So much poo...

[curiouscarrot]

I am a new rabbit owner and I am very surprised at how much wee and poo they generate. Am I overfeeding, is there something wrong with them, or do rabbits really put out such a huge quantity of poo? I feel like in Macbeth, who would have thought the bunnies to have had so much poo in them.

Seriously, I'm probably over-fastidious with emptying the litter trays. At this rate, they are going to provide mulch and manure for the whole neighbourhood and send me broke on kitty litter. I was just reading in somebody else's thread people mentioning how often they change the litter, suggestions for an appropriate schedule? They put out so much poo, they are sitting on it. They also chuck out their litter so a lot gets "used" that way. Are they like cats, where they'll start weeing elsewhere if their box is too yucky for them? I don't suppose they are too fastidious, considering they eat their poo?

 

[Azerane]

Firstly, yes, that amount of poo is normal. They're like little poop machines! Still amazes me how much goes through Bandit in a day, would be interesting to compare volume to body mass

I don't think they're too fastidious in terms of not pooing because there's too much poo there, but I prefer Bandit to not be sitting on poo and damp litter all the time. I spot clean twice a day, which involves scooping out any wet litter, and sifting the poo out. Since Bandit usually only pees in one corner at a time, I really don't toss out that much litter each time.

 

[curiouscarrot]

Thanks, yes I think I'm going to have to start scooping rather than ditching 3 trays worth twice a day.....

They are certainly much more work than my dogs and cats combined. Such a lot of mess. It's a good thing they've got the cuteness factor down pat, or they'd be gone. (kidding, although I can understand why there are so many rabbits for adoption, I don't think you could know how much mess these little "people" can make by looking at them. I'm certainly surprised at how much they can generate.)

I'm just happy that I'm feeding them lots of different things and their poos are staying whole. I cannot begin to imagine the horror that rabbit diarrhoea would involve....

 

[Azerane]

Thanks, yes I think I'm going to have to start scooping rather than ditching 3 trays worth twice a day.....

They are certainly much more work than my dogs and cats combined. Such a lot of mess. It's a good thing they've got the cuteness factor down pat, or they'd be gone. (kidding, although I can understand why there are so many rabbits for adoption, I don't think you could know how much mess these little "people" can make by looking at them. I'm certainly surprised at how much they can generate.)

I'm just happy that I'm feeding them lots of different things and their poos are staying whole. I cannot begin to imagine the horror that rabbit diarrhoea would involve....

Finding a scoop that sifts the litter but not the tiny bunny poos can be tricky, but they are out there I think a lot of people are probably unprepared for the amount of "mess" that they make. But then a lot of people also are oblivious to the fact that they can be litter trained, which really makes it quite easy to deal with.

Rabbit diarrhoea is much less common than you think, you do have to keep an eye out for softer poops, but it's more when they stop pooping that is more common and also very serious and is a sign of tummy upsets.

 

[curiouscarrot]

My bunnies are pretty good at using their trays. There are just the odd nugget here and there outside, but the trays are chockablock with poo. and wee. They just seem to have a disproportionate amount for such little guys. They produce more waste than my enormous cat does. Yes, there are 2 of them in there, but nonetheless they churn out a lot.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We describe them as "four legged poop machines". We have smaller pans in their hutches that they use, so we dump them out once a day, except for Finn--he's a two times a day as he eats as much hay as Serena and she's four times his weight.

 

[curiouscarrot]

I suppose it makes sense if the fibre in all that hay and vegetable matter equals bulk poo. Maybe they are pooing lots because of all the lovely veges I am giving them to try to make them like me.

 

[sparkly]

i use newspaper, and i always have, because some of the litters around here are not safe to ingest. when bunnies are inside they go through two trays a day, including top ups. one bunny probably could cover half/ whole tray surface in poops, is that how much yours are each doing, CC?

 

[curiouscarrot]

Yes, I'd say at least half is covered in poo. Their downstairs tray is a big one, too.

 

[whitelop]

I completely dump Ellie's litter every other day. She makes a huge mess, the whole box is filled usually but every day seems like too much to me. I used to do every single day and some spot cleaning in between, but that was too much I felt that I was always staring at a litter box. Plus with the litter I use, I was wasting a lot of litter and 40 lbs was only lasting a few weeks rather than a few months. So I had to modify my cleaning schedule to be more efficient with the litter and with time. With the litter that I have, you don't smell anything so it doesn't really bother me. Ellie doesn't mind the every other day changing. She has two litter boxes in her enclosure, so the poop is evenly split between the two boxes, so usually one isn't more full than the other.
She also gets hay in both boxes, so she eats of out both evenly. And I vacuum out her enclosure two or three times a week to get all the stray hay and poops up.

What kind of litter do you use curiouscarrot?

But rabbits poop a ridiculous amount, for their size. But as I tell my husband, a rabbit pooping 5000 poops in a day, is much better than a cat even pooping once a day in a litter box in the house. I would take an indoor rabbit over an indoor cat any day!

 

[Ilovemyrabbit]

Yeah, Ash is a little poop machine too. Constantly pooping we just use it for compost its really good for that. I've even seen bunny poop for sale on cragslist. Who needs that when you have your own personal little poop machine, lol.

Another idea for you is you can build this kind of litter box: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f69/stormhaven-litter-system-step-step-instructions-48510/ you probably wouldn't have to change this litter box as often as others.

