Litter training very difficult bunnies.

I am having trouble litter training my two rabbits. Since moving in together about 6-8 weeks ago they began by using the whole of the lower level of the hutch as their toilet. My plan was to get them to use the downstairs sleeping compartment as the toilet. I have just been putting newspaper downstairs and as long as they use that its fine.
However recently they having been pooing and peeing in the upstairs part of the hutch which is their main living area so I usually fill it up with hay, but now its their new toilet I haven't put any bedding on the floor to try to discourage them from toileting upstairs. Of course I want them to have a bed but I dont want them to pee on it.

Any ideas?

Have you put lino or anything similar down on the floor so that when they pee you can keep wiping it clean?

Do you actually have a litter tray in the bottom compartment?

Most animals dont like to travel too far when they wake up and need a pee so you might have to reassess where you keep the litter tray.

6-8 weeks is quite a long time so things defo need to be changed slightly.

:wave: Unfortunatley rabbits don't like to be dictated to. I think its very easy for human asthetics to be defeated by rabbit logic:shock: .

I started out with a couple of trays, one for each of the sleeping levels but it soon multiplyed. I have 1 gigantic tray, 2 medium trays and a small tray, its the only way they stopped going where they pleased.

Try having a tray on each level, even if it messes up your hutch design. They may not like going downstairs to the loo.

I wouldn't have more than 2 trays in a hutch though as rabbits need to know where to pee and if trays are scattered everywhere it makes no difference between trays and hutch floor :lol:

Kira was a little menace to train, Arnie got the hang of it straight away.

With Kira, she liked peeing on the newspaper I layed down so I stopped. Megazorb was only in her tray and put LOADS of hay in her tray. I also had to put her wee all around her tray and a few poops.

I had to disinfect the cage each day (not the tray it needs to keep there scent) so she knew not to go there :roll:

She never weed ion the floor once the paper went and is now using her litter tray :shock:

Try a few things mentioned above and persevere for another week or so.

Oh if they move the litter trays you can buy velcro squares in WH Smiths which have been a life saver

I don't have anything on the floor of my hutches - I give them big underbed storage boxes full of hay to snuggle in, and use as litter trays, and if they use the floor as a toilet, pop an extra cat litter tray in - they come in lots of different sizes.