[sjmax]

Firstly hello fellow bunny lovers! I have just got my first bunny and am so happy. Wanted one for years but due to bunny hating dogs I couldn't.
I have been reading lots about them and came across this great forum! I just wondered if you had any advice for litter training my bunny? He is living outside at the moment but coming in to look around the house and gradually meet the cats ( which is going well) but am struggling with him pooing everywhere dispite a littler tray filled with soiled litter etc. I presume this is him marking territory? Will it just naturally stop once he's used to the house etc? Plus I don't think he is used to going in a litter tray so maybe it's that's too?!

Thanks,
Steph with new baby rabbit Benjamin :001_wub:

 

[LittlePaws AnimalRescue]

Hi Steph and Benjamin!

If Benjamin lives outside it's not a good idea to keep bringing him in now the weather is so cold.
Taking a rabbit from cold outdoors to a warm house then back into the cold means the temperature change could be fatal to him.

Also are you planning on getting him a wifey bun?
Rabbits are very social animals and especially with being outside Benjamin would appreciate someone to play and snuggle up with.

I cant help with litter training because mine just went in the litter tray and that was it.
I have heard though that if bunny wees on the floor, mop it up with a piece of kitchen roll and put that piece in his litter tray (under the hay) so he will smell it and start getting the hint that that is his litter tray!
Does he have hay in his litter box indoors?
Rabbits like to eat while they go to the toilet....so plenty of hay in a litter box is a must

 

[Summersky]

Hello and a big welcome to you both!!!

Not sure what your set up is, but I would use as big a litter tray as possible, rather than the little trays sold by pet shops. We use underbed storage boxes (not too expensive at Tescos, Range and Wilkinsons). They are deeper, and obviously much bigger, which helps keep the poo in.

Put newspaper at the bottom of the box - do avoid wood shavings and pine cat litter around bunnies - then mound in the hay. If you are also using a hay rack, put the rack over the tray.

Buns tend to poo as they eat, so as the bun eats the hay, he should poo in the litter tray.

You can also scatter buns ration of pellet feed in there. Again, as he eats, he will poo.

Benjamin will still of course drop pellets everywhere to begin with, through excitement of new smells and wanting to make his mark - I am assuming he is young?

If you have him neutered when he is old enough, his need to "make his mark" will ease, and he should gradually improve with his litter training.

We can all feel that the weather is changing, so now is the time to decide whether bun is to be an inside or outside bun. Once the colder weather comes, it can be risky to his health bringing him in and out.

If Benjamin is to be an outside bunny, he will ideally need a lady friend -but not until he is neutered! Bunnies are highly sociable, and soon get lonely and bored. In the meantime, I am sure you will spend loads of time with him. You have obviously waited a long time for him.

Again -welcome to the forum - I have found people to be very friendly on here. We have some really knowledgeable people on here, who can help with the many questions us bunny owners have, and when we pool our knowledge, we can cover most things.

However daft you feel a question might be, just ask - be it about wee, poo, vaccinations, diet, illness, moulting, behaviour ............. somebody on here will be able to point you in the right direction.

Enjoy your bun!!


And do share lots of photos!!

 

[hazyreality]

Welcome to the forum
I would just be repeating the advice you have already got, but just to add, that I use wood based cat litter in my bunnies trays, and alot of people use megazorb.

*Heidi*

 

[sjmax]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome.

What I am hoping is that benji will be a house rabbit and have myself and the cats for company. Oh I see so its best for him to be a completely indoor rabbit now then, a he won't really tolerate the changing temperatures? Can I move him back out during the summer months but bring him in for cuddles and a run around etc? So have him indoors during winter and out during summer?

I just have him out at the moment because obviously I want the cats to get used to him first! to be honest though if he becomes a complete house rabbit over the winter then he may stay a house rabbit rather than living out. I don't really want to have two rabbits if I can help it as I do give him lots of attention and he will also have the cats etc so if he needs to be a house rabbit to ensure his happiness then that's fine!

I love him to bits already! Such a lovely boy and love seein him bounce around the garden.

Also I will definantely have to try the hay and feeding thing although it does seem weird that he would eat hay from the place he poo's!?!

 

[hazyreality]

He can live out summer and in winter, but he wouldnt be able to go out until the frosts have gone and he would have to come in before the frosts begin, so its tricky.

If you want him indoors, he will need to come in now, before he gets too much of a winter coat, as they can't regulate their body temperatures very well (which is why they can over heat in summer aswell)

To be honest, whether he is indoors or out, having a friend is the best thing you can do for him as an owner.
They are VERY sociable and the only thing they can communicate with is other rabbits. Also, you won't be able to leave him unsupervised with the cats as one bad scratch can be fatal (with infection) for him. Which means that at his most active times - they are crepascular(sp?) - he will be by himself as you will be asleep.
There are also the times (if you work or go shopping for the day) when he will spend alot of hours alone.
Bored bunnys can be destructive, terratorial and dirty(litter training), pairs are actually easier IMO!

I would reccommend, friend or not, that you have him neutered because he is likely to start spraying when he reaches maturity, and that isnt nice

It is very strange that they eat where they poop, but unfortunately its right
I cant actually cover the shed floor with hay for mine because it makes them dirty everywhere!

*Heidi*

 

[Summersky]

I agree with all that Heidi says.

