How are you housing them? I get busy and hate cleaning the bunny pen really often but what I found that helps lessen the frequency of cleaning is giving them large and numerous litter boxes. Then i just clean all the boxes out at once every couple days. If they make a mess with hay or poop or something, I just sweep it up and dump it back into the litter box.

We have a shop vac (with a large diameter hose) that we keep right next to the bunny area. My husband does the nightly cleaning. He can refill hay feeders, empty and refill litter boxes, and vac in about 15 minutes.

I find sweeping every day (And not being upset when I am too busy to sweep, instead just sweeping the next day) works for me.
Is your garage heated in the winter? Do cars park in there?

I just clean out Gunther’s litterbox every morning and sweep up the extra hay. It’s easier with just a litterbox to clean.

I use a shop vac as well. Once they get used to the sound, you can vacuum without taking them out of the pen, which will make it nice and fast.

Shop vacs are great . . .just make sure not to suck in bunny! Our lops have gotten a little too comfortable with the shop vac and a little too nosy as well. Both have run a little too close to the hose — scared us as much as it did them!

Edit: You have to watch out for the cord too . . . may seem like a nice thick tasty root to bite … haven’t had any close calls so far but I’ve seen Moshi looking at it.

So sorry to hear that, but life happens and we can only do our best. Four rabbits is a lot. One of my 4 recently died and as much as we loved her, she was a TON of work and I’m not in a hurry to replace her. And if the shelter is a no kill shelter, they’ll be fine. It’s ok. Take care of you, MK. You’d not be any good to them if it was that crazy to deal with.

As far as the other two, since rabbits don’t dig in the litter, I find a short cut can be to just add a fresh layer of litter…I use pine pellets…and a fresh layer of hay and you have a fresh layer of everything. Get a big litter box. Maybe even several extras so you can have the next ones ready to go in case you’re too busy to dry them right away or to wash them immediately

I am sorry, it must be really hard for you. I love how Megabunny said it, do take care of yourself. (((((Hugs)))))

I’m sorry MK, it must be heart breaking… I do understand what you are going through been close myself… Years of anxiety and depression, throw ill health and menopause into the works and it got bad for a while, half the time I was out of my tree and snapping at people or I just wanted to crawl into a hole.. Luckily I found the cause of most of my problems and have been able to forge ahead but it was not easy, I had 7 rabbits and 5 cats at the time now I have 12 rabbits and 3 cats, lost two cats one to old age and the other a particularly aggressive cancer and took in a mother (Pandora now mine) and her babies at Xmas… I was getting better every day but things were still tough… It took a Herculian effort to get where I am now but I had to make a point of setting time aside for myself and come up with strategy after strategy to deal with every thing… The future is now bright and I am able to deal with things, my health is improving and I can enjoy my menagerie. I hope that you can find that place in time and get back to enjoying life and the furries.

So sorry to hear that MK. Will that leave you bunny-less?

I get that overwhelmed feeling too. If it weren’t for all the help from my husband, I don’t know what I would do. Working full-time and trying to care for bunnies and trying to make sure they have plenty of exercise time . . . Sometimes there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in a day.

Roberta, I don’t think I’ll ever be sane enough to deal with 12 rabbits!

Hello!
Do you have a smartphone? If you do, setting a weekly alarm to fully clean out your rabbits cage would probably help. Also, to clean, if you are using fleece, it would be best to buy a mini pan and broom so that you could easily sweep away all the poopies, pellets and left over hay and then wash the fleece, and clean the base of the cage. If you use wood shavings or paper bedding, make sure you scoop out all of the bedding and spray down the cage base with an animal safe disinfectant, and then wipe it down…
Also, if your rabbit is litter trained, make sure that you clean it out daily, and disinfect it as well.
Also, make sure to spot clean daily, to provide a clean environment for your rabbit.
As for them being kept in the basement, it would be a good idea to make sure that there is no mold, or dangerous bugs or critters living in your basement that could be a potential danger to the rabbits. Also make sure that the temperature is room temperature.
I really hope that I helped, and good luck with your situation <3

Dear MK,
I just recently read your update, and I apologize for you having to give up your bunnies..
I’ve had many pets and I know that when they pass, or when you have to give them away, it really breaks your heart. I know what it feels like, and I really hope that you get the strength to move on from this. Don’t worry.. your babies are probably being taken very well care of.
I really wish you the best, and I hope that you will be able to get better living space for your pets, so that you will be able to feel the greatness of being an owner again.
Sincerely,
Kalila

Oh that’s so good to hear. Keep up the good work! A lot of us here have our quirky things so we really do get it

I’m glad to hear you’re doing better! It’s sad when things don’t work out the way you want, but it’s important that you recognize your limitations… And if this means that your remaining pair has a better quality of life (and you are less stressed), I think this is the best solution.