My bunnies have permanent access to 10ft x 8ft runs and are so happy. When they were in their temporary cages when they came home from the rescue centres and were being neutered and bonded etc they were ever so good about using a sturdy seed tray as a litter tray. It made life so easy. Now I am sure they think they are being very well behaved because they do not dirty their cages at all and I am very proud of them for being so clean and meticulous :lol: However instead they use just one corner of their runs (although Smudge, my boy bunny isn't quite as tidy as the girls and tends to spread himself out a bit further (along a 3 ft long strip to be precise, with Ember, his girlfriend sticking to just a corner of it) . After just 8 weeks the grass in these corners has died and the area is heavily urinated. I clean the area out twice a week. I then spread some Stalosan powder over the area (a powder disinfectant - google it, it's great stuff, we use it in the chicken run - prevents all sorts of nasties) and then put some fresh soil down over the area (I'm working my way through the unused growbags at the mo) just to try and keep the area clean and fresh. They refuse to use litter trays outside - they just throw them all over the run and empty them out.
My main concern is that it is only winter and the area is really unpleasant - so what on earth is it going to be like in the summer, and after an even longer period? The run isn't covered but the rain doesn't seem to freshen the area up. Today I noticed some tiny weeny flies (like fruit flies) in the area when I cleaned it. I boiled a kettle and poured it over the area just to be safe and then followed my usual routine. All the rabbits had already been beaphar fly striked and their bums are ok, so I know I have no worries there. I'm just stumped as to how to keep the area hygienic. I would be grateful for any advice.
(PS sorry for the ramble)
My main concern is that it is only winter and the area is really unpleasant - so what on earth is it going to be like in the summer, and after an even longer period? The run isn't covered but the rain doesn't seem to freshen the area up. Today I noticed some tiny weeny flies (like fruit flies) in the area when I cleaned it. I boiled a kettle and poured it over the area just to be safe and then followed my usual routine. All the rabbits had already been beaphar fly striked and their bums are ok, so I know I have no worries there. I'm just stumped as to how to keep the area hygienic. I would be grateful for any advice.
(PS sorry for the ramble)