Hi, welcome to Binky Bunny!

I’ve been pretty lucky with Cadbury, she became litterbox trained very easily and doesn’t have any accidents. But, I think you should still be prepared for the stray poop here and there, as it is very common. Some buns take to litter training quicker than others. Spaying/neutering will help with this – unaltered rabbit will likely spray to mark their territory.

Cadbury has TONS of toys and chew things, but she still prefers the carpet and couch (and remote control buttons, and computer wires, and shoes, and…). You will really need to bunny proof. You may need to block off access to certain areas – I did this with the couch, because nothing I tried (bitter apple, squirt bottle, etc) stopped Cadbury from eating it. So, she doesn’t have access to it anymore. Again, spaying/neutering will help with the destructive behavior.

Kudos to you for doing all this research before getting a bunny – they are certainly a handful, but great fun!

Good for you for doing your research…I wnet about getting a bunny the wrong way…impulse buy, but I love him. Honestly I think a lot of it has to do with the buns personality. Mine got neutered a couple weeks ago and he’s has left virtually no poops around since then…..

And he is pretty much an angel when it comes to destoying things, just make sure to have lots of buuny safe items/toys for them to entertain themselves, because it seems a lot of badbehavior can stem from boredom. But also, it has a lot to do with personality.

Others on here can give you some great advice.

Good luck!

Welcome Liz! I may not be the norm here but Edson does not chew or have any kind of destructive behavior whatsoever. I realize I am very lucky. In fact, he does not mark either. He is completely litter trained and does not leave a stray poo anywhere. But many people have all kinds of problems with their buns. You must bunny proof for sure. See tips under Bunny Info above. I think the key is to not give them too much freedom at first and as they prove they are litter trained etc you can give them more freedom. Maybe with 2 bonded buns that are neutered/spayed before you get them they will entertain each other more. There are some key “toys” to consider. Edson does love his tunnel, a concrete cardboard form you can get at a home improvement store. It’s about 3 feet long and he still loves to run through it. Lots of untreated safe things to chew like willow balls willow sticks or willow baskets. Check the store here on this site for great safe toys. I would start out with an xpen as they do need a large enough area to play and then you can gradually let them explore outside of the xpen supervised when you feel they are ready. Great that you asking questions BEFORE you get your buns. They are so much fun and quite smart.

Hi Liz. I think the correct answer is….every bunny is different! =) It literally took 2 days to litter train my bunny. She peed twice and pooped twice outside her box, total. I know I’m lucky, so it might be something you have to keep at. As for the chewing, my bunny has lots of chew toys too, but prefers the carpet! I use a squirt bottle to get her to stop and sometimes it helps for days, sometimes, for minutes. I can’t tell you much about bunny proofing, b/c my bunny isn’t allowed to roam the house. I have her cage in a 12×3 play pen area, but if you do let your bunnies roam bunny proof well!! Bunnies can be a lot of work, but seriously, once you get used to each other, it can all run pretty smoothly =) Good luck!

Younger bunnies can be more destructive. Jack was rather destructive the first year I had him, but he has mellowed with age. Spaying/neutering can really make a difference with both marking and destructive behaviors.

Finding out what each bunny really likes to play with is the key. Some like to dig, some like to explore, whatever and so keeping them distracted with something they like is key.

There are the very few rabbits that are just messy and for whatever reason, even when they are spayed and neutered just mess everywhere. Sometimes it’s due to health or behavior issues.  For example, Bailey was a real challenge even from the beginning because she did not get along with another bunny, hence she marked, and now she is dealing with health issues, that make it impossible for her to get to her bosx everytime) but for the most part spayed/neutered rabbits can be littertrained.  

The fact you would get an ALREADY bonded pair will make it much easier as they would have already worked out their dominance issues. If you try and bond two rabbits yourself, you may have to deal with marking wars while they work on their relationship.

You might also consider fostering a bonded pair just to get some idea of what it’s like. Check out your local rabbit rescue and see if they need fosters for a pair. now there is no gaurantee that the pair you foster may be anything like the pair you end up with, but it should give you siome idea the amount of work goes into it.

Hi Lizzie,

I am a first time bunny owner. I adopted a pair of already bonded and fixed bunny’s from a HRS shelter in mid Febuary.

I am having such a good time with them and learning all about bunny’s!

I asked a ton of questions here before adopting too. It really helped.

As for pee / poop issues: the first week or so they pooped every where – that is how they “claim” territory. Now, the only stray poops are from when bunny jumps out of the litter box and some fly out. Occasionaly I get a “missed the box” pee right on the out side of the litter box – but that is it.