 

[tmaddox9]

I have four buns of my own and a number of foster bunnies at anytime. I dump my litter boxes every three days. They are large boxes with hay racks suspended over them. I use Carefresh and often put a small grid on top of the litter to prevent it getting kicked out all over the place. My rabbits are all in x-pens indoors, except one that is totally free roam. No cages. I soak the used litter boxes in vinegar, rinse and wipe dry then refill so they are ready when the next round is pulled. I also ave a small shop vac I use to vacuum out the x pens. Right now I have six bunnies on hand and can do all the pens and litter boxes in 45 minutes. Learned my strategy from the rabbit rescue I volunteer at which will have as many as 60 buns in residence at any given time. Rabbits are much like horses in that their gut must work continuously, they are both hind gut fermenters. All that bunny poo makes for beautiful roses! Add in a little chopped banana peel, dig in to soil around the roots and voila! Beautiful blooms! The Carefresh is compostable too. A farm picks up the bagged litter and poo from the rescue for composting. Bunnies are very environmentally friendly!

 

[curiouscarrot]

What kind of litter do you use curiouscarrot?

I bought carefresh and some hemp stuff, but I'm just going to stick with the pelleted recycled newspaper that I use for my cat.

Another idea for you is you can build this kind of litter box: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f69/stormhaven-litter-system-step-step-instructions-48510/ you probably wouldn't have to change this litter box as often as others.

Gosh, that's pretty nifty. I don't think I could be bothered though.

Thanks for the suggestions tmaddox9. Yes, that's what I need to do, organize a "system" that works for me, and them. I've got an enormous garden, informal (huge mess) and I compost and mulch so it isn't getting rid of the poo that's so much the issue, it's the amount of litter I'm going through, and the seemingly constant toil of keeping their boxes relatively "clean". I just need to adjust to the fact that bunnies are poop machines and not like cats. I'd like more boxes, so that I can swap them out instead of having to empty, rinse and return, but the big ones that I like are expensive.
That's another thing I've found with these bunnies, they are comparatively expensive to keep compared to dogs and cats. They go through a lot of food and litter compared to the "big pets" and the cost of their "stuff" is quite high (less of it, so they can ask a higher price). Of course, you don't have to go for the "bunny" stuff, you can improvise, but I'm a sucker for buying "pet stuff".

 

[Azerane]

I will agree with you there, each pet seems to have the one main expensive thing, for dogs it's kennels, cats have scratching posts, and rabbits have hutches which can two to three times as much as the other two But you are right, bunny things just tend to be a little more pricey, and with the destructive nature of some rabbits, it can be quite an issue since it's like you're constantly throwing money at them While Bandit certainly eats a lot more in a day than my cats used to, rabbit pellets are a lot cheaper than buying cat food (probably about even when buying oxbow though) and a bale of hay is lasting me forever. I think it's the chew toys and other accessories that can get difficult.

 

[Troller]

I change mine about every 3 days. I use very large litter pans (they are Flemish after all) and wood pellets ($5-$8 per 40lb bag). I use 4 40lb bags a month. Yes, there is a lot of poop and if I did it every day I'd go mad. Originally I was planning to put a screen on top, and still might, but I worry about sore hocks and generally I think they really like the litter surface. Xena occasionally lies in her box.

 

[curiouscarrot]

I'm not really bothered if they sit in the tray with poo and wee, as long as they aren't. I'm going by cats. Once the tray is "too full" from their perspective, they'll look elsewhere to go and I don't want them doing that. They are quite good going in the trays mostly, I don't want them to start weeing and pooing all over. It's bad enough with how much they are outputting into the boxes, without having to tidy all over the place.

 

[Katielovesleo3]

Wow, that is a lot of poop. But I have to agree with Morgan! I will take 5000 rabbits poops in my house rather than one by an indoor cat lol! Kitties are so stinky! anyway, I am starting to save poop for my flower beds and my veggies oh and I only clean the litter boxes about 5-7 days, they have multiple boxes each so it doesn't overflow, however, I went out if town once for a week and I cleaned the boxes before I left and the guy who was watching them didnt clean ANYTHING, and I got back and the boxes were full and there was poop all over! I was shocked!

 

[Kizza]

If i had a dollar for every little nugget that dropped from my little poo machines I would be a quadrillionaire lol

Rocky isn't too bad but gidget is like a full plastic bag with a hole in it

 

[Blue eyes]

I heard that a typical rabbit can produce 200 - 300 poos per day. :bunnybutt:

For me, I find I only need to clean the litter box twice per week. The reason is that I am very generous with hay. I put fresh hay on top of their litter at least twice per day. That does 2 things: 1, it gets them excited to eat their "fresh" hay throughout the day, and 2, it keeps them from actually sitting in their mess since the pee seeps to the bottom and the poo is covered with fresh hay.

I also use the wood stove pellets and a 40lb bag lasts my 2 rabbits at least 2 months (good deal!!). I also buy hay by the bale. I typically only spend $25 per year on hay and don't worry about wasting it.

Here is my litter box set-up:

 

[sparkly]

oh lol i thought the wood pellets were the poo! that would be about 2-3 days worth if it was, but i never leave it that long. benjamin is out during the day at present, so i clean his indoor litter every morning, if it gets dirty he shoves it out the way. it's chilly in the morning,, so i remove the dirty tray, and give him a clean one, in case he needs to use it before he goes to his outside cage, which we move every 2 weeks, and shake the unattached wire from the cage bottom, rinsing if necessary (i need to change the cardboard upstairs coz he did a poop in there the other day).