• 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.

Bar biting and weeing on the bed. About to strangle the rabbits!!

Vegan_Bunny

Warren Veteran
AAARRRG. I'm at my wit's end. I really am. The rabbits have free range in my bedroom. I have had to pen off my bed with a puppy pen so they can't get on or underneath it because they've wrecked the carpet, chewed my bed, peed on my bed, got onto my bedside table and the final straw was they've been sat under my bed and ripping my mattress apart.
I've tried everything. EVERYTHING. So penning off my bed is a last resort. Problem is. They've done nothing but bar bite the pen since I put it up. They're chewing the bars right now. For hours on end Shadowfax sits and barbites, Fiver does it as well but it's been SF I've caught doing it most. On a night I take the pen down so they can go under the bed. I will wake up if they start chewing anything they shouldn't. However, I woke up this morning to a nice cold, puddle of wee and about 20 poos at the bottom of my bed from Fiver. I'm going to neck them both. I am seriously considering putting those two ********* in the spare room and having Xena in my bedroom. She's so good and never does anything like that but that means they'll absolutely wreck the spare room as well.

I repeat...AAARRRRGGGG!!
 
Oh dear. Are they neutered? Do they have other things to keep them entertained? Digging boxes, sticks?
 
I don't have any advice but i was just about to start a bar biting thread! Through the day my boys have one side of their cage open on to a 30x15ft garden and the other is open so they have access to the house, but they will still sit in their cage chewing the bars next to the open gate like they're some poor abused little rabbits desparately trying to escape :roll: If I touch their nose wherever they stick their head through they give up pretty quick but if the bars you're having trouble with are right next to the bed i don't think that'd be an option.
 
Yes and yes. I put a sandpit in for them. They made a massive mess but left the carpet and bed alone. Then after about a week started using the sand pit as a litter tray and went back to destroying everything and peeing on my bed. They have a massive stash of apple branches that I give them from my apple tree. They currently have a huge one in their room, which they chew all the time...until an evening when they decide bar biting is so much more fun.
 
I don't have any advice but i was just about to start a bar biting thread! Through the day my boys have one side of their cage open on to a 30x15ft garden and the other is open so they have access to the house, but they will still sit in their cage chewing the bars next to the open gate like they're some poor abused little rabbits desparately trying to escape :roll: If I touch their nose wherever they stick their head through they give up pretty quick but if the bars you're having trouble with are right next to the bed i don't think that'd be an option.

I will chase them away and tell them off or remove them from the pen...and they just go back and start again 5 mins later. The weeing on my bed last night really infuriated me. I want to leave the pen up overnight but I KNOW they will keep me up all night bar biting. If I leave it down, Fiver will **** and **** all over my bed. I'm really started to hate having them in my room. I'm stressed out enough them being complete and utter *********.
 
I'm sorry your buns are driving you mad. Our little munchkins barbite sometimes and we've worked out it either means.

"We want out when you humans are in here"

Or "why are you in our room making noise we want to sleep"

We don't give them any attention when they do it, we leave the room and close the door. They will then stop. You don't want to reward them with treats or attention.

Have you tried giving them brown packing paper to rip up? Ours love that and it keeps them distracted for hrs! We put it behind the sofa do stop them digging and chewing the carpet when they decide to "extend their burrow"

We don't have any trouble with wees and poops, so can't help you with that bit. Maybe keeping them in the pen all the time and just let them out for short times after a few days and then slowly increase their time out of the pen.

That what we did initially so they learnt their space.

Hope this helps x

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk
 
We have some similar problems ever since Monty learned to jump onto the bed. He only seems to do his business on the bed when he's trying to tell us off for something, so if they haven't gone on the bed before, I would guess that's a protest at having the bars put up. Can you get a couple of cheap duvets so you just need to wash them and aren't worrying about nice bedding being stained? I know it's a pain - I've lost count of how many mornings one of us has poked the other awake so we can get up and strip the duvet because there's a nice little puddle right between our faces - but as Monty only seems to do it when we've upset him in some way, I figure he's just trying to communicate with us in the only way he knows.

We also use under the bed as storage for things we don't mind Monty chewing (boxes, all my fabric off-cuts etc) or which we keep in big plastic under-bed storage. This allows him to still hide under there (and chew the bed, though we don't mind that) but doesn't leave him room to damage the floor or the mattress, and gives him a way to occupy himself - he loves pushing stuff around a few inches each way to create the best tunnels and hidey-holes for himself. Do you have some things you could put under there, so there isn't room for more destruction?

Good luck with whatever you decide to do :)
 
I'm sorry you are going through this on top of everything else :cry: could you attach mesh to the under side of the bed to stop them chewing it, or use puppy panels to stop them getting under? You could try using a waterproof picnic blanket on the bed or shower curtain?
 
Hi. I've had a busy day today. They've been bar biting on an off when I've been in and last night bar bit for a few hours then stopped.
They aren't penned in. If I can figure out how, I'll post a pic up of my bedroom.
 
Hi. I've had a busy day today. They've been bar biting on an off when I've been in and last night bar bit for a few hours then stopped.
They aren't penned in. If I can figure out how, I'll post a pic up of my bedroom.
Just been catching up VB.

