Potty Training

[Mahree01]

I have had my bunny for about two months now and potty training has been very difficult. I have tried literally EVERYTHING. He has two boxes to go in, when he goes out of his boxes I clean it up and put it in his boxes. A family friend helped me with ideas too, and nothing is working. I clean the areas frequently with vinegar and water to get the scent away. Nothing works. I’m getting really tired of cleaning up his messes every fifteen minutes.

please help!!

 

[Blue eyes]

How old is he and is he neutered? Can you post a photo of his current setup?

 

[Mahree01]

How old is he and is he neutered? Can you post a photo of his current setup?

He is almost four months old I believe. He is not neutered.

 

[Preitler]

Litter training actually is kind of a misnomer. Mostly it's a natural behaviour we take advantage of, and it emerges with adulthood. It's kind of a strategy to hide warrens, or mark territories. How quick they take up this habit and if they spray is individually different. When we set up things right it works pretty well.
Both my intact males use their litter boxes, the 5yo free range house bunny one, and the 1 1/2yo breeding buck in his hutch when he's in there. Some stray bunny berries are to be expected though.

Your bunny is still a youngster, patience

 

[Mahree01]

Litter training actually is kind of a misnomer. Mostly it's a natural behaviour we take advantage of, and it emerges with adulthood. It's kind of a strategy to hide warrens, or mark territories. How quick they take up this habit and if they spray is individually different. When we set up things right it works pretty well.
Both my intact males use their litter boxes, the free range house bunny one, and the breeding buck in his hutch when he's in there. Some stray bunny berries are to be expected though.

Your bunny is still a youngster, patience

I kind of figured it had to do with the fact he was so young and it’s not just spraying either. I figured he would miss every now and then but he just wont go in his boxes at all pretty much. I also knew that they wouldn’t make it 100% of the time with their poops so I was patient with it but he for the most part goes out of his boxes.

 

[Preitler]

Thoughts about your setup:
All my rabbits prefer corners for their litter spot. I don't think they would use boxes arranged like yours. Also they like to eat 'n' poop, so I have their hay racks above one litter tray.

Can be that you'll need some more months of patience , also I think he's too young for spraying - if he is inclined to it anyway, not all do. My new herd buck never does, even with the girls around.

 

[Mahree01]

Thoughts about your setup:
All my rabbits prefer corners for their litter spot. I don't think they would use boxes arranged like yours. Also they like to eat 'n' poop, so I have their hay racks above one litter tray.

Can be that you'll need some more months of patience , also I think he's too young for spraying - if he is inclined to it anyway, not all do. My new herd buck never does, even with the girls around.

I put hay in his boxes so he can eat that, I still need to buy a new hay feeder so thats all I have for now. I have put his boxes where he pees the most since he obviously likes those areas the most but he still pees outside of them along with inside of them too.

 

[Blue eyes]

At his age, his hormones are likely a factor. Even babies that potty train can forget those habits with the onset of hormones. Do you plan to neuter him? If so, it should help.

In the meantime, I'd suggest a larger litter box. Skip the pee pads. Make the box more inviting (and tuck it away in a more private area of the enclosure). One idea would be to remove the cage altogether (the one inside the ex-pen) and place a larger litter box in that area. Or some have even removed the top of such a cage and used the bottom for a litter box.

A hay feeder is fine but isn't necessary. You can still put hay in the litter box. I'll link a page on my site that shows a more inviting litter set-up. It's all about what will entice the bun to go in there. As @Preitler mentioned, potty training is just taking advantage of what they do naturally. Provide an enticing litter box and they will use it.

Here's that link:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/litter-training.html

 

[Lilsakli]

It took a month to train mine and she’s unspayed and 2 years old. I only had her for 1.5 months. She was really bad in the beginning. What I did was I placed the litter box with lots of hay in the corner of the cage that she came with. As others have posted, rabbits like to do their business in the corners. Every time she poop outside the cage, I will put all the poops in the litter box. If she peed outside, I would wipe with either a tissue or face cloth and place it in the litter box. You have to do this consistently for them to understand this. She was also digging out the litter box too, so I bought a litter box with mesh screen and that made all the difference. Hope that helps!

