Litter training help

[Nature Nerd]

Hi all  

So I’ve been having some trouble litter training my buns. They easily picked up the idea of peeing in their box but they still poo everywhere else (they do go in their box quite a bit, just not enough!). I have hay situated so that they have to sit in there while they eat also. While reading other posts I think I discovered that I’m supposed to be moving them to the litter box when I see them about to go, but I never really notice when they are and aren’t!! So any help is absolutely welcome 

(PS sorry if a post on this has already been made, I checked as much as possible to make sure there wasn’t)

[Azerane]

Moving them to the box when they’re pooping can help, but it’s not something that’s possible with many bunnies as they’re usually not too keen on being picked up. I found that simply sweeping up poops and putting them in the tray as soon as I found them was the easiest thing. How long have you had your rabbits? And are they spayed or neutered? Are they newly bonded or have they been together a long time? All of these factors can contribute to litter training as rabbits mark their territory with poop. Sometimes after being new to a house a rabbit will mark with poop for several weeks, even months before they get better with their tray. Once trained, you’ll see 90-100% of poops landing in the box, but most rabbits still leave a few here or there, which is understandable given the sheer number they do daily. Rabbits that aren’t spayed or neutered are usually more difficult to box train and are more likely to leave poops everywhere than their spayed or neutered counterparts.

What you’re seeing is a pretty common thing for many bunny owners, and often it just takes time and patience and dedication to poop sweeping! If you find that when they’re pooping outside the box that it’s mostly in one other location, you could add a second litter box there too.

[Nature Nerd]

They’re brothers, so they’ve been together their entire lives  They aren’t fixed (I pay for them myself and I’m too young for a job so the price is way out of my budget!) and I’ve had them for about 1 1/2 months. I try as much as possible to scoop up their poop but thanks for letting me know that I don’t have to do that! 

[Diane]

I’m in the middle of training my bun, too! What really helped was having multiple litter boxes. He still poops a bit here and there, but most of the pee and poop are in the two litter boxes in his cage. Also, I moved not only the hay, but a food bowl and water to one of the litter boxes so whenever he wants to eat/drink AT ALL, he has to be in a litter box. Again, he’s not 100% trained yet, but this definitely sped up the process

[Nature Nerd]

Diane, thanks for the tips! I have tried the all food and water in the litter box part too and that did help a lot! I’ll have to look into getting another litter box

[Kiahak]

From what I understand, they could be doing that for a number of things, such as marking their territory.

For me, i’ve had my bun for only two-three weeks. At first, she’d poop everywhere in the cage, but only urinate in the litter box. As time rolled on, she slowly started pooping more and more in the litter box exclusively. It probably didn’t help that I got her a new cage so that she started re-poop-marking. Now, she mostly goes exclusively in the litter box, but may around the rest of the cage if I had just cleaned it. At least when I let her around the house, she won’t go to the bathroom. She’ll run straight to the cage to go!

If it is a territorial thing, it could be due to the fact that it’s a new environment and would fade with time. The more frequently you clean it (and using deodorizers) the longer they’ll do it until it stops. If they are not spayed/neutered, that could also result in marking around their space and would not improve with time. My bun doesn’t like being picked up too much. What I do is pick up the poop and just put it in the litter box, in hopes that they’ll associate the litter box with defecation. So far, it’s been working. Putting hay in the litter box may help too. I keep my buns hay feeder away from the litter box, but I put at least a little hay in the litter box as a treat.

[Kiahak]

(Edit: Double post. Sorry, I don’t know how to delete it!)

[Nature Nerd]

Kiahak, thanks for the advice. I have been noticing my bigger bun (Twix) being more territorial so the pooping everywhere could be a part of that……I also read I might have to get them neutered anyways if I decide to keep them together so that will probably help a lot. Also my dad is designing a cage with a wire floor so the poop falls through…would that be okay or could it result in sore hocks? I was thinking of just sectioning off an area and making that part (which would be the litter box) wire. This would keep their feet cleaner but I don’t know if it’s safe?!

Thanks guys!

[Author]

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