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House bunnies and mess!

Snowberry

Snowberry

Wise Old Thumper
I am starting to get depressed about the state of my house. A month ago we moved into a brand new place, new cream carpets and walls and everything looked all "show homey".

Since then its slowly starting to look like our old place, hay everywhere, bunny poos appearing when we move things, cream carpets covered in white hair from Snowdrop and she has wee'd on the carpet which wont come out.

I really dont want her to go outside but I cant see an alternative. I want my house to stay nice and its starting to depress me.

The biggest problem is Snow and Bungles litter training. Both will use a tray but also leave loose poo's everywhere. I cant have people round without having to do a clean up first. Snowdrops moulting is also a problem, she is white and the hair winds into the carpet and then wont come up without some serious scrubbing with the hoover.

Anyone have any suggestions that might help with these issues? It was working fine but its slowly getting messier and messier and I need to do something about it.
 
Re the moulting, do you brush her? I know it's a nightmare, Beau moults almost constantly! Maybe get one of those grooming mits cos that would make it easy to just stroke her and do it, once a day, without having to pick her up.

As for the pooing, Beau will poo all over the place in his NIC cage, but never poos outside his cage. Do they have a bit that's specifically theirs? Are they ever shut up?
 
Hmm, tough one. The things I can think of involve spending money unfortunately i.e. different coloured carpet, a really good vacuum designed for pet hair (I have a Miele and it's mega). Having your carpets professionally cleaned once a year?

A good quality hand brush with stiff bristles is an excellent way of getting fluff etc out of carpet too, once a month in the main areas really makes a difference :)
 
House Bunnies = Messy House I am afraid.

If having a clean and tidy house is important to you then maybe it would be a good idea to move the indoor Buns outside :? If they were in adjoining accommodation they would be able to interact with each other through a mesh fence even if you are unable to bond them.

With the best will in the world mess is inevitable if you have House Rabbits.
 
Jack's-Jane said:
House Bunnies = Messy House I am afraid.

If having a clean and tidy house is important to you then maybe it would be a good idea to move the indoor Buns outside :? If they were in adjoining accommodation they would be able to interact with each other through a mesh fence even if you are unable to bond them.

With the best will in the world mess is inevitable if you have House Rabbits.
Click to expand...

You clearly haven't met my OH....he practically follows Beau around with a hoover :roll:
 
Lib_n_bunny said:
Re the moulting, do you brush her? I know it's a nightmare, Beau moults almost constantly! Maybe get one of those grooming mits cos that would make it easy to just stroke her and do it, once a day, without having to pick her up.

As for the pooing, Beau will poo all over the place in his NIC cage, but never poos outside his cage. Do they have a bit that's specifically theirs? Are they ever shut up?
Click to expand...

I dont usually because she is short haired so doesnt tangle. I will start doing it if it will limit the amount of hair ending up on the carpet. She doesnt like being handled though and I try to limit her being stressed because of her stomach problems.

Bungle is in the utility that is attached to the kitchen and the door is always left open. He has a big under bed storage box as his litter tray but still poo's next to it.

Snowdrop is free range on the landing and our bedroom. She sleeps in our doorway and has her litter tray and food bowl there. She will poo everywhere she goes, little tiny ones.
 
My house was absolutely terrible when I had house bunnies. It really put me off having people round, and there is lasting damage that we've got to try to fix up before trying to sell. Even having house piggies, who are in a cage most of the time, we tramp hay and bedding around the house constantly.

I think I'm going to feel like you when I move!!
 
Jack's-Jane said:
House Bunnies = Messy House I am afraid.

If having a clean and tidy house is important to you then maybe it would be a good idea to move the indoor Buns outside :? If they were in adjoining accommodation they would be able to interact with each other through a mesh fence even if you are unable to bond them.

With the best will in the world mess is inevitable if you have House Rabbits.
Click to expand...

I dont mind cleaning up after them, I just would like to be able to have people round and not be worried about which one had poo's in the middle of the living room floor!