 

[HalaBuns]

I’ve only been fostering my little chap since Saturday, so there is still potential for this to go very wrong, but within a day or so I realised that whilst I had got him to figure out what his litter box was for, he preferred to go in the corner behind the door. So I moved the box there (which is a bit awkward, but hey-ho) and also got him a bigger box with higher sides yesterday so he couldn’t miss.

He still leaves a few stray poops, but so far, all pee has stayed where it should. Ask me again tomorrow though haha.

He is not neutered, is 4-5 months old and has spent most of his life in a bird cage, so he’s certainly not been introduced to litter training before.

 

[eskaisbell]

I have a question about this. I find I'm wasting a lot of hay because of urine soaking the bottom half before it's eaten, so I got hay feeders to hang right above their boxes so they can still eat and potty in the same place. Does anyone like this method? What do you use to line the box instead. A free options I've seen are paper shredding, she wood chips, litter pellets and pee pads. I think my last favorite is the pads cuz I'm pretty sure they'll eat it...
I was thinking a piece of cardboard and some soft paper bedding and then maybe a small amount of hay to kinda hide it?

 

[Blue eyes]

I have a question about this. I find I'm wasting a lot of hay because of urine soaking the bottom half before it's eaten, so I got hay feeders to hang right above their boxes so they can still eat and potty in the same place. Does anyone like this method? What do you use to line the box instead. A free options I've seen are paper shredding, she wood chips, litter pellets and pee pads. I think my last favorite is the pads cuz I'm pretty sure they'll eat it...
I was thinking a piece of cardboard and some soft paper bedding and then maybe a small amount of hay to kinda hide it?

I've tried many different litter set-ups over the 30+ years I've had rabbits. The most effective for odor control are the wood pellets (different than shavings). The pellets should be topped with hay but one can still use a hay feeder in addition. Pelleted paper bedding would be my 2nd choice. Those two are the best hands down, in my opinion. Fluffy litters (like Carefresh) or even wood shavings are messy and don't do much for odor (imo).

Rabbits like to pick through hay and find whichever choice pieces they deem worthy. They won't eat soiled hay. Wasted hay should be expected. Always. But if it is purchased in bulk (by the bale or half-bale) then it is soooo cheap that wasted hay won't matter. (An $18 bale of hay can last 2 rabbits for about 8 months -- about $2 per month!)

Check the litter training link in my link above for more detail about litter box setups.

 

[ArtistChibi]

Xiao Wu's litter box is always filled with fresh hay and she uses it constantly. Even though it's not an actual corner, the way I have it set up for her gives the impression of it being in a corner. Technically, it is in a corner of my husband's desk.


And this is how Shen's is set up next to my desk, between the wall and my desk, in the corner.


Just to provide an idea for you.

 

[JBun]

I have a question about this. I find I'm wasting a lot of hay because of urine soaking the bottom half before it's eaten, so I got hay feeders to hang right above their boxes so they can still eat and potty in the same place. Does anyone like this method? What do you use to line the box instead. A free options I've seen are paper shredding, she wood chips, litter pellets and pee pads. I think my last favorite is the pads cuz I'm pretty sure they'll eat it...
I was thinking a piece of cardboard and some soft paper bedding and then maybe a small amount of hay to kinda hide it?

Go to IFA, CAL Ranch, or Tractor Supply, and pick up a bag of equine wood pellet bedding and a bale of grass hay. Cheapest way to do it. The wood pellet litter is the best I've found for absorption and odor control, and buying a bale of horse quality grass hay, you don't have to worry about wasting hay because it's cost effective at around $10-20 for a 40-60 lb bale.

They may have regular uncompressed bales of grass hay and compressed Standlee timothy hay to choose from. If you get the Standlee compressed timothy, just make sure there aren't clumps of brown grass in it or weeds, that it's not really crumbly or dusty, and hasn't ever gotten wet(black or white spots in the hay, sour or musty smell). I've gotten a few bad bales over the years that I've had to return.

If you get standlee, I get the premium(purple band) not the certified(yellow band), as I've never had luck with my rabbits liking the certified. Also if you have a choice between cuts, a cut that is a mix of leaf and crunchy stems I find is better than a hay that is all soft leafy grass. But that also depends on what your rabbits will eat and prefer as well. Standlee hay quality can vary so you have to be careful about the bale you get. If the store has regular uncompressed bales of grass hay that look better, maybe go with that instead. It will probably be a bit cheaper too.

