New bunny keep peeing on Hay

[domho7]

Hi I just got a new ND otter less than 2 months old. Noticed she keeps peeing on her hay.
How to train her not to pee on hay.

 

[agnesthelion]

It's actually not that uncommon for a bun to pee on hay. Alot of owners will put a layer of hay in the litterbox so they can munch and relieve themselves at the same time. Also, young buns are often not so good at their litterbox skills initially. It just takes some time and also getting her spayed later on can improve litterbox skills too.

Good luck!

 

[missyscove]

Have you considered a hay rack?

 

[qtipthebun]

Weird bunny quirk. Qtip has a hay basket, and she'll hop out of the litterbox to pee in the basket periodically. She totally doesn't fit, but that doesn't stop her.

 

[ldoerr]

I agree to get a hay rack.

 

[Imbrium]

you can also put the hay in the litter box but cut a board to fit the hay portion of the box and put large bolts that are a few inches long and a couple inches apart through the board so that they stick upward, then stuff the hay in-between the bolts - this will allow the bunny to eat the hay but prevent her from standing in it.

at the very bottom of this page is a picture of what I'm talking about: http://breyfamily.net/bunnycage.html

 

[SaruCharmed]

I like these litter boxes with ingenious hay separating designs like that, but I'm not much of a carpenter... Maybe someday when I've got my own place and my bun is bigger it would be cool to make a cage. I'm sure she'd like a bigger place. It's just that my room is small and my mom doesn't want the rabbit anywhere outside of my room.

 

[Imbrium]

I'm actually about to try that set-up in a new, larger litter box using scrap coroplast leftover from the condo instead of wood, since I have no way to cut wood. you'd be amazed how much you can make with almost no tools and basically zero experience building stuff

 

[domho7]

Hi all

I used a hay pen for her and the peeing on hay have been solved. tks everyone

 

[Imbrium]

I finished my new litter box - I drilled holes in coroplast and put 3'' bolts through it to stop them from standing in the hay area, then ziptied the coroplast to the litter box grid. the coroplast also helps reduce the amount of hay that falls through the grid (always an issue with alfalfa since it's so leafy).

 

[ldoerr]

I see that the girls are enjoying it

 

[Imbrium]

yeah, they seem to like it and it holds them both with room to spare... though someone did manage to pee partially on the coroplast >.> (found a little dried puddle when refilling the hay). still, they don't stand on it and less falls through the grid, so more of it ends up eaten (though the little brats do still have a tendency to eat ALL the leaves and leave a bunch of stalks uneaten)

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We have a hay rack nest to everyones pan--that way they can sit in their litter box and eat hay without it getting soiled.

 

[Imbrium]

I tried that, never had any luck finding one that was large enough to keep their tummies full, yet couldn't get sat in by teeny bunns.

heck, I tried cutting the bottom off a cardboard wine box and ziptying it to the litter box to hold hay... Gaz somehow managed to wedge (and I do mean WEDGE) her fat little behind INTO the cardboard part and left not only a poop pile but a freaking cecal in the hay box. that's when I decided it was time to go buy some bolts at home depot.

 

[SweetPeasMom]

Hi, I had a problem that Sweetpea would put her hay everywhere but in her mouth


I found these and I love them
http://tidyfeeder.com/?ref=dfl

 

[Imbrium]

interesting, but my girls would go through at least 2-3 of those boxes a day, lol.

 

[ldoerr]

I would never buy hay like that. It is crazy expensive. Jennifer- Have you tried the NIC hay rack? I think that what you do basically is take a NIC pannel and bend it with your knees. You can then hang it up. I have never made one because I do not have spare NIC pannels. My girls get zip tied bundels of hay each day. To do that I get a bit of hay, and zip tie it together using an 8" zip tie. I make a hole bin full of them at a time. To feed I just thread a carabeener through the zip tie and hang in their cage. My girls often have multiple ones in their cage at a time so that they never run out. It does not make a mess hardely at all.

 

[Imbrium]

I was under the impression it was a bit more involved than just "bending it with your knees", lol (as per the stormhaven litter box system thread). I totally don't have the tool needed to cut holes for them to reach through.

the zip-tie thing works with grass hays, but I don't find it very effective with alfalfa.