Who lives in a house like this?!

As you may have seen on another thread, I'm at my wit's end with tyring to litter train Sienna who is one of our bonded foursome. The bunny room had become one big bunny toilet. So ... have cleaned the carpet with carpet cleaner and given them a new "home". Don't like having them in a restricted area, but my research seems to suggest that starting small is a good way and to give them a place they consider to be theirs.

And here's their new home - constructed from play pen panels and a sheet. Do you like?!

The little madam in question is the honey coloured one hiding behind Hoops (who has the black nose)!

awww she looks like my Mops xx

I just threw the carpet away when Tia decide the whole room was her toilet - it doesn't matter if they pee on cheap little rugs from wilkos

good plan! I've got a massive 2m by 1m box that I was wondering about popping my lot in (with one massive litter tray on the bottom). My theory was that they really enjoy making holes in carboard so they'd probably get out in a day or so and by then they might have worked out where they were supposed to poo.

having said that there was only 15 poos on the floor when I got back today so maybe they're getting the hang after all.

Looks great!
I bet they love it...!!!
They are very lucky! x

Aaaawwww - norty Sienna and getting all the other three punished for her crime too :lol:

carpet . . . . what carpet?? No carpet in this house!
You just have to get a liking for stripped floorboards (well sealed by professionals to stop pee sinking in!)


and just tothink this through:

rabbits pee and pooh to mark 'their area'
by putting up the pen you have created an area they think is 'theirs': as opposed to the area they are 'let out into' which is 'shared';
therefore - they pee and pooh in 'their' area (all of it!! not just the tray!)

They are just SO logical these rabbits!

I'm open to suggestions and magic solutions! :lol:

Poo all over the place I can cope with but not the wees

Parsnipbun ... what do you propose then? If your logic is the only way then does that mean shutting her in a litter tray for hours?! [Not that I EVER would!] .... ?!

Well there's a challenge!

I have rabbits outdoors and indoors in various set ups so have thought about this . . .

The rabbits that are best litter trained are ironically those that are more or less totally free range, I guess as they dont have any areas that aren't 'shared' except their litter tray. So they pooh in their litter tray as that is their area. They do poo occassionally (but never pee) at the edges of where they can go (ie at the child gate across the hall) but never for example in the middle of the dining room or living room.

The two that have a tray inside a dog crate and are let out into a room, pooh and pee mostly in the tray but quite a lot just in the crate - and rarely (now they are neutered) in the room. In fact they do poo again at the edges of where they are allowed but not pee. But they DO pee in the dog crate which i suspect is the equivalent of your pens.

Have you tried just taking away the pens (and leaving the litter tray). OR the alternative is to get a base for the pen (turning it into a sort of huge dog crate).

I should say that I have never actually tried to litter train a rabbit, i just note what they actually do - so it may be that others might recommend trying to train in some way.

PS shuold make clear that for the free range ones the litter tray is just a plastic hay filled low tray in corner of room - not in a cage - so they are not 'stuck in it' or anything. They actually spend most of their time sleeping on the dining room chairs or by the conservatory doors, or in front of the fire or . . .

They've been free-range in the bunny room for 3 weeks now and Sienna treats it as one big toilet It's not like she always chooses one spot Sadly the other 3 are fine and are having to be shut in the pen with her ... but she's got to learn .. I can't have a house bunny that wees everywhere!

Its probably not going to help when I say that Acorn & Hazel litter trained themselves is it?

I get the odd stray poo which usually escapes the litter tray as they jump out of it, and about once a week they try and wee over the side of their dog bed which doesnt have any sides so it ends up on the laminate flooring.

They do like to wee in corners - that much I've realised, and they poo where the hay is.

The frustration isn't helped by Sienna being the first bunny that hasn't just "trained herself"!

Our first bunny Dizzy learned within hours and when Molly arrived she copied him. Then Hoops came to live with Molly when Dizzy died and she just copied Mol. And Ant copied Hoops .... so WHY can't Sienna just copy them!? x

Seriously need litter training vibes please!

yeah it's a problem when there's one that 'spots' wee everywhere - I had 6 perfectly litter trained rabbits till I got Tia, and within a month the beige living room carpet was ruined by little spots of wee everywhere. I'm pretty sure she was scent marking by the guinea pigs cages, which were dotted around the room, and I guess some bunnies just have more of an urge than others to do this, and having other animals around of any type seems to stimulate it.

I put her outside in the end and she was a lot happier out there - looked livlier in general and had a patio full of bunny scentmarks from the other 6 to investigate - I think it was a major hobby of hers, and seems to be for all mine - they rush out of their hutches now to add their contribution to the patio 'toilet' :roll: the advantage being their litter trays don't need cleaning as often - look on the bright side!

Woodlouse said:

They've been free-range in the bunny room for 3 weeks now and Sienna treats it as one big toilet It's not like she always chooses one spot Sadly the other 3 are fine and are having to be shut in the pen with her ... but she's got to learn .. I can't have a house bunny that wees everywhere!

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I think as it's only been 3 weeks you'll find she gets better in a few months as it won't seem so much like 'new territory' that she needs to mark - but meanwhile your carpet will be destroyed

Well, not wanting to speak too soon BUT ... we do seem to be making progress The only wee on the carpet today was just outside the tray (and possibly due to bottom sticking out over edge?!).

They did however manage to escape not once ... but twice yesterday!! :lol: They're obviously working as a team to lift the pen and squeeze out!! :lol:

So pleased litter training is getting better Mmmm escapees huh :lol:

weewee shayla has a companion :lol: This will prbably make it much worse but mine still don't seem to have the hang, even after 3 months together

The positive news that went with the escapes was that we didn't find any wee anywhere else in the room! Of course, we can't be sure how long they were "free" for, but it's a positive all the same!