ive been trying to train my rabbit for 5 weeks. Someone on here said put the hay in the litter tray as they go at the same time they eat. I’ve done that, she will eat a bit then poo and pee on the rest of the hay and then won’t eat it so I waste a lot of hay. She just won’t pick up litter training at all, goes everywhere. I’ve done what people said, wipe up pee put it in the tray, constantly putting their poop in the litter tray, but she still won’t do it.
Litter training
- Thread starter Lucy699
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You can also have your hay in a hay rack above the litter box.
It will help if you bun it’s picky with her hay. But the hay rack need to be easy access to the hay. You can build: https://etsy.me/2TcqC0e
It will help if you bun it’s picky with her hay. But the hay rack need to be easy access to the hay. You can build: https://etsy.me/2TcqC0e
How old is she? Is she spayed? How large is your litter box?
With a large enough box, they tend to 'do their business' on one end of the litter box while munching the hay on the other end. Also, with hay in the box, that hay should be added twice per day. That way there is always fresh hay in the box.
Buying hay in bulk makes it no big deal to have 'wasted' hay. I think I figured out once that by buying in bulk and being overly generous with hay, I was spending less than $2 per month on hay.
Oh, do you have anything on the floor of the rest of the cage? Any loose bedding or blankets, etc? The floor of the cage should be solid with no bedding or blankets or beds of any kind -- during potty training.
With a large enough box, they tend to 'do their business' on one end of the litter box while munching the hay on the other end. Also, with hay in the box, that hay should be added twice per day. That way there is always fresh hay in the box.
Buying hay in bulk makes it no big deal to have 'wasted' hay. I think I figured out once that by buying in bulk and being overly generous with hay, I was spending less than $2 per month on hay.
Oh, do you have anything on the floor of the rest of the cage? Any loose bedding or blankets, etc? The floor of the cage should be solid with no bedding or blankets or beds of any kind -- during potty training.
Here it is! I’ve been putting her in a cage for past few nights to try and work out if it’s her that’s pooping everywhere or the other one. Apart from that they’ve had all the hall space all the time.
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I’ve done that before but they just don’t eat from it! They prefer a bowl or the floor
They have a cat litter box, she’s 14 weeks so too young yet.
I’ve been putting it on one end of litter tray but when they’ve had a bit they won’t touch it again until I put fresh down. I’ve been putting more down like 4-5 times a day.
They don’t have any blankets down either.
Just Overnight or all the time?
All the time. I am not a huge expert but I think that too much freedom could be a bit confusing at the beginning, if she had her own small territory she'd manage to go into one spot, then you can keep the cage open and she'd come back for her toilet and food and hay there.
It is not always easy I have some problems myself with one 4 months old girl who marks her territory near other girl's cage but she's not spayed she's raging. Wait for the experts maybe they will explain better than I, I just say what I think and how I am trying to train my rabbits.
It is not always easy I have some problems myself with one 4 months old girl who marks her territory near other girl's cage but she's not spayed she's raging. Wait for the experts maybe they will explain better than I, I just say what I think and how I am trying to train my rabbits.
When hormones kick in (which could be the case here) they can forget any potty habits they may have had. Spayed rabbits litter train much more easily.
So you have a few problems going on. She's been given too much space too soon before litter training has had time to be somewhat established. You have carpet down, yes? That's also a problem because that gives her a soft surface to pee on. Hard flooring surfaces are better for preventing this(but not necessarily always). Also the litter box, if that light blue bin is a litter box, where is the litter? If there's no litter in there to absorb the pee, then that means when she tries to pee in there it will get on her feet, which rabbits don't like. So it's no wonder she would rather pee on the carpet instead, cause it's not getting on her feet when she pees there. Rabbits don't usually like their feet getting wet, which is why they usually won't pee on hard surfaces and would rather pee in a litter box when it is set up with plenty of litter to absorb their urine.
And there's hardly any hay in it. You need absorbent rabbit safe litter on the bottom of the litter box, with plenty of hay on top or in a corner of the litter box. If you can't get hay cheaper(such as from a farm or livestock feed store) so you don't worry about her peeing on it and wasting it, then you need some sort of hay rack or bin next to the litter box, so she has to sit in the litter box to eat hay. The hay rack needs to be large enough and have wide enough bar spacing for her to access the hay easily and it needs to be only accessible when she is sitting in the litter box. You may also want to have her pellet dish only accessible from the litter box as she will also poop while she eats those.
So I would reduce her living space until her litter habits have improved, change the flooring to a hard surface, such as putting down a cut of textured lino with edges outside her living area so she can't chew on them, and improving the litter box setup. Or possibly restricting her to her cage for a few weeks to see if it helps the litter habits. But for this to work the cage would need to have the proper set up. Either a smooth flooring surface in it with a litter box with litter and hay, or the whole cage as one large litter box. But you have to have plenty of litter in there. If there's nothing in there to absorb the urine like in the blue litter box in your picture, why would she want to go in there to pee. The point is to have something to absorb the urine so it doesn't get on her feet, which is why rabbits don't like peeing on hard surfaces usually. You also want her forming an association of knowing where ever that litter is means that's where she should go to the bathroom.
And there's hardly any hay in it. You need absorbent rabbit safe litter on the bottom of the litter box, with plenty of hay on top or in a corner of the litter box. If you can't get hay cheaper(such as from a farm or livestock feed store) so you don't worry about her peeing on it and wasting it, then you need some sort of hay rack or bin next to the litter box, so she has to sit in the litter box to eat hay. The hay rack needs to be large enough and have wide enough bar spacing for her to access the hay easily and it needs to be only accessible when she is sitting in the litter box. You may also want to have her pellet dish only accessible from the litter box as she will also poop while she eats those.
