Is my bunny too young for litter training?

[Mr.Hugo]

 My rabbit is 9 weeks old and the runt of the litter.  I started litter training him as soon as we brought him home last week.  I am concerned because it just isn’t happening.  He poos everywhere he is.  He does mostly pee in his corner box bus has peed outside of his box about 4 times in the last week.

Maybe I’m doing it wrong?  I am using “Yesterday’s News” on one side and his Timothy hay on the other.  He does pee in it and will poo there too, it’s just that he has poos everywhere else also.  If we catch him in action we put him in his box and his poos.  We also clean out his pen and put his poos in his litter box.  Is he too young for me to expect this to be done by now?

Thank You for any tips or sharing experiences.

 

[Julezypie]

I am having a ton of trouble, too. Fiona is 9 weeks old, as well. I am hoping once she gets spayed in a few months, it’ll improve. At least, that’s what I am told.

[Angela93]

I got my bun to do it at 9 weeks old. It’s a lot of work for younger buns to learn it so it will take time. What I did was wait for him to choose a corner and once he did I put in a litter pan with rabbit litter that was a different texture than his bedding. I put his soiled bedding into the pan so he gets the connection that he is suppose to poo and pee there. You have to keep watch and every time they pee somewhere you have to put the bedding he soiled into the litter pan. It’s takes time and patience but I swear it will work. The pooing around his cage is his way of marking his territory, it should definitely lessen once he is litter trained and possibly even more with neutering.

my bun is totally cage litter trained….still working on his pan outside the cage but thankfully some people have led me in the right direction as to where to go. Hope this helps you!

[Mr.Hugo]

 Thank you for responding.  I was really hoping to keep him as an indoor rabbit.  He hasn’t chosen a corner so much as it is still everywhere.  He pees in his litter box all the time so that’s a good thing it’s just when he’s out he’ll pee somewhere.  I dont really have bedding down in his pen but a nice rug bc I wanted him to be free.  That’s how I know he doesn’t pee everywhere but I wonder if I should’ve done something different.  How old can they be before you neuter them?  Like, today??  LOL!

Thank you again!

[Mr.Hugo]

 I know, I am finding this sad and frustrating bc I am almost ready to make him an outside bunny which is exactly what I didn’t want… 

[Roberta]

You can do it….9 weeks is still very young.
At that age my oops babies still thought the litter tray was an activity center.
Set out a couple of cheap kitty litter trays with newspaper on the bottom and fill them with hay. Choose his favourite spots. Buns love to poo and chew.
It will probably take about 2 weeks but eventually he will decide on his favourite spot. Put his vegie or pellet dish next to that tray. He will probably sit in it abd eat fro the vegie or pellet dish.

[justwildbeat]

My bun was 6 wks old when I brought him home and was already litter trained (yay!). Since it’s only the first week, it may be a new environment adjustment issue. So just be patient and continue to place its waste in the box. He’ll eventually get the idea. There’s no need to move him outside just because of this. During the first two weeks mine went through phases. He started out peeing/pooping in the box, then peeing in the box and pooping outside, and finally went back to using the box for everything lol.

[Angela93]

They can be neutered around 31/2 months at the least. It’s easier when his assets have descended…you will definitely know when they are. This is about the time their hormones start kicking in which also can affect litter training that has already been put into place. Like if he learns now and picks it up and then hormones kick in, it might set you back a bit. So far it hasn’t with Harry. its a good thing he’s picked up peeing into his litter pan, it will just take time with the poops like I said it could be him still trying to define his territory.

Again, patience is key and your about half way through so I’d be proud he picked up peeing which also means that where you have the litter pan is his corner of choosing. Poop is harder to manage than peeing. Don’t give up!

Also wanted to ask if he pees in a certain place when he’s out or everywhere?

[LBJ10]

I would not have anything soft in his cage. He has a cage or pen, right? It is difficult to tell from your posts. Anyway, having a hard surface means his pee and poo will be “sitting” there. He won’t want to sit in his pee and poo, so he will opt to do his business in his litter pan.

[Julezypie]

Posted By LBJ10 on 07/01/2013 06:00 PM
I would not have anything soft in his cage. He has a cage or pen, right? It is difficult to tell from your posts. Anyway, having a hard surface means his pee and poo will be “sitting” there. He won’t want to sit in his pee and poo, so he will opt to do his business in his litter pan.

I think that is what is setting me back, as well. I have three dog beds in the living room plus a super soft blanket in Fiona’s NIC cage. But she is slowly picking it up, now. What I have been doing is moving her litter box with her. So she has it in her cage and then she has the same one when she has free time in the living room. 

[Mr.Hugo]

 I love the replies – they are so helpful!!  He tends to pee in the same-ish spot in his litter pan but when he is out he will pee everywhere/anywhere.  Today seems to be a better day, it’s not done but seems like more poo is in box and we do carry the litter pan with us when he is out.  He is still a young male then bc, uh, you can’t tell!  Thank you!

[Mr.Hugo]

 Thank you!  You have beautiful buns!!

[Mr.Hugo]

 I’ll be honest – My intention was never for him to really be a caged rabbit, at least not completely so I am using a wicker dog kennel I already had – it is plenty big for tiny bunny.  Basically  it was just to house his water bottle, grass mat and litter box and food, because it is wicker (non-toxic plastic wicker) I had to cover the bottom with a thick piece of cardboard because I was finding that the poos got stuck into the weave.  Fortunately, he seems to be very good at peeing in his litter (except one time).   Oh, to protect the cardboard, I put down the flat weave rug.  He did have a better day today!  And when we take him out we bring his litter box with us.  Thank you for your help!  If it doesn’t truly improve tomorrow, I will remove the rug???

