Rabbit will not use litter box consistently

[CHWong31]

I have been fostering 2 rabbits for about 5 weeks now but one of them just will not use the litter box consistently. My understanding is that they were at the shelter for around 4 months and the trainers were unable to successfully litter train them. They thought it was because of other rabbits nearby, but after moving to my place, the rabbit still misses the litter boxes all the time. He is about 4 years old and he is neutered. The vets find him to be healthy. I keep them together in 2 exercises pens combined to create a large one. Their trainer and I have tried so many different things- switching up the litter type, moving the boxes towards the accident area, using a larger litter box but it's still useless. About half the poop & pee goes out of the litter boxes every day, mainly in front of the litter boxes but also some further away. I currently am using a regular sized litter box and a large litter box that is actually for puppies (with an opening that is easy to enter), and I fill them with BOXO comfort small animal bedding. I try to scoop the soiled litter at least twice a day because I notice more and more accidents as the day goes on, so I thought the litter box was too dirty, but it does nothing. He still chooses to pee right outside the litter box with new litter. I pick the poo up/soak the pee up and put it in the litter box a few times a day. I've even caught him just as he was lifting his tail to pee and herded him into the litter box but he just hopped back out to do his business. Their trainer is running out of ideas so I was wondering if anyone here might have any more suggestions. Thanks in advance.

 

[Blue eyes]

Can you post a photo of the housing setup including the litter boxes?

Have you been putting hay inside the litter box on top of the litter? Hay encourages them to hop in the box to eat hay and they tend to potty as they graze.

Here is some more from my site on litter training...
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/litter-training.html

 

[CHWong31]

Can you post a photo of the housing setup including the litter boxes?

Have you been putting hay inside the litter box on top of the litter? Hay encourages them to hop in the box to eat hay and they tend to potty as they graze.

Here is some more from my site on litter training...
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/litter-training.html

Yes I've been placing hay in the litter boxes since Day 1. I also have sheets laid down in the pen because the shelter gave them to me to protect my carpet. I read that solid floors are bad for rabbits so I never thought of keeping them on non-carpeted floor... Is that safe?

 

[mountainskyrabbitry]

We run a rabbitry and raise our Holland lops indoors, so they are litter trained. It was a struggle to get them there though! Here's a few pointers I would give!

A bunny may never be "fully litter trained" in all senses of the phrase. There may always be a few stray poops, but they will almost always pee in their litter box. In our case, our moms are as litter trained as a bunny gets, so our babies generally follow their example! They still require some work, so here are the 5 things we do to litter train our buns to the best of their ability-

1. They will probably choose their favorite spot, and it is super hard to change their habit! So, if you put a litter box in one corner but they insist on using a different corner, move the box!
2. Put their hay/food over their litter box! Bunnies poop while they eat, so this helps catch most of the stray poops!
3. When they have a pee accident, wipe it up with paper towel, and place the paper towel in their litter box. More than likely, they were just marking their territory. So, if you move their scent to the box, they will recognize it as territory they "marked" and continue peeing there!
4. Clean messes with apple cider vinegar! This helps eliminate the smell for both bunnies and humans. The bunnies won't be able to smell their pee spot anymore, and probably won't pee there again.
5. This one kinda depends on the bunny but... I have one doe who seems to like her cage messy. If I vacuum her poop, she promptly poops 6 more times in the same spots, and then uses her litter box after that. One day, I just left her poop on the floor and she continued using her litter box! It bothers me that there are always a few poops lying in her cage, but if you find yourself in a vicious cycle like that, sometimes it's just best to leave it!

Also, make sure your litter box is big enough for your bunny to stretch out in! If they find it comfy, they will spend more time there.
As far as the floors, our bunnies are on vinyl floors, and their litter boxes have grates on them. We find the solid floors work wonderfully. If they cause pain for the bunnies, it would only be because their nails had grown too long. So although it's up to you, I would recommend moving them to a hard floor(make sure their nails are fully trimmed) because this make it SO much easier to clean up.

Hope this helps, sorry, I might ramble on a bit too much sometimes! Happy reading lol!

