Please help! My bunny pees on me and my couch!!

[AmyA33]

Help!!!
Good morning to all,
I am brand new here and also a first time bunny owner. I did tons of research before getting my bun and thought I knew how to make him happy and healthy. I originally planned to let my bun free roam after I litter trained him. I put hay/pellets in one end of his litter box so he could poo and pee while eating, which works because he uses his litter box and the rest of his large enclosure is clean. Unfortunately I have a huge problem, upon letting bun out in the morning he immediately jumps up onto the couch to greet my daughter and I and within 1 minute he poops at LEAST 50 times and pees on my lap or all over the couch!!!! I end up having to shampoo the couch and change my clothes numberous times a day! I am at my wits end and simply don’t know what to do! I absolutely did not want to keep him in his enclosure because he is super friendly, young and active. But he is destroying my furniture and pooping/peeing everywhere!
Also, I don’t know if my bun is a male or female. They couldn’t tell at the pet shop because they said he/she was too young. Bun is a speckled dwarf.
Any advice would help SO MUCH!!
Thank you in advance,
Amy

 

[zuppa]

Hi, sounds like my Leo he's also dwarf mix and super friendly and loves me he is so happy when I let him out he poops at least 100 times and pees all over me too.

A few questions here.

What age is your bun and how long he's with you? I believe he was at least 8 weeks old when you got him from pet shop. It is really hard to sex a dwarf at this age, my Leo was previously a girl as well, then when he was about 10 weeks I've noticed he had testicles. Maybe try sexing him again?

Buck=male, doe=female

Is he neutered? I guess no.

What this pooping/peeing means this is how he marks his territory, you clean the couch and it doesn't smell like him anymore so next time he needs to mark it again, same with you. Some people say if you'd put something what smells like him like his blanket, towel etc on your couch before you let him out he won't need to mark it again, same if you put his blanket on your lap or wear same clothes when you take him maybe he won't pee on you. Experts say this will stop after 2 months after you will neuter him, this starts when he's around 2,5-3 months it's just because of his hormones, they say.

 

[zuppa]

Some more explanation here and link to a sexig thread
https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/sexing-rabbit-pictures.44936/

 

[AmyA33]

Hi, sounds like my Leo he's also dwarf mix and super friendly and loves me he is so happy when I let him out he poops at least 100 times and pees all over me too.

A few questions here.

What age is your bun and how long he's with you? I believe he was at least 8 weeks old when you got him from pet shop. It is really hard to sex a dwarf at this age, my Leo was previously a girl as well, then when he was about 10 weeks I've noticed he had testicles. Maybe try sexing him again?

Buck=male, doe=female

Is he neutered? I guess no.

What this pooping/peeing means this is how he marks his territory, you clean the couch and it doesn't smell like him anymore so next time he needs to mark it again, same with you. Some people say if you'd put something what smells like him like his blanket, towel etc on your couch before you let him out he won't need to mark it again, same if you put his blanket on your lap or wear same clothes when you take him maybe he won't pee on you. Experts say this will stop after 2 months after you will neuter him, this starts when he's around 2,5-3 months it's just because of his hormones, they say.

Thank you so much for your reply!

Some more explanation here and link to a sexig thread
https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/sexing-rabbit-pictures.44936/

Thank you so much for your reply!! I believe he is about 11 -12 weeks now. And after looking at the pics I do believe he is a boy! Lol! And what you described is exactly what Bun Bun is doing. He gets so excited when I let him out and he loves attention! I put his blanket on the couch because he loves fleece! But as soon as he jumps up to greet us he poops 100 times, just like Leo, then he gets up on my lap and makes sure he pees on me AND the back of the couch! Always the same routine. I’m very sad because we want him to free roam but I spend so much time cleaning and scrubbing I get quite upset. Also, he is excreting a very foul odor when we are petting him, it’s not urine. What I’m the world could this be??
I plan to have him neutered as soon as he is old enough but I don’t know what to do until then.
I so appreciate your reply and helpfulness!!!

 

[zuppa]

Yes this smell is very masculine, it's just a message for other rabbits and maybe you
Check with your local vet some clinics take them from 3,5 months, others from 6 months, some say when testicles fully dropped so just keep an eye on him. Vet said neutering is easier than spaying and cost less as well, if your vet have experience with rabbits shouldn't be a problem.