[Angela93]

Harry is free roam except for at night and when we leave the house for long periods of time and that’s what I wanted when I got him so I understand where ya coming from. I think as long as he has a litter pan outside his cage he will learn to go there when he needs it. Sounds to me like he’s learning to use it from the progree you mentioned, it’s just slower for younger buns to pick it up compared to older ones.

If you do have to take out the rug I’m not really sure what to replace it with than maybe some kind of bedding that you can clean out that is a different texture than his litter. As for when you let him out definitely keep a litter pan nearby and if he does have more accidents in one place more than others then I’d put it there. As for the poop I’d scoop it up and put it into his pan when you see it so he knows to go there for that also. Hope you keep making progress

[LBJ10]

Some bunnies just can’t have that kind of freedom, especially when they are that young. If you’re having difficulty litter training him, it is better to restrict him to a smaller area. One he is doing better, then you can gradually allow him more freedom.

[justwildbeat]

He tends to pee in the same-ish spot in his litter pan but when he is out he will pee everywhere/anywhere.

For clarity, does he consistently use the litter box while in the cage then loses this habit once you take him out of the cage? I also agree on limiting the free roam area at least until his litter habit’s improve. During those first two weeks I kept mine in the cage till the litter habit settled in. After that I opened up a small play area next to the cage with a fuzzy bath rug. He’s never had an accident on the rug other than the occasional stray poo pellet.

[TamarizRabbit]

We just got a bunny and had her spayed at 12 weeks. She picked up litter training really quickly but only when we removed everything soft from cage and only out bedding in the tray. Type of litter is important too. Mine doesn’t like cat fresh but likes the pelleted paper like yesterday’s news with a little sprinkling of wood shavings on the top. Size of pan is important too. The rabbit ones were useless for us. The minute I put a washing up bowl in there she loved it. Gutted I spent money on several other more expensive models! They like to flop in their trays I think. Big bunch of hay in there and nowhere else also encouraged her to use it.

Like you I had visions of totally free bunny but it’s not very realistic for now. She likes being out when we’re at home but also likes time to herself in an environment where she knows she’s totally safe. She associates her house with food so it’s always good to be in there.

I don’t really know what you mean by taking the litter pan with you when he’s out? If you’re moving it that will really confuse him. The minute I touch the cage Tizzy appears next to me to watch what I’m doing. If I’m sweeping out she likes to hell by eating the brush bristles… You need a litter pan in each room he’s in (a litter pan that stays put) but if I were you I’d introduce one room slowly at a time. We started with giving her the run of my study (where her cage is) and then after a couple of successful weeks introduced the landing and then in more time taught her how to do stairs. Tizzy is now 5 months and developing a real character. She has run of upstairs and down when we’re in and is caged when were out. Now the hormones have settled from the spay though we’re hoping she can have run of my study when were out but that’s another slow process. She has a litter tray in her hutch and one downstairs. Hope this helps. As a fellow new bunny parent all I can say is keep posting. The guys on here are brilliant and it’s helped us persevere and be better at looking after our little one who we now adore. Good luck!

[TamarizRabbit]

We just got a bunny and had her spayed at 12 weeks. She picked up litter training really quickly but only when we removed everything soft from cage and only out bedding in the tray. Type of litter is important too. Mine doesn’t like cat fresh but likes the pelleted paper like yesterday’s news with a little sprinkling of wood shavings on the top. Size of pan is important too. The rabbit ones were useless for us. The minute I put a washing up bowl in there she loved it. Gutted I spent money on several other more expensive models! They like to flop in their trays I think. Big bunch of hay in there and nowhere else also encouraged her to use it.

Like you I had visions of totally free bunny but it’s not very realistic for now. She likes being out when we’re at home but also likes time to herself in an environment where she knows she’s totally safe. She associates her house with food so it’s always good to be in there.

I don’t really know what you mean by taking the litter pan with you when he’s out? If you’re moving it that will really confuse him. The minute I touch the cage Tizzy appears next to me to watch what I’m doing. If I’m sweeping out she likes to hell by eating the brush bristles… You need a litter pan in each room he’s in (a litter pan that stays put) but if I were you I’d introduce one room slowly at a time. We started with giving her the run of my study (where her cage is) and then after a couple of successful weeks introduced the landing and then in more time taught her how to do stairs. Tizzy is now 5 months and developing a real character. She has run of upstairs and down when we’re in and is caged when were out. Now the hormones have settled from the spay though we’re hoping she can have run of my study when were out but that’s another slow process. She has a litter tray in her hutch and one downstairs. Hope this helps. As a fellow new bunny parent all I can say is keep posting. The guys on here are brilliant and it’s helped us persevere and be better at looking after our little one who we now adore. Good luck!

[oatmealpie]

I have two not-yet-neutered bunnies, 11 and 13 weeks. They aren’t 100% litter trained, but they’re getting much better. Things that helped:

– Make sure they can only access their food (pellets and hay) when they’re in the litter box.
– We have hardwood floors. We started out with an old bed sheet on top of a protective floor mat for the bottom of their cage. They would pee in various spots, and we couldn’t mop up the pee with a paper towel and put it in their litter box. When we got rid of the sheet, they got much better about going in the litter box.

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