket underneath with a red towel ontop. My bun was an outdoor bunny before so I guess pooping everywhere is what he is used to.
I have read that it takes some people a couple of days to a week to litter train a bunny. I did not expect to achieve that kind of quick success as I am first time pet owner, but I did think I would see some sort of improvement by now. Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated
As I came back, I was pleasantly surprised that there were lots of poop in the litter box as he nibbled on hay and only 2 poops in the play area outside his hutch. I know its only been 4 days, since I've gotten my bun, however since that morning he has literally been pooping and urinating everywhere else besides his litter box.
I constantly pick up the poop and soak up the urine spot with kitchen towel and I would transfer that into his litter box to indicate to my bun that this is where it should go toilet. My ability to tell when the bunny is about to go isn't as good as I'd like as his tail seems to be up most of the time when on his hind legs. When I see that he would excrete 1-2 poops, I'd push him towards the litter box or sometimes pick him up and put him there. Most of the time he would not poop more in there as he would hop out straight away, or if I force him to stay there by blocking the entrance into his bed room (one with the towel), he would just sit there or sometimes play dead. I would think, oh maybe that is all he had to excrete. So after leaving him in the litter box for 5min, I'd let him back out to only find out he would poop (multiple pellets) outside in the play area and/or bedding -.- I tried coaxing it to excrete in the litter box by giving him a small piece of apple as soon as he is in the litter box, this did not work as the same thing would happen. Ie ether do nothing or run out.
This leads on the the fact that my bun runs and poops at the same time, so some of his actions don't allow me to coax him into the litter box. He has pooped more in his intended bedding area rather than the litter box, and he rather's sleeping in the litter box rather that his bedding.
The first 2 days I was alright with the situation, however the last 2 days I admittedly have gotten very frustrated and I have unfortunately expressed it towards my bun. This is not ideal as a strong bond hasn't been forged yet and he is still yet to respond to his name.
As back ground information that may be helpful, I feed my bun outside the hutch where I leave the food mix for the whole day in a ceramic bowl and I feed it vegetables my hand throughout the day. The litter material is paper based, I have put hay in between the wall and litter tray so the bun can supposedly eat and poop. Its bedroom is made up of a soft blanket underneath with a red towel ontop. My bun was an outdoor bunny before so I guess pooping everywhere is what he is used to.
I have read that it takes some people a couple of days to a week to litter train a bunny. I did not expect to achieve that kind of quick success as I am first time pet owner, but I did think I would see some sort of improvement by now. Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated