Chewing deterrents?

[Carbon Based]

I have recently bunny proofed my living room (hid wires mainly) to allow my bunnies to run free. But my boy won't stop chewing on my wood furniture or base boards. I'm sure he is just full of hormones and hope it gets better when he is fixed, but till then, any suggestions on how to stop him? I was thinking of putting a hot sauce or lemon juice on where he chews in hopes the tastes would deter him but I don't want him to get sick. As it is I just make a loud "psst" noise, snap or try to spray him with water. That all works for a minute but he likes to test boundaries and goes right back again and its a lot of work to keep a constant eye on him. Any tips or tricks would be awesome!

 

[JBun]

Try rubbing plain ivory bar soap on where he likes to chew. Rabbits don't much care for the taste of it. You can also block things with NIC panels or cardboard.

 

[BinkyBunny]

The bitter apple made for birds is 100x stronger than normal bottle because birds do not have taste buds and it did not appeal to my bunnies before. DO NOT get it in your mouth...YUCKY!!!

 

[whitelop]

Sometimes rabbits like bitter apple. I've heard of peoples buns liking it a lot, they're like "hey thanks for the salad dressing!"

 

[BinkyBunny]

I have heard of that as well I personally had good luck with the bird bitter apple NOT the regular strength. I suppose some buns could still enjoy that!

 

[Imbrium]

I tried this at one point... it says it's "made from the most bitter stuff on earth" and doesn't have any "apple" quality to it - http://www.pawtasticpet.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Tropiclean-Stay-Away-Chew-Deterrent-for-Pets

worked like a charm... at first. then they developed either an immunity to it or a liking for it. it's really noxious stuff, but not bad enough to keep the bunnies at bay. I'd go with the Ivory soap and/or blocking access.

 

[Julie Bunny]

I know a lot of people recommend Ivory soap but I personally would stay away from any soap because it can cause GI problems if your bunny does ingest it.
Julie is a big time chewer. She is free ranged in the kitchen 24/7 and allowed in the rest of the house when supervised. I tried almost everything.
Julie actually loved hot sauce and the bird bitter apple is the only thing that seem to make any difference at all.
What really worked for us is I covered all the base boards in the kitchen and put the bitter apple on the cabinets and bought her a ton of tasty chew toys. I even tried making her chew toys tastier by dipping them in pineapple juice.. This is what seem to really work.
The chew toys keep her happy and the base boards are still covered. She never did start chewing the cabinets that had the bitter apple but I am not sure if it was the bitter stuff or that she just wasn't interested in them. I only put the bitter apple on for a few months years ago. She loves anything willow and apple and peach sticks.

 

[tamsin]

Preventing access and providing more exciting chewables is the best option. Most of the deterrents don't work for long.

 

[BinkyBunny]

Do you just rub the ivory soap on everything or how should I use it? I already have that so that would be very cost effective!

 

[JBun]

Do you just rub the ivory soap on everything or how should I use it? I already have that so that would be very cost effective!

You just rub it over the surface of whatever you are trying to get them to stop chewing on.