To make sure about the quality of the bale of hay I get, I bring a tarp and cutters/scissors and pop the bale open in my car to check the inside of the bale before I leave the store to make sure it's good, or return it then if not.

 

[eskaisbell]

Rabbits like to pick through hay and find whichever choice pieces they deem worthy. They won't eat soiled hay. Wasted hay should be expected. Always. But if it is purchased in bulk (by the bale or half-bale) then it is soooo cheap that wasted hay won't matter. (An $18 bale of hay can last 2 rabbits for about 8 months -- about $2 per month!)

[/QUOTE]

Yeah I definitely expect wasted hay, just not half thank you for your tips! I think this will really cut down on the soiled hay problem. I'd LOVE to get a half bale at a time, I've been looking around because right now I buy about 10-20 lbs of hay at a time and with 6 bunnies, that's going fast!!

 

[eskaisbell]

At his age, his hormones are likely a factor. Even babies that potty train can forget those habits with the onset of hormones. Do you plan to neuter him? If so, it should help.

In the meantime, I'd suggest a larger litter box. Skip the pee pads. Make the box more inviting (and tuck it away in a more private area of the enclosure). One idea would be to remove the cage altogether (the one inside the ex-pen) and place a larger litter box in that area. Or some have even removed the top of such a cage and used the bottom for a litter box.

A hay feeder is fine but isn't necessary. You can still put hay in the litter box. I'll link a page on my site that shows a more inviting litter set-up. It's all about what will entice the bun to go in there. As @Preitler mentioned, potty training is just taking advantage of what they do naturally. Provide an enticing litter box and they will use it.

Here's that link:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/litter-training.html

I read through your litter training tips on your website and I love it! I didn't know they prefer to pee on any soft surfaces. So my buns are still young and have to be in their hutches quite a bit because my kids will harrass them. I feel bad not giving them any blankets or something soft to snuggle in their hutch. Should I just not worry about litter training until their fixed? Or will this make it harder later on?

 

[Blue eyes]

Thanks! Some young rabbits will take right to litter training only to forget it when those hormones kick in. They train easiest and tend to be most consistent after they've been fixed. However, they can form habits when young-- including peeing on blankets/beds. I would not allow them on blankets or pet beds until after they are fully litter trained. Allowing them to pee on them now may make it a permanent habit. That would mean that you'd be stuck constantly having to wash those things-- possibly daily -- for the next 10 or so years! Much easier to let them wait until trained before having those blankets. Then they can snuggle in without getting full of urine.

If they have a litter box set up with a load of hay on top, they often like to lounge on the hay. This is fine for them and does provide a "soft" area for them.

 

[BunBun71]

He is almost four months old I believe. He is not neutered.

Do you have your bunny free roam at all? I would neuterd him.

 

[eskaisbell]

So I don't mean to turn this into a thread about hay but we eye were just talking about buying a bale vs boxed - well I just got bale of compressed Timothy hay and it's way different. Did I get the wrong thing? Is compressed just different quality?
This is what I'm used to

Nice and green, pretty soft with some chunky tops mixed in.


This is what the bale looks like

Mostly small pieces, kinda dusty and much lighter in color.

They're both StandLee brand so idk but I'm pretty bummed.

 

[JBun]

With color and other differences in hay, that will always vary with different batches and growths of hay Growing temps, watering, growth phase when it's cut, curing, how it's stored, can all affect the final look and outcome of the hay Grass that's an early cut and not over cured, will usually be a darker green than a later cut of the same grass. Grass lightens up as it matures, loses protein, gains more indigestible fiber, and dries.

Even though it looks a little different than your other hay, doesn't mean it's not good or that your rabbits won't like it. Try it and see what your rabbits think. Mine actually prefer the coarser(usually lighter in color) more mature growth timothy hay over a darker green soft leafy early growth. They love the crunchy stems over the darker green soft leafy stems.

Having a good mix of the coarse stems with the soft leafy stems, is a good thing usually and what I prefer in my hay, as it's the coarse stems that contain more of the indigestible fiber, which is what helps increase a rabbits gut motility and keep contents moving through, helping prevent stasis and blockage risks. So provided your rabbits like to eat the coarse stems, having more of them so you have a good mix of leaf and stem, is what I recommend in most cases.

You may have missed my post above, but I explained some of the things to look out for when getting hay, particularly the compressed standlee hay.