So I would reduce her living space until her litter habits have improved, change the flooring to a hard surface, such as putting down a cut of textured lino with edges outside her living area so she can't chew on them, and improving the litter box setup. Or possibly restricting her to her cage for a few weeks to see if it helps the litter habits. But for this to work the cage would need to have the proper set up. Either a smooth flooring surface in it with a litter box with litter and hay, or the whole cage as one large litter box. But you have to have plenty of litter in there. If there's nothing in there to absorb the urine like in the blue litter box in your picture, why would she want to go in there to pee. The point is to have something to absorb the urine so it doesn't get on her feet, which is why rabbits don't like peeing on hard surfaces usually. You also want her forming an association of knowing where ever that litter is means that's where she should go to the bathroom.
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I’ve tried just keeping her in her cage, to litter train her but she still didn’t get it
My other rabbit that I have goes in her litter box all the time to pee and there’s no litter in there to absorb the pee. Her hay rack has always been where her litter tray is but recently stopped using it and just wasn’t takinghay from it so I started putting it in their litter tray.
There wasn’t much hay there because I have to top it up 4-5 times a day because they’ll eat a bit but then they’re not interested until I put fresh down, so there’s no point putting loads down when they’ll eat a bit then not be interested anymore.
Lauren Kiernan
Well-Known Member
Here is our Charlie's box. We are using care fresh litter right now, but I prefer the pelletized horse stall bedding and will go back to it when this bag is finished. We freshen the hay in the front/ hay rack twice a day. I will eventually rearrange and get a bigger hay feeder for when we go on vacation to make it easier for a bunny sitter.
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I gave you helpful advice as to how to correct your problem. I listed what was likely causing the problems you are encountering and how to fix them(in most cases). I have a fair bit of experience with these things and what needs to be done. If you don't want to listen to what I have to say that's fine, but expect to continue to have the same problem if you don't change what you are doing, as the way things are set up with the litter box and the living area, are what is primarily contributing to your problem. Just because one rabbit doesn't have a problem with the set up and is using the litter box fine, doesn't mean your other rabbit won't have a problem with it. All rabbits are different and sometimes you have to make changes to work with a particular rabbits habits and difficulties.
You are still going to need litter in the litter box. I'm not sure why you don't think it's necessary, or maybe it's the cost of buying litter you don't want, but something needs to be in there to absorb the urine even if it's just sheets of newspaper. If it is the cost and you can't afford to get the needed hay, litter, and other supplies when you are just at the beginning of rabbit ownership, you are in for a rude awakening. Rabbits can be expensive pets, particularly prone to periods of illness. Just wait until you have your first bout with GI stasis and you have to pay a $150-$500 vet bill, and that's just one vet visit.
You are still going to need litter in the litter box. I'm not sure why you don't think it's necessary, or maybe it's the cost of buying litter you don't want, but something needs to be in there to absorb the urine even if it's just sheets of newspaper. If it is the cost and you can't afford to get the needed hay, litter, and other supplies when you are just at the beginning of rabbit ownership, you are in for a rude awakening. Rabbits can be expensive pets, particularly prone to periods of illness. Just wait until you have your first bout with GI stasis and you have to pay a $150-$500 vet bill, and that's just one vet visit.
Bunnymommy94
New Member
I realize that this thread was posted several months ago now, but I would like to emphasize the importance of having some sort of substrate in your bun's litter box, which I believe another member has also stated above... You need some sort of paper based litter or pelleted pine litter in your rabbit's litter box. Aside from the fact that bunnies do not like to get urine on themselves, making them not want to use the litter box set up that you have (which will happen if there is no litter to absorb the urine), you need to be careful that your bunnies don't develop urine scald. Urine scald can develop when a rabbit sits in its own urine for prolonged periods of time, which eventually begins to literally scald their paws. Urine scald is incredibly painful on a rabbit's delicate paws, so I am unsure as to why you would want to subject your bun's to this. Urine scald can develop even further into a condition called fly strike, which happens when flies lay their eggs on a moist dark area. Eventually the eggs will hatch and your rabbit will have maggots feeding on his/her flesh, quickly leading to the death of the bunny. I do hope that by now you have taken the advice of others on this thread and provided your rabbits with some sort of rabbit safe litter. If you are worried about the cost of litter you can find a 40 lb bag of horse stall bedding (wood pellets) at Walmart for around $5. Wood pellets do an excellent job of both absorbing urine and keeping the smell at bay. There really shouldn't be any reason as to why you cannot provide your rabbits with litter, and I hate to say this but rabbits aren't cheap pets. If you simply cannot afford to properly care for your rabbits, the decent thing to do would be to re-home them where they can receive the best care possible. In fact by doing so, the love that you have for your bunnies would be undeniable. One other thing I would like to make a comment on in regards your litter box set up is the lack of hay. Rabbits like to forage for their food, so you sort of have to expect that a good amount of hay will indefinitely go to waste. I know that in some states a bale of hay is somewhere around $5 if you get it from either a farm or feed store. Where I live I do not have the luxury of paying only $5 for a bale (I live in the San Francisco Bay Area) so I order my hay online through smallpetselect.com and receive 12 lbs of excellent quality hay for around $30. My buns are quite picky about the brands of hay that they will eat, so when I first introduced them to smallpetselect's hay it was a God send. My 4 rabbits are now pretty awesome hay eaters, which they never were before. Anyway I hope that you learned a thing or two from my constructive criticism, and I wish you and your bunnies all the best!