 

[AmyA33]

Yes this smell is very masculine, it's just a message for other rabbits and maybe you
Check with your local vet some clinics take them from 3,5 months, others from 6 months, some say when testicles fully dropped so just keep an eye on him. Vet said neutering is easier than spaying and cost less as well, if your vet have experience with rabbits shouldn't be a problem.

Good morning,

Thank you again, you’ve been so helpful!!
I guess Bun Bun is definitely a boy!
The smell is quite offensive to say the least and I’m hoping when he is neutered all these behaviors will stop. I absolutely hate having to confine him, but as soon as I let him out he immediately jumps right on the couch and pees/poops. I tried again this morning after rubbing his blanket on him and covering the couch with it, but after pooping 100 times he jumped right onto my lap and made sure he peed on me AND the couch! Ugh!

 

[zuppa]

Good morning,

Thank you again, you’ve been so helpful!!
I guess Bun Bun is definitely a boy!
The smell is quite offensive to say the least and I’m hoping when he is neutered all these behaviors will stop. I absolutely hate having to confine him, but as soon as I let him out he immediately jumps right on the couch and pees/poops. I tried again this morning after rubbing his blanket on him and covering the couch with it, but after pooping 100 times he jumped right onto my lap and made sure he peed on me AND the couch! Ugh!

Yeah I know what you mean!
You can attach some kind of playpen to his cage to make an extension so he doesn't have to stay in his cage all the time, I have a washable kids rug with edges outside the playpen, and as my Leo is an excellent jumper & climber I have roof over it to be sure he can't escape. Lino would be your other (better imo) option, I just have this rug and it is waterproof, as urine can badly damage your wooden floor. Lino would be easier to clean but my Leo rarely pees outside his litterbox, but he poops everywhere and he sprays quite high can spray through his playpen that's why I covered it with cardboard from the outside. When he knows his walls are already sprayed he feels better and don't spray them again.

I have a play mat like this it's about 1 m x 1.80, waterproof

 

[AmyA33]

Hi,

I made an extension just like you did! I have a child’s rug as well. He’s quite spoiled with plenty of toys and 2 cozy beds. No matter what I do with his hay he ALWAYS poops in it though! I have it above his litter box but he still manages to jump into it and poop/pee! I waste a ton of hay but I cannot get him to stop pooping and peeing in it and it gets soiled and he won’t eat it! Any thoughts of this issue? Lol!
Thank you so much for your help!

 

[zuppa]

I'd remove all blankets for toilet training it's better when floor is hard they like peeing on soft. I would add something to litter box like wood pellets they absorb urine well. Put some poos and urine soaked paper towel underneath or just don't clean it too much so toilet still smell like toilet otherwise he can get confused if it's too clean.

There's actually a nice website explaining how all this rabbit toilet thing https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/odor-free-home.html

With your setup he has too many soft places to pee on, I would really use lino in your case and would keep it clean all the time, if he would poop outside his toilet box I would put berries into his box and would wipe pee with vinegar/water mix 1:1 so only his toilet smells like toilet and he should get it sooner or later.

Good luck!

 

[nat1234]

Try getting a hay rack similar to these
https://www.etsy.com/listing/176171...f=sr_gallery-1-3&organic_search_click=1&bes=1
https://www.etsy.com/listing/226932...f=sr_gallery-1-7&organic_search_click=1&bes=1

Hay racks like these will prevent him from jumping into the hay but he may still pull some of it out and soil it, but hopefully it'll waste less

 

[AmyA33]

Thank you! I made the litter box exactly like yours with the diy hay rack I made. He uses the litter box well but STILL POOPS on the hay he pulls down and refuses to eat the soiled hay. I put a puppy wee wee pad in the litter box with recycled newspaper litter on top. He’s good at using it and only poops a little bit in the rest of his enclosure, but yes, he does pee in his blankets quite a bit but I feel bad removing his blankets because he loves to sleep and snuggle in them. Should I remove all his blankets and his bed for a bit?
Also, he’s very good when we let him run around, but as soon as he jumps up onto our lap whether it be the recliner or the couch he STILL poops tons AND pees on our lap! I’m at a loss over this ongoing problem. Why does he continue to do this only when he jumps up to get attention? He doesn’t do it when we play with him on the floor, only on the furniture!
And I bought the “bitter yuck” spray for my plants, but he actually LIKES it and continues to eat my plants!

