How to introduce new objects into rabbit enclosures

[Sydneyfinch]

I’ve got a female (three and a half years) and male (two and a half years) bonded pair, both are desexed. They live inside my house in an enclosure (~ 3 x 1.5 m) within which there are two hutches, one of which the rabbits can jump onto the top of. I’ve recently realised that whilst sitting on the roof of  this hutch they have been urinated over the back edge against the corner of the wall damaging the floor below and walls (as the the lino flooring of the enclosure is not flush against the wooden floors of the room in this area – hadn’t been an issue before as the rabbits cannot access beneath the hutch). 

As a result I have removed this hutch and had to reduce the size of the enclosure slightly to avoid any further damage of the floor (we live in a rented house, otherwise I wouldn’t be so concerned). I feel bad as sitting on the top of the hutch was their favourite vantage point and without it their home seems a lot more boring. I’m trying to think of ways that I can increase their enrichment. As it stands they still have a two storied hutch, a cardboard tunnel, a cardboard box that they can jump on top of and their litter trays but I wanted to add something more comfortable to lie on in the area where the old hutch used to be (e.g. a dog bed/cushion). 

 Whenever I have put anything new (e.g.dog beds, bath mats, small rugs and fleece towelling) into their enclosure they both repeatably urinate on these new objects. I have tried introducing them to a new “object” prior to putting it in their cage by letting them interact with it whilst outside of their cage whilst they are free roaming around the house. However, this has not helped. So I was wondering whether anybody had any ideas for how to introduce new beds/comfy sleeping areas. 

Thanks for any tips. 

[Mikey]

Its a claim not a rejection. They like it, so they claim it as theirs by getting their smells all over it Its rabbit nature so its going to be hard to get them to stop territory marking things.

[Sydneyfinch]

Sorry, I’ve adjusted the title of the post to remove “rejection” in the description. I realised it was territorial, which was why I had tryied to get them used to the objects before placing it straight into their enclosure in case that got them more used to it. Was just wondering how others manage to introduce new objects into an enclosure without their rabbits peeing over them but understand perhaps that’s not possible. If it’s not possible to avoid, do others just rotate pet beds daily or leave soiled bedding in there until they stop peeing on it?

[Author]

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