I have Strawberry outside and was thinking about putting Snowdrop out next to him but she is so violent towards other rabbits I think she would be constantly stressed being able to see him. She also would probably need to come in during the winter anyways due to her stomach condition.

I could put Bungle out but as he is in the kitchen he is the easiest to keep clean and he doesnt moult or damage things like Snowdrop does.
 
The best thing for hairs on the carpet is to brush it with one of those spikey pet brushes. My hoover just seems to press them into the carpet more. I don't think you can do anything about litter accidents. I'm lucky that Alfie is a perfect house bunny.
 
How about swapping Bungle and Snowdrop around then ?

You'd need to do a good de-scenting of everything though or you'll have territorial pooing and weeing.
 
Suzanne said:
The best thing for hairs on the carpet is to brush it with one of those spikey pet brushes. My hoover just seems to press them into the carpet more. I don't think you can do anything about litter accidents. I'm lucky that Alfie is a perfect house bunny.
Click to expand...

Yes, I used one of those brushes too - I used to get huge wads of white hairs up with it!
 
If you hadn't said she doesn't like being handled I would've said one of those brushes with the thin bent bristles, they're great for fine hair. Beau doesn't get knots either, but we brush him cos otherwise he'd groom it and clog up his tummy.
 
I have seen many vicious and nasty bunnies be ok living next door to other bunnies when they settle because they understand the boundaries and they each have their own territories. Mine often used to even lie next to each other. Just make sure that the mesh dividing them is high enough they can't jump over, and small enough so that neither can do damage to the other. Some bunnies just need a best friend through bars, not a friend in their territory.
 
When we had Lilly indoors she was terrible for making a mess :roll: We bought some really big but cheep rugs from Ikea to protect the carpets. They aint very pretty but seved the carpet. Also once we got them she seemed to stick to them they were her area (she decided this we didn't make her) these are the rugs http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/80094047 they were only 12 pound each. Saved our carpets :D
 
Jack's-Jane said:
How about swapping Bungle and Snowdrop around then ?

You'd need to do a good de-scenting of everything though or you'll have territorial pooing and weeing.
Click to expand...

We could think about it. We intially put Bungle in the kitchen because at the old house he used to wee everywhere. Luckily since we have moved he has only wee'd in his tray. He also drags hay everywhere (it gets stuck to his furry bum) and so the kitchen is good cos its easier to sweep up.

I have seen many vicious and nasty bunnies be ok living next door to other bunnies when they settle because they understand the boundaries and they each have their own territories. Mine often used to even lie next to each other. Just make sure that the mesh dividing them is high enough they can't jump over, and small enough so that neither can do damage to the other. Some bunnies just need a best friend through bars, not a friend in their territory.
Click to expand...

I may try her outside next to Strawbs and see what happens. She loves being on the garden and we have let Bungle and Strawbs meet through bars but not Snowdrop yet due to how aggressive she can be.

We bought some really big but cheep rugs from Ikea to protect the carpets
Click to expand...

We did this at the old house but I dont really want them here as they dont look very nice. Hopefully the weeing on the carpet is a one off, my OH is going to go nuts when he gets home and see's it though!

I may try and confine Snowdorp to the upstairs bathroom (lino floor) as we did when we first moved and wait until her litter training has improved before we let her have free range again. She will not be a happy bunny though! lol
 
I know about the mess!! Mini and Mischa are really good but even in there room there are some wee stains. I think when there is a new environment it gets a bit worse anyway as they are trying to make it their home again.
 
Jack's-Jane said:
Could you use a hay rack for Bungle and put wood pellets in his litter tray ?
Click to expand...

We used to do this but he would pull the hay out and then roll in it! He has wood pellets in one half and hay in the other now. I will see if we can find another way to put his hay separate- there is nothing to attach a hay rack to now.

Maybe if I put his hay in a bowl it will stop him rolling in it?
 
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