So they're free range, and you have the pen around the bed to stop access to the bed. Otherwise they can go where they please in the bedroom.

All I can suggest is they don't get the apple branches left down all the time. They only get these over night to keep them entertained.
You could also put a tray beside one of the pens, full of hay and dried forage to create an indoor forage box that they may use instead of chewing.
Another thing would be to ensure dinner is a challenge. Hang veg up where possible (not on the bars) so they have to work for it. Use food balls if you don't already.

Do they often get sugary treats? I've noticed Phoebe becomes a right so & so after a high sugar treat like carrot, banana, blue Berry etc.

Lots of be good bunny vibes being sent your way x

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
 
Hi. I've had a busy day today. They've been bar biting on an off when I've been in and last night bar bit for a few hours then stopped.
They aren't penned in. If I can figure out how, I'll post a pic up of my bedroom.


Unless you're one of the rare folk who can make photo bucket work for you, people seem to be using Imgur.

Good luck :)
 
I can't upload the pic since I'm only on my phone and I won't use Imgur again lol. DaphnePhoebe described the setup right. They don't jump on my bed throughout the night but on a morning Fiver sits on my bed until I wake up. This was fine until he started pooing all over my bed a few months ago. Him peeing on my bed whilst I'm in it is a new thing and is most likely due to the fact that he can't do it during the day. This morning whenever I felt him jump up, I pushed him back off again. After about 10 times he finally got the message...not after leaving 6 or 7 poos, though. So irritating. They've bar bit for a while tonight again but didn't seem quite as persistent.
They don't get treats or veg. Only fresh forage when I have the time to collect it from my garden. They've been getting fresh willow twigs with the leaves still on, though. I can't leave the apple branch overnight...they bang it off the floor repeatedly and wake me up. It's a large branch but they still manage it. At feeding time, I either give them it in a treat ball or scatter it about the room so they have to spend time finding it. I hide it all over so they have run around and jump on things or hop through their tunnel to get it.
The box with forage and whatnot in near the bars is a good idea. I may try that. Only thing is they will probably just use it as another litter tray, which means them digging it out will be disgusting. But it's something else to try. I could deal with the destruction under my bed but not them using my bed as a litter tray. It's disgusting and really bothers me. It's nice not having to worry about my bed having to be stripped and my mattress flipped or having to go into the loft for the spare duvet whenever I come to bed. It's a pain dismantling the panels but it's worth it. I just feel bad that they have less space during the day.
 
VB I don't have any useful advice but wanted you to know I'm thinking of you and sorry you're having so much bunny trouble lately. I hope things settle down for you all soon. xxxx
 
Woke up to both Fiver and SF on my bes. Kicked them both off. Only 1 poo and only had to push Fiver off 5 or 6 times. Think they're finally getting it but I am missing morning cuddles with Fiver. I can't do that because I'll be rewarding him for jumping up. I usually wake up to Fiver licking my arms or my pillow. I'm hoping that if I break the habit of toileting on my bed that he'll be able to come onto my bed without messing everywhere.
I am wondering if he's protesting because I've not spend much time with him lately. He's quite obsessed with me, despite having bunny company. He's just a weirdo.
 
I must admit, I'd never want bunnies to have absolute free range of the house - there is just too much opportunity for mischief and you feel like you're living in a bunny shed. When I had house bunnies they didn't (in theory) have access to all of it, but were always barging their way in to places they weren't supposed to go. :) They were shut in the kitchen at night though.
 
I must admit, I'd never want bunnies to have absolute free range of the house - there is just too much opportunity for mischief and you feel like you're living in a bunny shed. When I had house bunnies they didn't (in theory) have access to all of it, but were always barging their way in to places they weren't supposed to go. :) They were shut in the kitchen at night though.


It can get out of hand, for sure :)
 
I must admit, I'd never want bunnies to have absolute free range of the house - there is just too much opportunity for mischief and you feel like you're living in a bunny shed. When I had house bunnies they didn't (in theory) have access to all of it, but were always barging their way in to places they weren't supposed to go. :) They were shut in the kitchen at night though.

We've just given in gracefully to the notion that this is now the rabbit's flat which we live in only on his sufferance :lol:
 
My Fiver is also very human oriented, VB. He still adores Mimzy but seems to miss living in my bedroom with me. When Mimz is gone, we'll have to rearrange his habitat to fit in there somehow.

I was kind of wondering if maybe the behaviour your Fiver and SF were exhibiting was tied to a need for more attention, but I know they've been unsettled for awhile now and you always do so much for them, I can't imagine they are lacking in anything. Maybe they're still figuring out who's top bun since SF arrived?

But bunnies are smart cookies. They get the gist eventually when they see how it's to be. ;) After all, they are tidier creatures even than cats, for the most part. They don't want to mess where they live. Mine used to be on a complete clean twice a day regimen and only due to financial constraints can I not still do that. They do get a bit narked if I don't show up on time in the evening to straighten up and that's when I usually find some bun-struction going on. :roll:

I hope things will start to calm down now. :) xxxx
 
Back
Top