 

[CHWong31]

We run a rabbitry and raise our Holland lops indoors, so they are litter trained. It was a struggle to get them there though! Here's a few pointers I would give!

A bunny may never be "fully litter trained" in all senses of the phrase. There may always be a few stray poops, but they will almost always pee in their litter box. In our case, our moms are as litter trained as a bunny gets, so our babies generally follow their example! They still require some work, so here are the 5 things we do to litter train our buns to the best of their ability-

1. They will probably choose their favorite spot, and it is super hard to change their habit! So, if you put a litter box in one corner but they insist on using a different corner, move the box!
2. Put their hay/food over their litter box! Bunnies poop while they eat, so this helps catch most of the stray poops!
3. When they have a pee accident, wipe it up with paper towel, and place the paper towel in their litter box. More than likely, they were just marking their territory. So, if you move their scent to the box, they will recognize it as territory they "marked" and continue peeing there!
4. Clean messes with apple cider vinegar! This helps eliminate the smell for both bunnies and humans. The bunnies won't be able to smell their pee spot anymore, and probably won't pee there again.
5. This one kinda depends on the bunny but... I have one doe who seems to like her cage messy. If I vacuum her poop, she promptly poops 6 more times in the same spots, and then uses her litter box after that. One day, I just left her poop on the floor and she continued using her litter box! It bothers me that there are always a few poops lying in her cage, but if you find yourself in a vicious cycle like that, sometimes it's just best to leave it!

Also, make sure your litter box is big enough for your bunny to stretch out in! If they find it comfy, they will spend more time there.
As far as the floors, our bunnies are on vinyl floors, and their litter boxes have grates on them. We find the solid floors work wonderfully. If they cause pain for the bunnies, it would only be because their nails had grown too long. So although it's up to you, I would recommend moving them to a hard floor(make sure their nails are fully trimmed) because this make it SO much easier to clean up.

Hope this helps, sorry, I might ramble on a bit too much sometimes! Happy reading lol!

Thank you for your advice! I have been doing all except for cleaning with apple cider vinegar. I talked to the trainer at the shelter again and we decided to take the sheets away, leaving them on a plastic mat on top of my carpet. That seemed to be the solution to pee accidents- they magically all disappeared! And yes it made cleanup so much more easier! I haven't received instructions on trimming their nails though, so I don't think I'll let them on hard floor. I think that the plastic mat on carpet is probably a good alternative since it's not completely solid but also solves the pee accident problem. That being said, I'm still picking up around 2 handfuls of poop (instead of 5) in the pen each day- I wonder if this is the most they can be litter trained? Should I just leave them in the pen?

 

[Blue eyes]

Since the mat is new flooring to them, I'd expect some extra territorial poos to mark this "new" space. The number of poos left should lessen as they acclimate to the new flooring. Glad to hear they are doing well with the urine.

If the photos of the litter box in your above post are typical, that is not enough hay (or really enough litter either). To entice them into that box, you want a huge amount of hay (at least their body size in hay). The link I posted earlier shows photos of this.

 

[CHWong31]

Since the mat is new flooring to them, I'd expect some extra territorial poos to mark this "new" space. The number of poos left should lessen as they acclimate to the new flooring. Glad to hear they are doing well with the urine.

If the photos of the litter box in your above post are typical, that is not enough hay (or really enough litter either). To entice them into that box, you want a huge amount of hay (at least their body size in hay). The link I posted earlier shows photos of this.

Thank you for the advice. I put more hay and litter in, but half the hay gets wasted soon after because it gets soiled (which was why I put less hay before and added it more often). But at least the poop is decreasing- now I only pick up about a handful of it that falls outside of the litter boxes.

 

[Blue eyes]

Yup. Wasted hay is to be expected. They won't eat soiled hay so no worries there. They do like to pick through their hay looking for whatever they deem the choicest pieces, so it's a good idea to always have plenty in there. If you go to the link, you'll see the amount of hay I refresh twice per day (sometimes 3x/day).

Glad to hear they're doing a bit better.