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Fluff Everywhere & Smell Of Straw

mystic.bertie

Young Bun
I have my 2 buns indoors in a cage, my kids are changing the potty and feeding them regularly etc which is all good. My issue is i have lots of fluff everywhere, now im not someone who does the housework a lot so is this common or a seasonal problem? I also find the smell of fresh hay too much for the house, we dont put lots of hay in the bottom of the cage, nothing else, but the house smells of it. Is there anything i can use thats less offensive? :wave:
 
The fluff is probably due to them starting to shed their winter coats.

My indoor two need grooming regularly else the fluff builds up quite quickly. How often do you groom?

Its unusual for hay to smell very strongly. Normally I find that you get a nice waft of fresh hay initially, but it wears off within a few hours.
 
The fluff is probably due to them starting to shed their winter coats.

My indoor two need grooming regularly else the fluff builds up quite quickly. How often do you groom?

Its unusual for hay to smell very strongly. Normally I find that you get a nice waft of fresh hay initially, but it wears off within a few hours.

we have not been grooming them as we are still learning about keeping rabbits, how often should it be done and whats a good comb to use, i have a few cat brushes im not sure if these are any good lol.

we are putting loads of hay out as were not using sawdust or anything else in the cage, could we be putting to much out?
 
I just make my hands a tiny bit damp and then wipe them - all the fluff sticks to my damp hand. Repeat until no more fluff comes off :)


I don't know what to suggest about the hay :? I use a lot, but I can't smell it unless I stick my head right in it - I don't understand how it could make a whole house smell :?
 
I just make my hands a tiny bit damp and then wipe them - all the fluff sticks to my damp hand. Repeat until no more fluff comes off :)


I don't know what to suggest about the hay :? I use a lot, but I can't smell it unless I stick my head right in it - I don't understand how it could make a whole house smell :?

ill try the damp hand :D as son as you walk in the room you can smell the hay, i bought it from acorn pets.
 
I have my 2 buns indoors in a cage, my kids are changing the potty and feeding them regularly etc which is all good. My issue is i have lots of fluff everywhere, now im not someone who does the housework a lot so is this common or a seasonal problem? I also find the smell of fresh hay too much for the house, we dont put lots of hay in the bottom of the cage, nothing else, but the house smells of it. Is there anything i can use thats less offensive? :wave:

Well, no you can't use anything else cos they need masses of hay. It's their main food source. I can never smell the hay unless I'm doing loads of litter trays and I don't find visitors comment on smelling hay either. Maybe it's just cos you aren't used to it, or maybe your hay is off, has it been stored in plastic bags? Is it wet at all?

As for fluff... this is the time of year most bunnies start moulting. I either just use my hands to regularly and gently pull the 'tufts' out or I use a comb designed for rabbits. I don't find brushes work very well.
 
fresh hay usually smells good. you need to give them a lot of hay daily (a rough guide is to say 'his own size in hay') to keep them healthy.

use megazorb on the floor of their house and in litter trays if you want to absorb smells.

if you let them build up a pile of hay where they sit, they will urinate on it to show ownership, so move any spare hay daily - i put 'old' (any they haven't eaten since the last feed, not soiled or very ancient) hay in the litter trays so they can munch as they 'go'. :wave:
 
Hello :wave: as suggested you can use something like megazorb for the bottom of the cage, I used to line my cage with vetbed which you can just throw in the washing machine. Not sure what to suggest about the hay, is there anywhere else you could keep it or maybe store it in one of those wicker laundry baskets that have lids? I personally love the smell of the hay and propbably just get used to the smell now and hardly notice it. I'm sure any guests will probably think my place smells like a zoo though :lol:
 
A cat flea comb usually works quite well on bunny fur. Try out the brushes and see what works, rabbits have thinner skin so avoid anything scratchy though.

Swapping to paper based cat litter in the base may make cleaning easier/reduce the smell as that way you need less and they won't be weeing/walking over it. Obviously they still need it to eat though. You can also replace hay with fresh grass, though depends where you like the smell better or not :D If you do then you need to introduce grass very gradually so their tummies adjust and even then you probably want to provide some hay so they have access all day.

You could also try putting the hay in a box that might contain the smell abit and they'll like having somewhere to hide and munch :D
 
thanks for the replies people, looks like i should definately go for the megazorb so ill need to order it online as there is no suppliers locally to me :D

i have a sensitive smell so i think combined with when the heating is on the smell was whiffy lol, but its not so bad this week lol, if i use megazorb it will cut down the amount of hay we use at a time. Should i buy a different hay for them to eat or is the stuff from the pet shop ok, ill buy megazorb from the hay experts so what hay do you recommend?

how often should their cage be cleaned out?

i have bought a wee rubber brush with thick rubber teeth, like a mini zoom groom used for cats, so will get the kids to groom the buns daily. It seems just one of the buns is losing a lot of hair just now, likely shedding the winter coat.
 
thanks for the replies people, looks like i should definately go for the megazorb so ill need to order it online as there is no suppliers locally to me :D

i have a sensitive smell so i think combined with when the heating is on the smell was whiffy lol, but its not so bad this week lol, if i use megazorb it will cut down the amount of hay we use at a time. Should i buy a different hay for them to eat or is the stuff from the pet shop ok, ill buy megazorb from the hay experts so what hay do you recommend?

how often should their cage be cleaned out?

i have bought a wee rubber brush with thick rubber teeth, like a mini zoom groom used for cats, so will get the kids to groom the buns daily. It seems just one of the buns is losing a lot of hair just now, likely shedding the winter coat.

I used to use megazorb but didn't like the smell much - now I use Aubiose bedding (you can get that online too) which has no smell and absorbs the odour/wetness just as well as megazorb :)
 
I change litter trays 2-3 times a week. Mine are indoors though and I use large boxes for trays.
 
Well mine are indoors so I don't used bedding or hay anywhere but in their litter trays. Then floor is lino with blankets. :oops:

It's up to you. Me personally IF I had a hutch I would lino the floor and then just have newspaper and hay in the litter trays and change then 2-3 times a week. I only use megazorb in my other tray cos my lops drink a lot so therefore wee a lot!
 
photo.php


here you go

Facebook pictures aren't public i'm afraid. You'll need to sign up to a site, such as photobucket and paste us the
 
Facebook pictures aren't public i'm afraid. You'll need to sign up to a site, such as photobucket and paste us the link :wave:[/QUOTE]


done, i have photobucket, i was experimenting taking pics with my new phone and loading them direct to facebook but i opened a flickr account so its now viewable.
 
Well mine are indoors so I don't used bedding or hay anywhere but in their litter trays. Then floor is lino with blankets. :oops:

It's up to you. Me personally IF I had a hutch I would lino the floor and then just have newspaper and hay in the litter trays and change then 2-3 times a week. I only use megazorb in my other tray cos my lops drink a lot so therefore wee a lot!

yeah mine are indoor too, i want to keep all smells to minimum and the kids are happy to do all the looking after and i make sure they do, although they do need reminding a lot lol :wave:
 
here you go


IMAG0020 by mystic.bertie, on Flickr

Do you have litter under the hay in the main bit of the cage? Do they wee there or just in the tray? I'm assuming the door is open all the time?

Me personally I'd treat the cage as one large litter tray and cover it with newspaper or megazorb and then the hay on top and loose the small tray.
 
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