In our experience, whatever the intention, once a bunny is a house bunny, it never goes back outside again as planned.

For now, enjoy your bunny - you are still getting to know each other.

Bunny language is fascinating - research it if you can.

 

[Guest]

He can live out summer and in winter, but he wouldnt be able to go out until the frosts have gone and he would have to come in before the frosts begin, so its tricky.

If you want him indoors, he will need to come in now, before he gets too much of a winter coat, as they can't regulate their body temperatures very well (which is why they can over heat in summer aswell)

To be honest, whether he is indoors or out, having a friend is the best thing you can do for him as an owner.
They are VERY sociable and the only thing they can communicate with is other rabbits. Also, you won't be able to leave him unsupervised with the cats as one bad scratch can be fatal (with infection) for him. Which means that at his most active times - they are crepascular(sp?) - he will be by himself as you will be asleep.
There are also the times (if you work or go shopping for the day) when he will spend alot of hours alone.
Bored bunnys can be destructive, terratorial and dirty(litter training), pairs are actually easier IMO!

I would reccommend, friend or not, that you have him neutered because he is likely to start spraying when he reaches maturity, and that isnt nice

It is very strange that they eat where they poop, but unfortunately its right
I cant actually cover the shed floor with hay for mine because it makes them dirty everywhere!

*Heidi*

I agree with everything Heidi has said

Especially the friend part, you will be able to see sights such as this if he had a friend:

Also once you bring him in, you will find it extremely difficult to move him outside, I have 8 house rabbits that prove my point very well :lol:

 

[Summersky]

Yep - agree with that - we have 9 in, 9 out.

Barely room for us.

Love the amazing photos Bernie!

 

[Guest]

Yep - agree with that - we have 9 in, 9 out.

Barely room for us.

Love the amazing photos Bernie!

Thank you, Ella loved using her friends as a pillow :lol: If only she had been spayed in time, she would still be here

 

[Summersky]

I am guessing uterine cancer?

She looked like she had some great times though, if not long enough.

 

[Guest]

I am guessing uterine cancer?

She looked like she had some great times though, if not long enough.

I had her spayed as soon as she arrived and the vet found tumours in her uterus, we had hoped we had caught it in time. Unfortunately the cancer had spread to her lungs, she was diagnosed a week before she died in my arms :crying: She was one of the unlucky ones to develop uterine cancer before the age of 2, it broke my heart the day she left

 

[Summersky]

That is so, so sad Bernie - she was very young - but still lucky to have found you before she died. Sometimes, I think buns just wait until they are in the right place before they die, and that is why we are there for them. Sometimes it is the bunnies that are with us for only a short time that make the biggest impact.

 

[Doggiesrule100]

Hiya and welcome, I am new too!!
I only have one bunny, but 2 guinea pigs and 3 dogs aswell
When I was litter training him we filled the potty with cat litter and put some of his poops in there. Gradually he learnt that he was supposed to go in there

 

[sjmax]

Hey and welcome to you too then lol!

Whats your new bunny like? Aw someone else who has the one bunny. Just wondering but are you planning on keeping just one? I only wanted one rabbit and when i read about it there are lots of people who have just one, and as long as you give them lots of attention and they are indoors then one is just fine?!? I would like to know peoples opinions, at the end of the day i want him to be happy and whilst ideally i only want one if he will greatly benefit from a friend then i will get him one (later on once he has been castrated) but like i say id hoped he would be more than hapoy as a house bunny.

 

[Guest]

Hey and welcome to you too then lol!

Whats your new bunny like? Aw someone else who has the one bunny. Just wondering but are you planning on keeping just one? I only wanted one rabbit and when i read about it there are lots of people who have just one, and as long as you give them lots of attention and they are indoors then one is just fine?!? I would like to know peoples opinions, at the end of the day i want him to be happy and whilst ideally i only want one if he will greatly benefit from a friend then i will get him one (later on once he has been castrated) but like i say id hoped he would be more than hapoy as a house bunny.

He will greatly benefit from a friend The difference in a rabbit when they have a bonded friend is amazing, they love grooming each other and snuggling up

When I have had lone rabbits here the change in them once they are bonded into a group is amazing, they almost breath a sigh of relief because they are no longer alone
No matter how much time you can devote to a rabbit we can never realistically match up to another bunny companion, we can't speak their language for a start :idea:

Lone bunnies can (in some cases) become so stressed that they will develop stereotypical behaviours (which in extreme cases can become learned), they have a shortened life due the stresses involved with being kept alone (they are a prey species and in the wild they will often be seen grooming or playing together) and also due to them being crepuscular their most active time will be whilst you are tucked up in bed.

So all round having a neutered friend has many behavioural and health benefits and so long as the bonding is done correctly there is little to no negatives

These two were love at first sight, and are never far away from each other

 

[sjmax]

Aw those two bunnies are so cute! Whose who?

Thank you for the informative reply bernie. At the moment I am letting him settle in and get used to all of us and then once for have properly moved at the end of the month and I know how things will be etc then I can re-assess!

 

[Guest]

Aw those two bunnies are so cute! Whose who?

Thank you for the informative reply bernie. At the moment I am letting him settle in and get used to all of us and then once for have properly moved at the end of the month and I know how things will be etc then I can re-assess!

On the left is Rhythm (agouti butterfly) and on the right is Rascal (orange butterfly)