Big fight over bunny mess :(

I've already posted about O/H complaining about the smell. I've asked for advice and done evrything everyone said. They now have a thick layer of newspaper in their litter trays, then a good layer megazorb. They have towel with vetbed on top to lie on. I've cut the broccoli and lettuce out of their diets. We've got one of those plug in air fresheners with 3 smells so that it always smells of 'petals' :roll:...

but it still smells, there's hay and megazorb all thru the house and the bunnies fur has brought on my O/H's usually seasonal (restricted to spring/early summer) asthma. So me and O/H had a huge fight, he said he was gonna hoof the bunnies over the garage roof (which obv. he wouldn't but it still wasn't nice to say)! Then I said I wasn't getting rid of them, and he said they'd have to go outside, and I said no way - he has his laptop and all the cables all over the lounge and that's all he does all night, so I can have my rabbits all over the lounge cos that's what I do in the evenings. And then he said fine, but I'd have to clean up more often - fair enough u might think, but i already clean and hoover every evening, and i have a full time job! So then I stropped off in a huff :roll: but then came back, apologised to him and said I'd try harder. But what more can I do??!?!

Are they neutered? My charlie boys wee was really strong before he was neutered.

I'm sorry but I'm with your husband here. My husband is also allergic to hay and he hated having animals in the house. Mine live outside now and are perfectly happy out there, and my husband is perfectly happy inside. Why don't you consider getting a shed which you can deck out for you and your bunnies to sit in and then the smell and the mess don't matter. I don't care what anyone says, having any animal in a house makes it smell. Some people are bothered by that and some aren't but it does smell no matter how hard you clean.

She's spayed and he's neautered. Thanks for the suggestion kayjay, but I really can't afford a shed and all the kit to go with it, plus our garden's really small as it is. I know that I wouldn't spend as much time with them if they were oustide, whereas at the moment they gat 1hr30 in the morning and 6hrs in the evening, plus the whole day saturday and sunday. If they were outside, I'd want to bring them in to play with them, and then they'd still effect his asthma :s

True you don't get to spend as much time with them, but if your OH is getting asthma from the hay then I think you need to reconsider moving them out depending on how severe his asthma is. For me, my OH using inhalers and snoring all night very loudly as he does in hayfever season was enough to move them outside

If the buns are bringing on his asthema or making it worse than it usually is its not really fair It cant be nice to have to live in a house with something that is making you feel unwell? I am certain I am allergic to my cat but its my choice to live with her because I love her to bits and I will put up with it because I think she is worth it, if it was another family member who was allergic to her it wouldnt be fair for me to have her here at home though

As for the smell, I dont notice a smell when our buns are in the house and nobody has ever said they can smell them when I have asked. But I make sure litter trays are always clean which your probably already doing. I do find Megazorb stinks our house out though and I use carefresh for indoor litter trays.

I make sure every single bit of hay is picked up too so that nobody has any reason to complain about mess :lol:

When I move in with Kelvin I had planned on bringing Trip and Scarlett in as house buns but after talking to him he isnt too bothered about it but would rather them be outside, but we have agreed that I will keep them as outdoor buns and can have an indoor set up incase they do need to come in and I can fill the garden with as many bunny sheds as I like

sometimes you have to do what's best for other people and your pets. you are sounding a bit selfish saying i wouldn't see them as often and you want to play with them. Can't you afford a hutch with run underneath? They'll be fine outside if you can give them that. Mine are outside and we are really close after just having them for a month.

So what exactly are the issues, wrk out the exact problems not the general grr and try solving each one

What type of litter trays do you use? I use a washing up bowl which is about 4" deep and keeps the litter in well. I'm surprised you're finding them smelly still, you could try paper based cat litter instead.

I find hay is the real mess maker, you could try replacing some of that with fresh/dried grass.

Daily grooming will help with the hair issue. You could also look at an air purifier or similar to remove dust/hair from the air.

Make sure you explain what you are doing to help to your OH and tell him how it makes you feel when he makes threats idel or not!

Tam

my skin is reacting terrible to hay, but im afraid that isnt enough for me to banish my pets out of the house... surely the astma will calm down once youve had the bunnies for a while... i think hes just being an ass to be honest..... my house dont smell and i got a dog chipmunks and a rabbit....

i feel the same about Alvin.... i didnt get a rabbit so it could live outside all lonely... he was bought as a housebun and nothing will ever change that

Hi

I've got 2 buns and I'm paranoid about our house smelling I found the wood pelleted cat litter worked the best for me, I put a lining of newspaper in the tray then cover it with a few scoops of the cat litter then put a layer of hay on.
I change the hay in the tray morning and night and change the cat litter every other day.
I can smell the wee when they've only just done it but it doesn't linger.
I clean with white vinegar too, the vinegar smell soon passes.
I'm always asking people to tell me if it smells (and they would) but they just say sometimes they can smell the hay.

Has anyone ever tried that stuff that can be rubbed onto the pet to prevent allergies/Asthma, sorry not being very specific is it called Petal cleanse or something?
My Uncles son suffers from asthma they used it on their King Charles Spaniel and he's not had any problems and hsi asthma used to start up if he just visited his Aunties house who has a cat.

Hope you can find a solution I can imagine how hard it would be to put them outside if your used to them being in the house.

I must agree with the others... maybe you should consider saving up for a very nice shed with a run?

