Help, my buny's pooping behaviour has changed!

I've had my rabbit for 3 months now and she's really started bonding with me lately. She's
a smaller breed but I'm not sure if she's a dwarf bunny. She is about 60% of the size of the average cat
and I suspect she has stopped growing now.

On to the point... She got to a size where I didn't feel comfortable having her in the cage for more than 2 hours
since she's grown into it, so I started putting the cage in the bathroom during the night and left it open so she could run
around. She has had a litter box in the bathroom for a while and a litter-box in the corner of the cage... she pees and poos next
to the litter box in the bathroom frequently now which she didn't always do and when I put the cage in the living room she has started
using the litter-box in it FAR less... she's more likely to drop 10 droppings in my lap or on the couch or anywhere she likes. She's even peed
on the couch twice and does seem to prefer making her donations there now. The problem is more out of control now than
in the past. I also changed both litter-boxes a bit, experimenting with changing newspaper and hay to cat-litter and hay and lately often
just to cat-litter and giving her hay in a paper towel roll instead.

Would love any advice! How do I get her to go back to her old ways?

It may well be her hormones, as if you've had her for 3 months, she should of been ~2 months at minimum when you got her, so that'd tally up nicely.

I would contact a rabbit savvy veterinary surgery and discuss with the vet having her spayed That *should* help with the litter issues.

However...changing her environment by putting her in the bathroom at night will confuse her and she'll treat it as new territory and will more than likely lay a good few poops around the bathroom, because its marking of her territory - normal rabbity behaviour

It all sounds more hormonal than anything else, in my opinion :wave:

How weird, I was just thinking of asking a similar thing...

My boys buns have both been neutered and are just over a year old. Since I've had them they've quickly learnt how to use a litter tray in their shed and were really good at it, I just used to sweep up the odd overspill poop. But now it seems that I'm sweeping up more and more every time I go out there. It's not wee so it's not messy at all, but I wish they'd go back to pooing all in the litter tray like they used too!! It's not all around the run but usually just next to the litter tray. It's quite a big litter tray, an old plastic school drawer big nough to fit them both in easily.

Any ideas?? Thanks

It isn't unusual for bunnies to bring poos out with them when they jump out of litter trays. The more comfortable they are with their surroundings the quicker they jump out and run around, the further the poops go! :roll:

I know, they often flick a few out when they're jumping around, but I seem to find little piles of poo now, right next to the tray!?

kt6382 said:

I know, they often flick a few out when they're jumping around, but I seem to find little piles of poo now, right next to the tray!?

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They sound almost territorial, like they are making the area aroudn the 'communal toilet' which wild rabbits would have. "This is our toilet space, dont come in" to other rabbits.

kt6382 said:

I know, they often flick a few out when they're jumping around, but I seem to find little piles of poo now, right next to the tray!?

Click to expand...

Hmm, i would maybe give the outside of the tray a wash with some vinegar. Nutmeg used to wee next to the trays when I used the same ones for both pairs. I washed the inside each time but she was smelling them on the outside of the tray.

The only other thing I could think of would be can they get in and out of the tray ok.

Luna isn't just randomly dropping a few... Lately I pic up over 50 dropping s a day all over the house. Will check into spaying.

Thy're young healthy boys and can jump in and out of the drawer easily. I was planning on washing it all ver with vinegar as it is starting to seem stinky! Does boys rabbits wee smell more than girls? They have both been neuterd and I change and rinse it all out every other day. I use newspaper, little bit of sawdust underneath and then soft hay on top for them.. they sit in it all the time to munch the hay etc.

kt6382 said:

Thy're young healthy boys and can jump in and out of the drawer easily. I was planning on washing it all ver with vinegar as it is starting to seem stinky! Does boys rabbits wee smell more than girls? They have both been neuterd and I change and rinse it all out every other day. I use newspaper, little bit of sawdust underneath and then soft hay on top for them.. they sit in it all the time to munch the hay etc.

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You might have to start doing it every day. I can just about get away with every other day.

To PeachyDragon, definitely sounds hormonal. Spaying should definitely help but it might take a few weeks to fully settle down.

Thanks for the replies. PS, I don't think Luna was 2 months old when I got her... It was one of those odd cases where the mother rabbit wasn't paying lots of attention and the area had dangers like dogs. So we rescued her waaaay early. her siblings all died later on.