• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Litter tray training?

L

lilgems91

Mama Doe
My bun moves into his outdoor winter cage soon, and since I have had him he has used newspaper to do his business on, and is very well trained.

However, I would like to train him to use a litter tray, as this would be much easier to clean out and may encourage him to eat more hay (Ive heard that you can put it in the litter tray)?

Ok, so silly questions coming up, but, what sort of litter trays should you buy? Corner litter trays or bigger ones? And are they easy to clean out, and do you need to empty everything out of it daily?

What do you need to put in them to soak everything up?

Does anyone have any advice on how to train him to go to the toilet in his litter tray?

Thank you in advance :)
 
I found that just putting hay in the litter tray is usually enough to make them go there.

- What sort of trays? Well, I prefer the rectanglar trays because there is enough room for hay and a rabbit to fit in. The corner ones are good but the space inside is small. If your rabbit is more private, he may prefer a hooded litter tray. This will also prevent him spraying over the sides too.

- Ease of cleaning? Very easy. You just pick up the tray and either empty all of it, or remove soiled hay and litter and pick out poos. And then refill. Much easier than if they toilet all over the place.

- Empty it all daily? I do, but that's only because I like a very hygenic environment. Everything is spotlessly clean before my rabbits step foot in the hutch or run. It helps at first to leave some wee and poo in the tray to get them to associate the tray with toileting.

- What litter? I use Megazorb, it absorbs wee well, and it isn't dusty. it's also cheap and comes in large bags, around £7-£9 for 80l sack. Great value and a great product.
 
I use a cat litter tray I picked up from poundstretcher for £1.30. I put newspaper at the bottom and then fill it with a good amount of hay. As for cleaning, I do that daily, as soon as I wake up and empty all the contents into the black bin outside and wash out with part baking soda and water in a spray bottle and a scrubber/sponge, then repeat the process, takes about 3/4minutes. As for litter training, its quite simple, the bunny will let you know where he/she prefers to go, then just put the litter tray there and they get the idea. Very smart and clean animals.
 
I use the bottom of a large hamster cage and line it with newspaper and hay. I empty it daily. I've got a bigger tray for when the 3 of them go back out though.
 
I found underbed storage boxes work best, washing up bowls too but as these are lighter they need ot be wedged in somewhere. Most rabbit trays aren't big enough, mine didn't get on with even the big corner ones. Some cat ones are ok, but the ones I tried weren't deep enough. You want something big enough that they can forage about in the hay and deep enough for them to back up, lift their tails, pee and it won't go over the edges.
 
Thanks everyone for the very quick replies!

Ive tried him with a corner litter tray before he didnt take to it, so maybe a cats would be something to look into this time!

Silly questionagain, but how much megazorb (or whatever you guys put it in to absorb) do you actually put in? Does it have to fill most of the tray?

And also the hay, does that go ontop of the megazorb or at the opposite end on its own?

Ive read that white vinegar and soapy water are good for cleaning out the litter trays, as the vinegar gets rid of the urine marks..is this true?

Im actually excited for him to start using a litter tray :lol:

He hasnt been in his winter hutch before, but I know his corner in the hutch he is in now, so I shall just place the litter tray there and put some of his poos in there so he doesnt get confused. But when he goes into the winter hutch, it is a brand new one, shall I see where he poo's first or put the litter tray where I think?
 
I put newspaper (one for the lionheads, three for the lops) at the bottom and then a thick layer of hay. I have a video I took last night of them eating hay which shows their litter tray. I'll find it for you :)

For cleaning out I use boiling water. My routine is...

Every other day I change the trays. I have enough trays for a week so I make up new ones and switch them and the old get lids put on and go in the garage.

Then once a week we take all the old trays up the allotment and put the contents on the compost heap.

Then I wash them out with boiling water and an old washing up brush and either leave in the sun to dry or dry with kitchen roll.

it works for us but I realise not everyone has space to store a weeks worth of litter trays.
 
Schuette said:
I put newspaper (one for the lionheads, three for the lops) at the bottom and then a thick layer of hay. I have a video I took last night of them eating hay which shows their litter tray. I'll find it for you :)

For cleaning out I use boiling water. My routine is...

Every other day I change the trays. I have enough trays for a week so I make up new ones and switch them and the old get lids put on and go in the garage.

Then once a week we take all the old trays up the allotment and put the contents on the compost heap.

Then I wash them out with boiling water and an old washing up brush and either leave in the sun to dry or dry with kitchen roll.

it works for us but I realise not everyone has space to store a weeks worth of litter trays.
Click to expand...

So if I put newspaper on the bottom of the tray, then something such as megazorb (do you need something like this or will newspaper be suffice)? hay also in the litter tray, then when he is cleaned out replace the newspaper and the hay?

Sorry for all the questions, just want to make sure I dont make a boo boo :oops:
 
I just use newspaper now. I used to use megazorb and when I did I would put about a half inch thick layer and then lots of hay. Didn't bother with newspaper. I found though that two of my rabbits started to dig in the megazorb even though it was covered in a thick layer of hay. Smudge kept going into stasis and I think he might've been ingesting it, not absolutely sure on that but since we've stopped using it we've only have one small mini stasis episode. Other people use it fine but it didn't work for us. :)
 
Schuette said:
I just use newspaper now. I used to use megazorb and when I did I would put about a half inch thick layer and then lots of hay. Didn't bother with newspaper. I found though that two of my rabbits started to dig in the megazorb even though it was covered in a thick layer of hay. Smudge kept going into stasis and I think he might've been ingesting it, not absolutely sure on that but since we've stopped using it we've only have one small mini stasis episode. Other people use it fine but it didn't work for us. :)
Click to expand...

I just use newspaper too. :wave:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Orenoko
Bunny won't use litter tray since operation
2
Replies
34
Views
689
bunny momma
bunny momma
DemiS
Ways to keep hay low to the ground without being peed on?
Replies
2
Views
187
InspectorMorse
InspectorMorse
K
Litter tray
Replies
3
Views
1K
a reader of books
a reader of books
Back
Top