Litter training?

[The Mockingjay]

My brand new rabbit is kind-of half litter trained. He goes about half the time in the litter box and half the time in his cage. He used to live in a pet home where he was litter-trained then was moved to the breeder's place where he didn't have a litter box. How do I get him to remember to use the litter box?

 

[Imbrium]

In the picture you posted earlier, it looks like you've got bedding in the cage... that tends to confuse them into thinking the whole cage is a litter box.

 

[PaGal]

Use litter in the litter box only.

Confine your bun to a smaller space at first. Hang a hay rack above the litter box or place some hay in a corner of the litter box so your bun has to be completely in the litter box to eat the hay. Buns potty when they eat.

Pick up any poo outside of the litter box and place it in the litter box. Soak a corner of a paper towel in any urine outside the litter box and place this in the litter box. Clean the cage with a mix of vinegar/water to remove all traces of smell so the bun will not potty again based on smell.

A bun is considered litter trained when it pees only in the litter box. It is very rare to have a bun that will not drop at least some poos outside the litter box. If you have had your bun a short time then keep in mind that it could be marking it's new territory. Usually this will slow down over time.

Once your bun is litter trained you can then start allowing it more room slowly. For a large space you may need more than one litter box.

 

[Bindi]

Also unneutered rabbits have more of a tendency to toilet around their territory, but as PaGal says, vast majority of rabbits will still put poos outside the box occasionally. I have a recently widowed female rabbit who has really surprised me in the last month, not one mess outside the tray at all while inside the house!

 

[Magick_mogwai]

When I litter trained Gandalf I found as soon as I removed everything that absorbs pee apart from the litter box from his cage and made sure he could only access his hay from the litter box that he quickly got the message. The first time he peed outside the box he scratched loads of litter onto the cage floor to absorb the puddle and I put it back in he litter box and cleaned the cage floor with white vinegar so only the litter smelled. After a day or so I was able to introduce a blanket to his cage and it stayed dry. He will occasionally pee on a blanket or his hammock but I think that's just to mark it mainly.

 

[The Mockingjay]

Gandalf? That's a cute name!

 

[ceilpaws]

You've got some terrific replies and suggestions already, but I thought I'd chime in on the issue and offer my experience.

With the exception of one of my breeding project bucks (back in my 4H days), all of my buns have been litter trained. I will echo that when a rabbit is altered, they are typically more successful at litter training, but I have had luck with even unaltered bunnies. It's also important to remember that babies often don't have the ability to be fully trained. But, it sounds like your bun is old enough at this point so that is a moot point.

To litter train, I always remove everything from the cage that can absorb urine. If the rabbit urinates in the cage away from the pan, I place a paper towel with some of the pee in the box and then clean everything else thoroughly with vinegar. Most rabbits will go where there scent is and this has been one of my top training tools. Another thing that has also been mentioned is placing hay in or above the litter box. This seems to do the trick every time as when they're munching away, they're also likely to go to the bathroom. Consistency is also key. And, patience. Not every bun gets it in the first 5 minutes and sometimes they'll always leave a dropping here or there. But, I call success when I am not cleaning urine from a cage multiple times a day and when my rabbit hops over to a litter pan while free roaming. It's not a perfect science, but I believe bunnies want a clean environment and are apt to act on that.

Keep being patient and I'm sure your partially litter trained bun will become more consistent. Good luck and keep posting if need be!