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new bunny owner - poo everywhere!

fluffsta

New Kit
Hello!
we just got our new bunnies and wanted to have them as house bunnies so we tried to litter train them. they started by peeing in the tray but pooing everywhere else but now they are peeing and pooing as they walk around the house. we did put the litter tray in a place they seemed to like first of all and have tried picking up the poo and putting in in the tray in front of them but this hasnt worked. am on the edge of putting them outside now as the wee has ruined our sofa but we really wanted them in the house as part of our family - any ideas??

Also they arent very playful, we have bought them a couple of toys with bells in etc.. and when you take it to them they will throw them once and then hop away. also they dont like to cuddle either, i have heard of people having their bunnies on their laps while they watch telly etc.. but mine just wander off and do their own thing.

are we doing something wrong??:cry:
 
Don't worry, it takes a while to litter train, try keeping them confined to a pen/cage until they are litter trained.
Not all rabbits like playing with toys like that, try card bokes, paper bags, yellow pages etc. also willow and sea grass toys go a long way :)


It will take a few days for your bunnies to settle down and then they may start being cuddly, I have 1 out of 5 rabbits who is cuddley :lol:
 
Litter training doesnt happen over night, it can take a while to get it right. I've had one bun who who always weed in the tray but still liked to leave little currants all over the room. I have one know who insists on weeing on the back of the sofa (which fortunately is washable) but I try and keep it covered and if I see him lift his tail to wee I scoop him up and put him in the tray. You dont say how old they are, whether neutered or not and how long have you had them, but to be honest they sound pretty normal to me!
 
thanks guys.
they are 9 weeks old and we have had them for a week. we got the second one the day after and they bonded well but they have the run of the whole front room so maybe a cage is a good idea then..
 
Hi :wave:

I think they are still very young to be fully littertrained, and it would be a good idea to limit the area they are allowed in until they are at least weeing in their tray - too much space too soon isn't a good idea if they're not litter trained :)

Neutering when they are old enough is also a good idea for houserabbits - it will help greatly once their hormones have settled down.

There a useful article here -

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rwf/articles/housetrain.htm

Hope that helps. Don't lose hope - it's very early days yet :)
 
thanks guys.
they are 9 weeks old and we have had them for a week. we got the second one the day after and they bonded well but they have the run of the whole front room so maybe a cage is a good idea then..


Oh if theyre babies I would defo suggest a crate/cage before they get into a pooing and weeing everywhere habit. Give it time, theyre only little and will take some training, but the good thing being their younger they are the easier to litter train. Also neutering with help, but when they are old enough obviously.... I'm assuming they are the same sex......
 
we also havent got them a sea grass mat yet and so they have chewed a big hole in our carpet - eeeeek!
thanks - despite being a girl, she just looked like a brian!:lol:
 
Thats cute, your rabbit's name is Carrot. I have 2 girls, Carrots and Peanut! I'm having somewhat of the same problem with my girls. I have a little area of my bedroom that I let them run around in and they poo as they run. All of the peeing they do seems to be in the litter box though. We left them out of their cage yesterday and shut the door and went about the house. Came back upstairs and Carrots had jumped on my bed and pooed everywhere and left a big puddle of pee for me. We cleaned all of that and my husband put some boxes up to try and keep her from getting back on the bed. I came up to bed last night and there was Carrots sitting in the middle of my bed with poops everywhere. I sat down to gather them up and tell her 'no no' and she sat RIGHT in front of me and peed on the bed again! I think she's just being rotten. I'm not sure what to do because we are going to be moving into a new house so I can't let them potty everywhere. They are young though, Peanut is only 4 weeks and I'm not sure how old Carrots is but she's still very young, I would guess a few months old.
 
Thats cute, your rabbit's name is Carrot. I have 2 girls, Carrots and Peanut! I'm having somewhat of the same problem with my girls. I have a little area of my bedroom that I let them run around in and they poo as they run. All of the peeing they do seems to be in the litter box though. We left them out of their cage yesterday and shut the door and went about the house. Came back upstairs and Carrots had jumped on my bed and pooed everywhere and left a big puddle of pee for me. We cleaned all of that and my husband put some boxes up to try and keep her from getting back on the bed. I came up to bed last night and there was Carrots sitting in the middle of my bed with poops everywhere. I sat down to gather them up and tell her 'no no' and she sat RIGHT in front of me and peed on the bed again! I think she's just being rotten. I'm not sure what to do because we are going to be moving into a new house so I can't let them potty everywhere. They are young though, Peanut is only 4 weeks and I'm not sure how old Carrots is but she's still very young, I would guess a few months old.

Hello :wave:

Maybe have a look at the link I posted earlier in the thread? ;)

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rwf/articles/housetrain.htm
 
Hello :wave:

Maybe have a look at the link I posted earlier in the thread? ;)

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rwf/articles/housetrain.htm

I did, thanks. I had no idea there were those kinds of timelines for rabbit training. I always thought they were like cats and it was second nature to them. I think what I'll do when we move is give them free rein of the kitchen, that way if they potty outside of their box, it will be easy to clean up. Luckily, our new bed is much too high for them to jump on :lol:
 
Thats cute, your rabbit's name is Carrot. I have 2 girls, Carrots and Peanut! I'm having somewhat of the same problem with my girls. I have a little area of my bedroom that I let them run around in and they poo as they run. All of the peeing they do seems to be in the litter box though. We left them out of their cage yesterday and shut the door and went about the house. Came back upstairs and Carrots had jumped on my bed and pooed everywhere and left a big puddle of pee for me. We cleaned all of that and my husband put some boxes up to try and keep her from getting back on the bed. I came up to bed last night and there was Carrots sitting in the middle of my bed with poops everywhere. I sat down to gather them up and tell her 'no no' and she sat RIGHT in front of me and peed on the bed again! I think she's just being rotten. I'm not sure what to do because we are going to be moving into a new house so I can't let them potty everywhere. They are young though, Peanut is only 4 weeks and I'm not sure how old Carrots is but she's still very young, I would guess a few months old.

Laughing my head off, Charlie did this not long before he was neutered, my Mum had been reading up and warned me that if they want to be naughty then they'll pee on the bed, I was adamant that he wouldn't, within days he took it up as his new hobby and actually looked at me whilst he did it! He's fully litter trained now though :lol:
 
I think rabbits have a passion for weeing on beds! I reckon it's because our smell must be very strong there and they're trying to replace it with their own. Faline used to leave pellets all round the edges of the living room, but she stopped almost as soon as she'd been spayed. :-D
 
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