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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum DIET & CARE Time to *ick* clean out the used litter…

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    • joea64
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        When I get home this evening, it’ll be time to do one of the less pleasant chores associated with bunny ownership/slaveship: clean the used litter and soiled hay out of the litterbox.  So I need to know what to look for when I do this; I think I can figure out what the used litter looks like easily enough, and hopefully it shouldn’t stink too much of urine (I’m using Carefresh litter). My actual puzzle is how to figure out which hay to keep and which to dispose of (another member was commenting on “recycling” hay that was still good but that the buns hadn’t gotten to yet). So ???


      • sarahthegemini
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          I just dump out the entire litter box contents, hay included. It’s not worth it to me to risk having soiled hay in there.


        • Gina.Jenny
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            I use underbed plastic storage boxes as hay/litter boxes. I line them all (I have six rabbits) with half a puppy training pad. Each morning, I lift off the top, dry layer of hay, and pop it onto a fresh half puppy pad. The wetter hay underneath sticks to the wet puppy pad, I put the wet hay and any poops on a compost heap in the garden, and just the sodden half puppy pad goes in the bin. The fresh dry pad, with yesterday’s top hay is then lifted into the box, and a fresh layer of hay added. I then use the composted hay to grow winter veg for the buns, so all that is wasted is the puppy pads!


          • joea64
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              Posted By sarahthegemini on 8/22/2017 6:45 AM

              I just dump out the entire litter box contents, hay included. It’s not worth it to me to risk having soiled hay in there.

              Seems like it might be simpler just to do that. I hate to waste expensive Carefresh litter, but I might switch to a less expensive one next time I have to buy some, and I have a LOT of hay still stuffing that 66-quart bin, so!


            • Wick & Fable
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                I’m a hay reuser, unsure if the posts you refer to are partially from me. Wick gets his hay presented on one side of his box, so it’s obvious when he hasn’t peed on some of it based on how it’s piled in the box and how dry it feels. I think even hay that has been peed on then dried still feels more “bendy” than completely dry hay. So for me, it’s easy to differentiate. That being said, if I feel a wet or potentially damp patch, I won’t be paranoid with trying to pick pieces that are salvageable within it. The entire section will get dumped. But any portion that I can safely save, I take.

                … I touch a lot of rabbit pee and poo daily with my bare hands, haha.

                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.


              • joea64
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                  Posted By Wick on 8/22/2017 7:10 AM

                  I’m a hay reuser, unsure if the posts you refer to are partially from me. Wick gets his hay presented on one side of his box, so it’s obvious when he hasn’t peed on some of it based on how it’s piled in the box and how dry it feels. I think even hay that has been peed on then dried still feels more “bendy” than completely dry hay. So for me, it’s easy to differentiate. That being said, if I feel a wet or potentially damp patch, I won’t be paranoid with trying to pick pieces that are salvageable within it. The entire section will get dumped. But any portion that I can safely save, I take.

                  … I touch a lot of rabbit pee and poo daily with my bare hands, haha.

                  Yes, I believe the posts about recycling hay were from you. I was actually just thinking to myself a couple of hours ago while ruminating on this issue (lovely thing to start the day off with ) that I’m going to have to invest in some disposable latex gloves if I’m going to be doing that! That, and getting a whisk broom so I can sweep out the bunny berries! (Good thing I have a dustpan and a new Dust Buster already…)


                • Wick & Fable
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                    Haha it’s an unusual way to start the day I suppose. I get up, put Wick’s veggies on his mat, let him out, and go right cleaning his boxes and hutch before getting myself ready.

                    In terms of cleaning supplies, I find a dust pan works best, and having towels for your rabbit specifically helps too! They can go in a separate laundry bag. If you want gloves, I’d suggest reusable that after you’re done, you go to the sink and just wash your hands with them on and hang them somewhere until the next time you use them.

                    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.


                  • joea64
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                      Since time is at a premium in the mornings, me having to catch a 5:05 am train, the routine I’m starting to establish is to refresh the hay and water, give them their timothy pellets, and set any knocked-askew items like hidey boxes to rights before I tend to my own needs. Evenings and weekends are when I’m going to have the most time for things like maintenance, cleaning, grooming, health checks, and most of all, interaction.


                    • Wick & Fable
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                        My train is a bit later, haha, but absolutely see your point. We’re kind of flipped in our schedules, but at the end of the day, as long as it’s done regularly, all rabbits rejoice! Morning refreshers are a good though as well. Over time, you’ll find ways to make your routine more time efficient, whether it be tweaking your storage method, placement methods, tools used, etc..

