Well congrats to being a second time bunny mom, I know it’s hard when you lose a pet that’s very beloved to you but I’m glad you decided to get a new pair. First off, I would recommend spaying your girls, even though they wont breed, it’s important that they’re spayed because it’s just better for their health (many unspayed/unbred females will get uterine cancer) and might help you with alot of your bun issues. Hormones might be causing the territorial aggression you’ve been dealing with, including the poop wars and growling. I’m not sure how other people litter trained their rabbits, but I just kept my two caged for a few weeks with a few hours play time in a restricted room/xpen. By spendning the majority of their time in the cage, both of my buns learned and became accostomed to going in 1 particular spot and just kept up with it (my baby holland lop Guppy has got the pee thing down, but he still leaves some poops). You might want to try that method as opposed to giving them so much space all the time. Once you notice that they’re consistently going in the cage even while out during play time, then gradually you can increase the amt of time they’re left out until you’re totally cage free (unless of course the buns go in voluntarily for naps and potty breaks).

I just keep a small cat litter box within the big tray of the cage because it’s easier clean up and I removed the wire covering/top of the cage. I keep his food/hay in there too so that any stray poops are caught within the tray of the box instead of all over my house.

welcome here. i agree that many of these issues may be directly related to them reaching sexual maturity and being unspayed. that would be your first step. on the contrary, it is not “needless surgery”. like sweetbluebun mentioned, 80% of females will develop reproductive cancers by the age of 3 if not altered. that, as well as the fact that they may become territorial/aggressive with EACH OTHER, is very good incentive for going thru with the surgery. if you need info about altering or help with finding a vet, please don’t hesitate to ask.

i’m sorry to hear about your first bun. every bun is an individual. with my first, he was not neutered, but with my second, it became clear very quickly that she would have to be. i knew it was the best thing for her healthwise, so it was never a question of whether or not i’d do it, but behaviorally, it was also a necessity. altering will help with the litter training and destructive behaviors as well.

It really does sound as though they are being ruled by their hormones- the difficulty litterbox training and the growling and dominance of territory are typical signs. 

My first bunny that I got was young- 2 1/2 months old, and at first she was an angel and then hormones made her into a moody, grumpy, messy little ball of fur- still a cute ball of fur, but I COUNTED the days until she went in for her spay.  It has made a huge difference in the poo and pee marking and grunting/stomping over anything she did not like.

I got my bunny spayed and then litter training seemed easy. She NEVER pees on the floor but I just a use a dust pan in her area in the am to clean any poo that missed the litter. I used a litter pan that has a very high back so that she doesn’t pee above it. Unfortunately I feel your pain with your buns not likeing you too much. I thought maybe after my bun was spayed she might like me more. She doesn’t. She never bites or growls but I can tell she just doesn’t like me and is always very weary about what I am doing in her space. She allows us to cut her nails, feed her and give her any meds but try to catch her if you can! I wish she were more loving and am jealous when I hear about the bun owners that get love but my bun is still not even one yet so I guess all I can do is keep trying. Good luck with your girls.

She likes my dogs more than me!