Please help. - Litter training & Bunny escapes pen

[carlyanne]

I came home to my bunnies out of their cage hopping and pooping around my room. When I put one bunny back in the pen and was attempting to catch the other one, I saw the one in the pen HOP onto the cage and that must've been how they got out.
can someone please give me tips on how to stop this? Because it's going to mean I'll need to cage them up in their little cage overnight and I know they're active at night time but I've got no clue what else to do.

 

[carlyanne]

I am also still struggling to litter train them.

 

[Snowytoshi]

I'm assuming you mean that there is a little cage inside a pen?

I personally would either take the cage out of the pen unless there is some reason why it must be in there. Either that or put a towel over part of the pen.

This might be helpful for litter training: http://rabbit.org/faq-litter-training-2/ If you have any specific questions about litter training after reading that feel free to ask me, all my rabbits are litter trained and I have litter trained some of the more troublesome rabbits at my local shelter

 

[3willowsbunny]

Sheet clothes pinned over the top of the pen??

 

[carlyanne]

I am also still struggling to litter train them.

 

[carlyanne]

Oops I forgot to post a picture of their pen

 

[Snowytoshi]

I am also still struggling to litter train them.

Did you see my link? :wave:

 

[carlyanne]

Yup sorry! Reading it now. It's not much the urine I have a problem with, I think they're starting to understand that a little more (at least I hope so) but more of their little poops. They go everywheree. No matter how time I quickly put them back into the litter box

 

[carlyanne]

omg haha. I've moved the hay rack to the other side and covered the top with fleece blanket thing and I've turned the lights off but I'm shining my phone on them and I can see them hopping around trying to find a way out.
this is there revenge for not having playtime in the kitchen today I think.
I'm afraid because I haven't bunny proofed my room so they better not get out again tonight while im sleeping

 

[lovelops]

I came home to my bunnies out of their cage hopping and pooping around my room. When I put one bunny back in the pen and was attempting to catch the other one, I saw the one in the pen HOP onto the cage and that must've been how they got out.
can someone please give me tips on how to stop this? Because it's going to mean I'll need to cage them up in their little cage overnight and I know they're active at night time but I've got no clue what else to do.

Yes, it's that darned MacGyver bunny trick of hopping on top of the cage and
leaping like Spiderman to where they want to go. That's how I got my ribs fractured on the 20th trying to get Lady when she jumped on top of her cage, jumped like a ninja over the baby gate and ran into my bedroom and hid under the bed forcing me to tear the bed apart which in my carelessness at 4am caused me to put the box springs and frame at a bad angle, just ask my ribs.. anyway enough of me...

I would get an Xpen and cover the top of the cage area so they could not use it as leverage to jump over and still keep the Xpen play area open for them or cover with the sheet like someone else suggested. They need room to run around to get that energy out or else you will really have some nutty bunnies.. I took a play pen and put it sideways to block the area that I didn't want Lady to go into so if she felt like jumping on the cage, fine but couldn't go any further because the play pen being sideways stopped her from going any higher...

let us know what you work out.. btw, if they are the mischevious bunnies in the photos, they sure are cute!

Vanessa

 

[lovelops]

other option is to get a higher Xpen on the sides... I have one that is two and a half times higher... I think that might stop them for now.. and if you are in the room the lower one should be ok..

Vanessa

 

[Chrisdoc]

I have cages and and an xpen. I had to put boards on either side as mine are jumpers.Here's a photo. Houdini still leans over to suss it out but hasn't jumped yet. I used spare ones to put partly over the top as well and to make it more stable, all tied with zip ties

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Or you could attach a box or something else to the top of the hutch so they can't access the top anymore.

 

[Tauntz]

My bunny girls (Jersey wooly) have always had their xpen as their home/cage. This was a suggestion from their breeder & it has worked well for us with one alteration of my own design. It dawned on me shortly after I brought them home that they might being smart buns decide to jump on their hidey/play boxes & go off exploring & eating the house while I was gone or sleeping! lol Anyway this worked for us, I took a flannel sheet that didn't fit my bed & the old timey wooden clothes line pins & covered the xpen with the sheet clamped to the top of the xpen by the wooden clothes pins. So far no bunny has escaped that way anyway! lol Perhaps your bunny is more intelligent or more determined to seek out new life & new civilizations & boldly go where no bunny has gone before but my two Jersey wooly girls seem to be satisfied with their understanding of their flannel xpen cover. lol Hope it helps, it is an inexpensive solution if it works for you.

 

[3willowsbunny]

My bunny girls (Jersey wooly) have always had their xpen as their home/cage. This was a suggestion from their breeder & it has worked well for us with one alteration of my own design. It dawned on me shortly after I brought them home that they might being smart buns decide to jump on their hidey/play boxes & go off exploring & eating the house while I was gone or sleeping! lol Anyway this worked for us, I took a flannel sheet that didn't fit my bed & the old timey wooden clothes line pins & covered the xpen with the sheet clamped to the top of the xpen by the wooden clothes pins. So far no bunny has escaped that way anyway! lol Perhaps your bunny is more intelligent or more determined to seek out new life & new civilizations & boldly go where no bunny has gone before but my two Jersey wooly girls seem to be satisfied with their understanding of their flannel xpen cover. lol Hope it helps, it is an inexpensive solution if it works for you.

Exactly, they are not going to jump if they think there is a "roof" is my theory, they don't want to clock their little bunny head!

 

[carlyanne]

Hey guys thanks for all the help!
Well after removing the hay rack and putting a fleece blanket over the top of their cage they didn't get out last night!
But they are smart bunnies and Romeo makes a decision then Ishka follows him so I'm hoping it doesn't happen again haha.
Whenever Ishka gets out she just hides under my bed and it takes FOREVER to get her out omg.

 

[Tauntz]

Hooray! Hopefully that will continue to work! Maybe have a bunny safe toy to two added as their night-night "treat/play toy." Maybe they will be content in their cage at night with their stay in cage sleep toy to keep their interest. Remove the toy when you get up & give them their morning breakfast & return it or another toy at bedtime.

 

[carlyanne]

I have a ball you that they rarely play with

 

[carlyanne]

Ball toy*

 

[3willowsbunny]

Hey guys thanks for all the help!
Well after removing the hay rack and putting a fleece blanket over the top of their cage they didn't get out last night!
But they are smart bunnies and Romeo makes a decision then Ishka follows him so I'm hoping it doesn't happen again haha.
Whenever Ishka gets out she just hides under my bed and it takes FOREVER to get her out omg.

LOL! I love how one teaches the other! He shows her, she learns rabbits are smart little boogers!!