If you are against this completely, I find that hay is the worst mess-maker ever. I would get a large blanket/ sheet and fold it in half, then put the hay on that, in the middle. that way, they can't drag it around as easily all over your carpet, etc. then, when you put them up at night (if you do in a cage inside your home?) just shake the hay out outside, or do whatever. Also, open your windows!!!! If you have the kind that open out, you can open them in the rain, too! I know it's getting colder, but even for 20-30 mins has a massive effect on the odour of a room I have found! (sweaty gym clothes lying about on my floor made it reek, but the stench was gone after I did that! BANG and the smell is gone! ). Still, pets will smell, and sacrifices will have to be made by you or your husband either way. best of luck!

I do agree with sillyrabbit and kayjay that it's not fair if it's making his asthma work, but he won't take antihistamines, and he's on preventative inhalers but forgets to take them, so i feel it's a bit hypocritical for him to say i have to take responsibility for them, when he won't take responsibility for his asthma. That said, I know what it's like when you've got a cold and every breath is difficult, so i certainly see his point of view.

I don't think it's selfish to want them indoors, like I said in my post, it's more about the amount of attention they get than me playing with them. They don't really do anything or interact with me at the moment, but I'm there to keep an eye on them, spot any changes in behaviour, play if they want me to, etc.

Tamsin, were you a relationship counsellor in a former life?! If not you should be! I don't find the litter trays smelly now they have megazorb,which makes it hard for me to work out how to solve the probem :s however,i've now changed their layout a bit so they have to walk across towels to get out of their pen, which will hopefully pull the litter of their feet. I'll try the dry grass tho - hay is the main source of mess AND smell!! And yeah,the main thing that annoyed me was that iv tried really hard with the smell and mess, and felt he didn't appreciate that!

And thanks donnamt!!! I also think he's being an ass on the smell front, I can't smell it, and I get really close to the litter trays. and I completely agree, I didn't buy them so they could live at the end of the garden - they're houserabbits,and I want them in here with us, in the bosom of the family!

I don't want to cause an arguement but what is wrong with having an outdoor bunny? Just because they are outside doesn't mean they get any less attention and affection.

Some people like having house bunnies, just because it works for you doesn't mean it works for everyone

Well I don't noticve a smell with my house bunny and I have to ask as I know men, is it really making his asthma worse? Have you noticed it? Or could he be just saying that? As for saying he is gonna hoof em... he didn't mean it, but should apologise for that as that is a terrible thing to say. And if he isn't going to take any medicine then what does he expect. He should at least meet you half way. Besides now it is getting cooler you would need to be careful introducing them to the outside. :? I am with you on this kiddo... stick to your guns... if it is genuinely makin him ill then fair enough. I am a bit of aman hater... can you tell! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

He needs to take his inhalers every day tell him (my son has asthma and we have a house full of piggies and hay) - and I hate to say it but some men do get a bit jealous if we lavish lots of love on animals or children :roll: he will get over it I guess - not much choice really

LionheadLuver said:

I don't want to cause an arguement but what is wrong with having an outdoor bunny? Just because they are outside doesn't mean they get any less attention and affection.

Click to expand...

personally for me... i know me and if i had to go outside to play with a pet i just wouldnt bother..... i like my family to be in the family home, i like inside not outside especially when its cold and watching my Alvin stretch out in the middle of the room brings me HUGE joy, id be shocked if i was told to put the dog outside to live in a little kennel and i feel the same about my bun... id rather not have pets if they cant live in my house with me... and id rather have pets than a bloke so im lucky my fella aint an ass about my love of my babies... :lol:

neither of us want kids neither so the pets are the family (wouldnt make them live in the garden either if i had them).....

Missy :wave: - I tried the wood pellet cat litter and found it really smelly, maybe it's a different make? I also change the hay every morning and night, but I change the litter most nights, but the smell of wee still lingers. I also use white vinegar to clean up accidents and haven't found that smelly. I really like the sound of that stuff you can put on the animal - could you maybe find out for definite what it's called for me?

If he takes his inhalers properly and continues to suffer, I will seriously consider saving up for a shed (but I'm with catswhiskas and think he should be taking his medicine, and even then, think he's milking it a bit!!). In the mean time I've done what you said LittleBunniesRock, and they now have to walk across towels to get out of their pen,which should pull the hay and litter off their footsies.

LionheadLuver - I never said there was anything wrong with outdoor bunnies, it's something wrong wiv me I just know that if my buns went outside they wouldn't get as much attention from me! I have every respect for people who go out to their bunnies in all weathers, but I am honest with myself and know that I personally wouldn't do that!

ok. sorry. Thanks.

I have asthma and having indoor buns definatly makes me worse. For me, any indoor bunnies I have are always fosters which I do now try and avoid if possible.

At the moment I am bonding the majority of the buns for ARC and do find that this makes my asthma far worse, I now try to pre-empt this my increasing my steroid prior to doing pairings up, which I do indoors. This does help but does not prevent me being wheezy and end up using my ventolin.

For me I wouldnt stop doing this for ARC, as I enjoy what I do. If it was my other half who did bring the buns indoors making my asthma worse I dont think I would be very tolerant, particuarly if I was using my inhalers correctly.

I think he needs to use the inhalers correctly and use some form of air purifier, if this still is presenting him with problems then I think it is reasonable for him to request you put the rabbits outside.