                        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.


                      • joea64
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                          True that, I’m still (at this time) less than 48 hours into life with bunnies!


                        • Deleted User
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                            Wick I also have a similar litter box routine to you. My buns are very particular in only peeing and pooping in the back half of the litter box, in particular one of the corners so it makes it easier to just have the hay at the front of the box for eating. Any hay that is left in the box I just use to cover up pee/poop throughout the day. So I don’t really see it as wasteful as it still has a use even when not eaten. Even though your dealing with poops and pees joe it is really not a bad job, I often get laughed at by people for referring to rabbit poo as ‘clean poo’ because it doesn’t really seem like your dealing with poops at all.


                          • joea64
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                              Posted By Eddyw111 on 8/22/2017 10:17 AM

                              Wick I also have a similar litter box routine to you. My buns are very particular in only peeing and pooping in the back half of the litter box, in particular one of the corners so it makes it easier to just have the hay at the front of the box for eating. Any hay that is left in the box I just use to cover up pee/poop throughout the day. So I don’t really see it as wasteful as it still has a use even when not eaten. Even though your dealing with poops and pees joe it is really not a bad job, I often get laughed at by people for referring to rabbit poo as ‘clean poo’ because it doesn’t really seem like your dealing with poops at all.

                              As far as the poops go, you’re right about that. I can’t speak about the urine yet because the Carefresh litter is absorbing the smell beautifully so far, but I’ve never encountered poop before as odorless as healthy bunny “regular” poop. Both decks of Panda and Fernando’s habitat are now liberally scattered with little round “bunny berries”, ranging in various shades of brown from dark to light, and none of them smells hardly at all. They’ll have been generating and eating cecotropes (cecals), but I haven’t encountered any of them yet and probably won’t tonight unless I encounter a stray one or two while cleaning the litterbox out. I have to see exactly where they’re using the box, I bet towards the back; I’ve refreshed the hay in both the box and the rack hanging above it yesterday and today, so there’s probably a fair bit to recycle even though I know for a fact they’ve been chomping away happily. Oh well, better to err on the side of giving them more hay than they can eat in one day rather than too little…


                            • Wick & Fable
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                                I also recycle hay to lower Wick’s hay selectiveness… Haha. Since he’s used to the recycling method now, he’s much more willing to eat any hay, not just fresher hay from the Oxbow bag. When the hay box is low, new hay from the Oxbow bag gets shuffled in and the cycle carried on!

                                Wick, like many rabbits, picks up routine readily. If I give him one treat two days in a row (i.e. clipped his nails one day and maybe he was good the next day), on the third day, he’ll bug me so much to get a treat, haha. My life with Wick = constantly keeping realistic expectations.

                                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.


                              • sarahthegemini
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                                  I regularly pick up bunny poos with my bare hands. I also break them apart every so often. I have no qualms touching bunny poop. It’s just dry hay balls.


                                • Deleted User
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                                    Hahahahaha I squash bunny poop bare handed all the time. I see a poop, eh I just grab it and squish it on the way to walking it to the box. Might as well take the opportunity to check on them As far as hay goes, I dump the whole box. I put hay on one side or in one corner, but shortly after that they have dug through it and scattered it everywhere in the box, peeing and pooping on it in the process of turning all about to get to the scattered mess. I do waste a ton of hay, but I just haven’t found a good way to keep them from peeing all over it. I had litter screens….but I took them out because I felt like they probably weren’t comfortable….


                                  • Wick & Fable
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                                      BunNoob – Litter screens with tighter grids that aren’t metal are generally more comfortable. I use plastic knitting mesh, 7-count, and it’s flat on top (not rounded by bars), and malleable for weight.

                                      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.


                                    • joea64
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                                        I remember we talked about the litter screens earlier, I’ll have to investigate those; maybe they’ll cut down on hay wastage for me. Because the litterbox is in a secluded corner, it’s not easy to tell until I take it out to look at it where Panda and Fernando have done their business, but I think they mainly eat the hay toward where the hay rack is located – and they definitely use the hay rack, I’ve seen both of them do so on multiple occasions since Sunday morning.


                                      • Deleted User
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                                          Posted By Wick on 8/22/2017 11:24 AM

                                          BunNoob – Litter screens with tighter grids that aren’t metal are generally more comfortable. I use plastic knitting mesh, 7-count, and it’s flat on top (not rounded by bars), and malleable for weight.

