Litter training issues with girls

[Katie94]

Hello,

So I’m having litter training issues with both of my girls. They either keep digging out all the hay and then using the area where all the hay is scattered or they will just pick up the whole litter box, move it somewhere else and then use the area where the litter used to be. They are also paired with a neutered boy who I think is getting confused by all the movement and going out of the litter as well either where it used to be or in all the hay on the floor. I’ve never had this problem with either of my boys, even before neuter they’d just occasionally miss. I think a good start would be to secure the litter trays in one place, I use standard cat litter trays with no lid ( I want to avoid a lid as my rabbits eat and lay in the trays sometimes and I don’t want them inhaling fumes). Is it possible to secure these somehow I would also be open to replacing with an option that can be secured.

In regards to the digging the girls will have been spayed 4 weeks tomorrow so I’m not sure if the digging behaviour is due to lingering hormones still? Pre spay they were an absolute nightmare the trays would be dug out constantly but they seemed to improve immediately after the spay it’s only this past week that seems to have gone backwards again. I tried providing an alternative with shredded paper but they still go for the litter tray. My litter boxes just contain a layer of newspaper and a generous amount of hay on top. I used to use a paper based litter as well but with the digging it actually made way more mess than actually helped anything. Is there anything I could change to improve the situation or just wait it out and hope the behaviour stops as they get older. Thank you all!

 

[Blue eyes]

Could you post a photo of the current setup?

I would strongly encourage using wood pellets instead the hay. They absorb odor and do such a great job.

For persistent diggers, you could put a tray on top of the litter (wood pellets) and put the hay in a very open and large rack above the tray. (I put my hay on top of the wood pellets, but for diggers, it may be better to put it in a rack.)

I'll see what pics I can find for examples...

 

[Blue eyes]

Oh, another thought would be whether the size of the litter box is big enough. With a thin layer of wood pellets, my litter box is too difficult for my rabbits to move. The box I use (even now down to 1 rabbit) is 16" x 23"

So if your box is much smaller, it may help to get a larger litter box.

 

[Katie94]

These are my set ups, I have two basically the same style just different parts of the house I took the pictures after putting everything right so this is what it should look like. I have three trays in each but both pairs are only using two now. I’ve had them all before neutering so started with 3 to increase chances of them going in the right place. Two of the trays are actually dog beds which I bought because they have a higher back and my girls are a bit bigger than the boys and I found if they went in at the wrong angle they would go over the side instead of in it.