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rabbits only like their hutch and not their house or run am i doing something wrong?

enfieldgirl

Young Bun
my rabbits have been living in their conveted shed for approx 2 months now but they seem to spend all their time in their hutch ,which is inside the shed

with no doors, they very rarely go out into thier run.also they are urinating all over the floor and not in their little tray which they did really well when just in

their hutch, so the lino is now smelly . The other problem ? is that they seem to be food obsessed they get really excited when i come into feed them and im

wondering if thats why they are spending all the time in their hutch . i have tried to encourage them into the shed and have put cushions tunnels and boxes

down but all they do is urinate all over them so again ive had to remove them . they are both eating and drinking well and luv cuddles and nose rubs so i

dont think they are unhappy, please could someone help as i thought a converted shed was going to be wonderful for them but they seem really not bothered

by it at all and im wondering wether i shoild just put them back into their hutch with the doors on and place them in the run each day instead.:( x
 
Aw sounds difficult. How long have they been in their new space? Sometimes they take a while to explore new places. Can they get out to the run relatively easily? What about if you pick them up and put them in the run? Do they seem afraid in there and bolt back in? Could it be that they aren't feeling safe in the run or do they just kinda not realise it's there?

As for the weeing. Are they neutered? It is to be expected in a new area that there'll be some marking but it should calm down after a while. Maybe in the meantime you could put newspaper down to give it something to soak into.

Being food obsessed is not unusual with rabbits! I have similar with Nutmeg and Smudge, my lionheads, and to solve it I handfeed one of them while the other eats from a pile I put by him on the floor. Or some people find scattering them round the area helps because they are busy finding them rather than scrapping.
 
You could try regularly cleaning the floor with diluted white vinegar to get rid of the urine smells, it may encourage them to use their litter tray again.

Also, is there any hay in the shed? If it's all in the hutch, that's probably why they're hanging out there. Rabbits can be quite lazy and they like being able to just munch when they're chilling out.
 
hi thanks both for your help, if i put hay anywhere other than their hutch they just use it to wee on rather than eat?

they seem to enjoy being in the run when i place them in it but need some encouragement if i shut the cat flap and leave them ou there they seem quite happy .


they have been in their new home for approx 2 months, the male is neutered and the female is due to be done at the end of the month
 
hi thanks both for your help, if i put hay anywhere other than their hutch they just use it to wee on rather than eat?

they seem to enjoy being in the run when i place them in it but need some encouragement if i shut the cat flap and leave them ou there they seem quite happy .


they have been in their new home for approx 2 months, the male is neutered and the female is due to be done at the end of the month

i think you've found your culprit for the weeing ;)

Can they use the catflap ok? Maybe you could prop it open for a while, see if they use it more that way.
 
i think you've found your culprit for the weeing ;)

Can they use the catflap ok? Maybe you could prop it open for a while, see if they use it more that way.

It took mine a few weeks to get used to the cat flap and run surroundings despite being placed in the run every day previous, like yours. I propped it open for the first two weeks.

Also I hardly ever catch mine in the run but there are always poos! I've since found if I sneak down at 6am they are often out but never out during the day - I guess this is typical wild behaviour when you think about it - in the warren most of the time then out at dawn and dusk.
 
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