                                          I’m trying to find one around somewhere. I made my own with hardware cloth and while they didn’t seem bothered by it at all, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was uncomfortable so I just threw them out after two days lol. I wish I could just ASK them what is comfortable and get an answer 


                                        • Wick & Fable
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                                            @BN – I bought my online thru amazon. If you have a crafts store down in your area, whether it specializes in arts/crafts or fabrics/sewing, they could sell it in store as well. That way, you can also touch and feel it and see how it may agree/disagree with your rabbit/your liking.

                                            In this post: https://www.instagram.com/p/BXsXo28FTcG/?taken-by=wick_theboogeyman
                                            … you can see me bend the knitting mesh, which shows how thin it is, as well as how malleable it is. Wick’s feet bottoms are all fur covered, with no signs of sore feet development at all (equi-soft/long fur from front of feet to back), so thus far it’s worked well for him.

                                            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.


                                          • joea64
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                                              I don’t know if we have any fabrics-specific stores in my town (Manassas, VA), but we do have both A. C. Moore and Michael’s. It’s been a while since I was in either, but I could always check to see if they have knitting/sewing supplies.


                                            • Wick & Fable
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                                                @joea64 – I did find this at Michaels –

                                                Mesh for making a litterbox screen
                                                …. (wow that’s a long URL) I’m pretty sure this is the exact mesh pictured on the instagram post I mentioned earlier. Maybe you can have it shipped to a nearby store, or just order online? Or just call and ask ahead of time if they have any in-store inventory.

                                                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.


                                              • joea64
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                                                  Paging forum leaders, excessively long URL cleanup on aisle 5. But thanks, I’ll look in Michael’s this weekend.


                                                • Vienna Blue in France
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                                                    having to catch a 5:05 am train,

                                                    GOOD god !!!!!! . EVERY day ?? I’d die.


                                                  • joea64
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                                                      Posted By Vienna Blue in France on 8/22/2017 1:17 PM

                                                      having to catch a 5:05 am train,

                                                      GOOD god !!!!!! . EVERY day ?? I’d die.

                                                      It takes an hour to get to my destination (the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia, a couple of miles south of the Pentagon and opposite Washington National Airport – in fact I can see the airport’s control tower from the window) from where I live in Manassas, Virginia. I need the time to get to the coffee shop to get myself on the outside of a couple of cups, and besides, I’ve always had a thing for getting to places early. Considering that I was pretty much unemployed two years ago, the commute is worth the hassle; it’s now also keeping Panda and Fernando in hay!  I’m lucky, at that; Washington is not a city renowned for the quality of its public transport network…


                                                    • joea64
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                                                        Got home about half an hour ago and gave the buns their salad, which they ate with every sign of enjoyment. There are quite a lot of little round dry hard light-brown poops scattered liberally everywhere around the condo, and it’s pretty messy in there otherwise, so after I finish my own supper, it’s time to get to work.

                                                         

                                                        UPDATE: I had to toss out the whole thing, hay and litter – all the bottom litter of hay appeared to have gotten dampened.  I’m not sure if it’s because the buns were using the whole box or because it sloshed around when I was pulling out the box. At any rate, I decided it was simpler tonight just to put in fresh new layers of litter and hay. I’ll refine this as I go along.


                                                      • Q8bunny
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                                                          I definitely go the puppy pad + hay mix route because it means I can do a box change in under 3 minutes. But for you, you might want to try some folded sheets of newspaper under the paper litter, to make sliding it all out easier. Then spray with water/vinegar mix, rinse, pat dry, and voila! No touching necessary, really.


                                                        • Bianca
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                                                            I feed hay stuffed in toilet rolls. It tends to get eaten pretty fast but whatever is left is very rarely soiled because it isn’t scattered as much and they move it out their way.

                                                            My main issue is Terry who seems to think that anything he can pick up should go in his water bowl. So I often have soaked hay!


                                                          • Sirius&Luna
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                                                              I have a huge under the bed storage box, which fits two litter trays with a space in between.

                                                              I put a litter tray at each end (which I fill with a thin layer of Back 2 Nature litter, a paper based one), and then I fill the gap in between the two trays with 2 human soup bowls of hay, plus the space between the bowl gets hay (the bowls are to discourage them from sitting and peeing in the gap!).

                                                              This means the hay stays clean and out of the litter trays, but its still right next to them and doesn’t really get spread around everywhere. This set up completely revolutionised my bunny cleaning!

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                                                          Forum DIET & CARE Time to *ick* clean out the used litter…