Plus the poop is all dried and has no smell. Some people use a dust buster to pick them up. I just use my hands. Yes, I do wash my hands after!

Chewing: So far mine have not chewed on anything but thier own toys & their card bord boxes. My living room liiks like a little village of box houses. I think having 2 of them keeps them much more entertained. I also try to rotate their toys.

Bonus: You already know the key to much distructive bahavior is boredum. A lot of pet owners don’t get that.

Good Luck & let us know what you decide!

Welcome Lizzie!! I won’t add to what’s already here, the advice is great! Just welcome and good on ya for doing your research first!!

Of course after I commented on this yesterday, last night Piccolino chewed 2 little holes in may favorite pillows!!!

Are you able to foster these bunnies first before adopting so you can get a good idea of what it’s like to live with bunns before you actually commit to them? This was what my hubby and I did.

As for what to expect, it’s hard to say becasue every bunn is different. All four of mine are littertrained yet there are still stray poops around. My little girl Ella is very territorial and whenever I vacuum up the room she looks at me like “Mama! Why? Now I have to go and poop everywhere all over again!” Some bunnies have perfect habits, others, not so much. Just remember, when they are new to your home, they will poop everywhere, but that’s just because the space is new to them and pooping everywhere helps them to claim an area as “theirs”, but it will subside over time.

With regards to the chewing, it will happen. My bunns have every chew toy under the sun but they still have a penchant for baseboards and wall corners and furniture legs! The general rule in my house is if you don’t want it chewed, keep it 2 feet off the floor. You can use NIC panels to make barriers to prevent bunns from chewing furniture or getting under beds or couches and causing mischief – there are ways to bunny proof everything in your home. You just need to realize that these things will happen and it’s all a part of owning a bunny.

That’s a very good idea to foster first just to make sure.  That’s what I did because I had never had a rabbit before.  Then I fell in love with my little guy and officially adopted him a month later. He’s been an absolute joy.

every bunny will be different
Hopscotch is being a little *#@! to litterbox train but he has never destroyed or even tried to destroy anything, so swings and roundabouts, the fostering does sound like a good idea
hope everything goes well and keep us posted!

Hi Lizzie, Sorry I did not respond earlier – I have been away from the computer.

Yes, I did get my bunny’s from CO-HRS! I highly recommend them.
I felt the same way – Liked that they were strict, but was a nervous wreck until I got approved.

The questionair is long, but they just want to make sure you have realistic expectations. Rachel even responded to each of my answers on the questionair.

The first time I went there to meet Rachel & the buns, I was there for about 5 hours. The second time was 4 hours.
They have been totally supportive – always answering my e-mail questions and they even give you 3 emergency numbers to call just in case.
The bunny tune up class was incredible – It gave me tons of confidence.

Right now I have a NIC pen set up for the buns. My husband and I are going to build a 4 level pen out of wood, metal & the NIC pannels – He does welding & I do some wood work.

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buns are fun. I have spliced wires here n there til I got sling tubing and proofed them up good. the couch has always been safe. I have pillows stuffed under it so he can’t get under or behind it. I have xpen which is at pet stores like a big exercise pen for dogs and bun etc. works real well for new buns they may pee here n there a little bit but poops at first yes I had my cotton for 1 yr and he hardly leaves a poop on the floor then when I got 2nd baby girl the war started and I put a litterbox where he marks and he is happily using it instead. I am going to have to get some NIC panels to keep the girl from under the bed I have an xpen for now giving her a certain area of the bedroom. but when I go in and go to my dresser I have to go thru 2 gates for now. pain in the hmpf.  they are lots of fun at first all this info seems like omg forget it. but it really isn’t that bad. cotton chewed a hole in a cushion once and I removed it and he never chewed another cushion I even have it back a little pillow not a cushion sorry and I pt it back on the couch he doesn’t chew just licks it lol. he has lots of toys. they love cardboard boxes to no end. chew chew chew play chew I make a tunnel out of them and he has newspaper he had phone books to tear up so he is a very bzy bunny with his toys so my stuff is safe. the baby girl wel she is 3 mos. has her stuff too she hasn’t chewed anything they aren’t that bad really. however some buns are real bad but I have never run across one so yes good on educating yourself first. I did check out websites first to know what it entails and chose buns over guinea piggies. I love buns. they are my favs. you should have fun with them. you know at first give them the xpen and put the litterbox where they tend to pee they will tell you where they want it lol. and you can lie in the xpen with them and let them get to know you. but yes limited play room at first if too much room they will be hard to train. and the spay/neuter does make a dif. the baby girl is just now leaving a few poop here n there she is smart. took to the litterbox right off. Laith did too. cotton well he got it in a short period of time he came neutered already.