 

[JBun]

I waste a ton of hay, but it doesn't matter too much because the hay I get isn't terribly expensive as I buy it by the bale at the farm store. If you are buying expensive pet store hay, I would suggest finding a livestock farm store or farmer that sells good horse quality grass hay, it's usually much cheaper this way. I get Standlee compressed bales of timothy hay from the farm store near me for about $14 for a 50lb bale that lasts more than a month for 7 rabbits, and that includes about half of it wasted and thrown out with the litter. You just want to make sure that the bale has never been wet, doesn't have white or black spots from mold, doesn't have noxious weeds, isn't too dusty, isn't damp on the inside of the bale, and is a good green color on the inside of the bale, which is what a good quality horse hay should be.

If that won't work out, then you can buy the pet store hay in bulk and save some money. I think a 50 lb bale of oxbow timothy is like $50-60.

He's a hormonal male rabbit. He's peeing on you to mark you cause he really likes you due to the hormones. Lucky you Intact male rabbits do the same thing to female rabbits. They spray their urine to get it on the female. It's likely happening on the couch because couches and beds have our scent on them much more strongly than anywhere else. The floor we just walk on and often with shoes, so doesn't really smell of us. Until you get him neutered you likely will just need to protect yourself and your couch with a cover if you want him to be up there with you(though neutering is no guarantee the behavior will stop, it just usually will if it's only hormones driving it). It's also possible a waterproof cover may deter the behavior if he can't pick up scents through it.

 

[Butterscotch]

I waste a ton of hay, but it doesn't matter too much because the hay I get isn't terribly expensive as I buy it by the bale at the farm store. If you are buying expensive pet store hay, I would suggest finding a livestock farm store or farmer that sells good horse quality grass hay, it's usually much cheaper this way. I get Standlee compressed bales of timothy hay from the farm store near me for about $14 for a 50lb bale that lasts more than a month for 7 rabbits, and that includes about half of it wasted and thrown out with the litter. You just want to make sure that the bale has never been wet, doesn't have white or black spots from mold, doesn't have noxious weeds, isn't too dusty, isn't damp on the inside of the bale, and is a good green color on the inside of the bale, which is what a good quality horse hay should be.

If that won't work out, then you can buy the pet store hay in bulk and save some money. I think a 50 lb bale of oxbow timothy is like $50-60.

He's a hormonal male rabbit. He's peeing on you to mark you cause he really likes you due to the hormones. Lucky you Intact male rabbits do the same thing to female rabbits. They spray their urine to get it on the female. It's likely happening on the couch because couches and beds have our scent on them much more strongly than anywhere else. The floor we just walk on and often with shoes, so doesn't really smell of us. Until you get him neutered you likely will just need to protect yourself and your couch with a cover if you want him to be up there with you(though neutering is no guarantee the behavior will stop, it just usually will if it's only hormones driving it). It's also possible a waterproof cover may deter the behavior if he can't pick up scents through it.

How do you like the Standlee horse hay? Have you ever gotten a bale that isn't fit for rabbit consumption? Currently I buy large sizes of Oxbow but I'd like to find more hay for less money. I throw away a lot of hay when I clean out the litter boxes. I'm just not sure if I would be able to recognize bad hay though.

 

[A & B]

I'll butt in here because I also use Standlee. I really enjoy it and you really do save a ton of money. There is the occasional brown piece but because you save so much money, your bunnies can be a bit picky with the pieces they eat and don't eat. I have been getting their hay for almost a year and have never had a bad bale, but I've only had to buy 3 bales. My rabbits approve of it!

You will always be throwing away a ton of hay, but when you get it by the bale as opposed to by the bag, you won't care because the bale wasn't that expensive. I fed oxbow to my male for a month after I got him and it was like $7 a bag that lasted half the week. With my bale of Standlee, it costed me $21 ish with shipping. I've had the bale for 3 months so that adds up to $7 a month for hay, and I've still got over a month until I will need to order a new bale.

Below is a picture of the hay.