Food crumbs

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 17sd replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 10 months ago by Malia.

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- 05/21/2017 at 4:00 PM
  Malia
  Participant
  17 posts
  Hi everyone. My bunny has a litter box for his hutch & for the night I give him a little bowl of pellets, every morning ALL his pellets have gone but there is crumbs of them all around his litter box. It goes EVERYWHERE. He has never done this before & it’s so hard to clean up!!! It’s weird because when I see him eating he eats them normally?? Any ideas on why he is doing this? And ways I could potentially prevent it? Thanks!!
- 05/21/2017 at 6:41 PM
  sarahthegemini
  Participant
  5584 posts
  I’m confused -are you putting the bowl of pellets in the litter tray?
- 05/22/2017 at 3:16 AM
  Malia
  Participant
  17 posts
  No the bowl of pellets are near the litter tray
- 05/22/2017 at 5:52 AM
  sarahthegemini
  Participant
  5584 posts
  Maybe he’s very enthusiastic and shoves his face in the pellet bowl and so it gets a bit messy. I don’t see how that’s hard to clean up tho. Just sweep it.
- 05/22/2017 at 6:31 AM
  Wick & Fable
  Moderator
  5834 posts
  Wick’s gotten in the habit of sloppily eating pellets, so a lot of pellet dust litters the pen floor. The only thing you can do is sweep it up. Dust and pan work well!
  
  The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
- 05/22/2017 at 7:15 AM
  ThorBunny
  Participant
  824 posts
  I also have a small, cordless vacuum that I use for getting crumbs out of hard to reach places. It’s been a lifesaver!
- 05/24/2017 at 3:52 AM
  Malia
  Participant
  17 posts
  Thanks everyone. Update – I have now gotten to the bottom of this, it was mice getting into his cage, eating all his food & making an absolute mess! I have now solved the problem so they are not able to get in again.
- 05/24/2017 at 3:57 AM
  Malia
  Participant
  17 posts
  It’s hard to clean because it’s in huge piles, and sticks to absolutley everything. It takes ages to clean it all up properly and gets into the hutch’s gaps which I can’t clean without taking it apart. It’s horrible! – anyway i have recently noticed mice have been getting into his cage and stealing his food – explaining the sudden mess of crumbs in the hutch and his always empty bowl.
- 05/24/2017 at 4:03 AM
  sarahthegemini
  Participant
  5584 posts
  So your bun is kept outside in a non secure hutch?
- 05/24/2017 at 4:11 AM
  Malia
  Participant
  17 posts
  My hutch is on gravel, the mice were able to dig under the gravel and get into the hutch. – I had no knowledge of this until recently
- 05/24/2017 at 4:24 AM
  sarahthegemini
  Participant
  5584 posts
  An outdoor hutch should be somewhat elevated to prevent that exact issue as well as other problems.
- 05/24/2017 at 4:29 AM
  Malia
  Participant
  17 posts
  The hutch is elevated. He has a ramp up into an elevated area (which can be shut by a door if needed at the top) where his food & litter box are. At night when he is not supervised he stays up the top & I shut the door.The mice got in by digging under the bottom of the gravel, climbing up the ramp & then sliding underneath the gap of the door where they have access to his food and hay.
- 05/24/2017 at 4:37 AM
  sarahthegemini
  Participant
  5584 posts
  That still means it isn’t secure…
- 05/24/2017 at 4:57 AM
  Malia
  Participant
  17 posts
  To my knowledge it was secure. I wouldn’t of left him in there if I thought otherwise. But obviously it wasn’t enough to stop mice getting in so I will fix the problem.
- 05/24/2017 at 5:16 AM
  Bam
  Moderator
  17031 posts
  Mice can be very tricky to shut out and if they can dig in, there could perhaps be a risk that other animals can as well? I’m thinking of rats and ferrets and foxes etc. The best thing is to have netting on the bottom of the run as well, although it can be a bit difficult to get in place after the run has been put together.
  
  I have welded netting underneath my outdoors run, but it’s on grass so the grass just grew through it, making it soft for rabbits’ feet. Another option would be to bury netting vertically around the outside of the run, about a feet deep at least. Some say you can put netting on the ground about 1-2 feet out from the run, horizontally, because many animals don’t understand that they need to start digging away from their goal to be able to get to it. (Although in my opinion, many animals are a lot smarter than they’re given credit for).
- 05/24/2017 at 2:35 PM
  Malia
  Participant
  17 posts
  Yeah, it’s hard as well because I live on a farm so there are thousands of them. We don’t have ferrets and foxes in my country thank god for that. I was thinking either putting netting under the hutch or moving the hutch to a concrete area so obviously they won’t be able to dig under and get in- thank you for your advice. Also I was thinking that concrete would be better to clean up if he spills any food, as he is quite messy. At the moment he is on gravel, where if he makes a mess it is very hard to clean all the food up which may have attracted mice in the first place.
- 05/24/2017 at 3:02 PM
  sarahthegemini
  Participant
  5584 posts
  Can’t you bring him inside? Where he’ll be safe?
- 05/24/2017 at 4:28 PM
  Malia
  Participant
  17 posts
  He’s inside right now. If I had it my way he’d be inside all the time, but unfornately I have two big dogs who want to play with him all the time, even when he’s inside in a cage they don’t leave him alone. Although I would try it and I’m sure the dogs would settle down after a while, my parents think that he may bring mice inside too. We had an issue with mice in the house earlier this year and my mum has a phobia of mice. I’m trying to get him inside, but it may take time. He is inside now safe due to the mice outside until I get his hutch secure.
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