Hutch Litter Problems

[Robert_M]

Hi All,

First time poster, but long time reader of the forum – it’s been a great source of knowledge.

We have 4 indoor rabbits – all mini lops. Two are bonded and very happy, one is an eight month old male (all three neutered) and one is a very young 10 week old female. We will eventually bond the female and single male.

We’ve had the older three for some time, and have just moved them into a double-storey hutch, one floor for the bonded pair, and the top floor for the second pair. No ramp – they are separate floors. At the moment the single male is in there, with the female in a smaller, separate cage. 

Prior to this, the bonded pair and single male were all in an indoor cage.

In the old cage (the type with metal bars) they were really good with their litter. I’d say 75% was in the litter tray, if not more, and certainly not all over the place. Since moving into the new hutch (4/5 weeks ago) it has been a disaster. I know sometimes it takes a few weeks for them to settle, but there has been no improvement at all.

We moved the litter tray to where they seemed to prefer, and presto – the litter was all over the other areas. The hutch has a larger ‘play’ area, and a darker ‘bedroom’ on each floor. The litter tray is in the corner of the play area, and as well as using that, the bedroom area is always soaked in wee and covered in poo. We’re currently having to clear it out three or four times a week and can’t see a solution.

Any ideas? Thanks a lot in advance!

[Vienna Blue in France]

Hi! And a big welcome to you and your bunny family

Re the bedroom area, do you have anything in it, like soft fleece or straw ? Most buns like peeing on soft things….

I can’t comment on the random marking as I have trouble with that myself at the mo, with a new bun in the house my old “perfect” bun is marking where the new one is caged….

[Robert_M]

Hi ?

For the first couple of days we had straw in the bedroom area, to give them something to burrow into and relax. However, seeing that they used it as a toilet we quickly removed it all!
Now we only have wood shavings on the floor all over, including the bedroom, but it’s still covered. What I’m confused about is that previously they’ve always been fairly clean, and well groomed. Now it’s absolutely everywhere, and the bonded pair really mess up the hay and shavings.
I know they like to move things around – that’s not a problem – but the littering is a real problem all over.

[Author]

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