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Small pets

How do you clean out your rabbits?

14 replies

CheshireDing · 19/01/2022 13:51

We have 2 rabbits, female, spayed, nearly 12 months old now. They take ages to clean out though so I am wondering if I am missing a trick ! (hopefully)

They had a rabbit toilet and I used to put poop in their bit they just ignored it and slept in it instead when it was sunny.

They have a large double storey hutch and 9ft x 6ft run access all day every day.

They poop EVERYWHERE though, excluding their bedroom. I have recently changed them to auboise and I use a kitty litter type shifter thing but it takes over 30 mins to go through the whole hutch and run area.

I have tried putting newspaper on the hutch floor, then auboise, then newspaper so I hopefully just had to lift the old newspaper off but of course they just scragged it all up together anyway.

Any helpful tips appreciated !!

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AwkwardPaws27 · 19/01/2022 14:00

How big are your litter trays?
I use big plastic underbed storage boxes - both bunnies like to get in at the same time. I have a hay rack over one, with the other I put a big pile of hay at one end.

I don't put hay anywhere else as they tend to poop while eating so this encourages them to keep it in the trays.

I have interlocking foam playmats on the run floor (I've left about ⅓ of the slabs uncovered to keep their nails down) and just sweep up any stray poo or bedding once a week. I don't put any bedding on the run floor, just the playmats.

They have straw only in their hutch (single storey, they spend more time sitting on top of it but do burrow in when it's v cold).

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CheshireDing · 19/01/2022 14:07

Thank you, the little tray was one of those corner plastic things from Pets At Home, DH chucked it out the other day as they never used it so it was pointless. Your hutch must be huge Awkward for the underbed storage boxes !

I am wondering from what you say though whether the toilet was too small/wrong shape. Would a basic cat little tray put right in front of their hay racks work then do you think? (there is always a big pile of poo around the hay but it's never crossed my mind until you have just said)

They have hay in other places in the run - a shelter with a hay rack in it, hay stuffed inside a log etc. Maybe I should get more racks and more little boxes?

Do they not poo and wee in the straw in the hutch then? These 2 are just throwing it around everywhere

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AwkwardPaws27 · 19/01/2022 15:16

Those corner ones are quite small, & my two like to poop together 😅
Their hutch is inside the run (it's a walk in aviary type, with a roof) so I have the trays in the run area.
Before I had the walk in run I used exactly what you've suggested in their previous hutch, cat litter trays next to a hay rack, which worked really well.
I find mine poop wherever they eat, so try and keep their hay around the trays. The foam mats mean that any loose poo can be easily swept up with a dustpan and brush though.
Mine do kick a lot of the straw out of the hutch but I just sweep it up - I usually use the discarded straw to line the litter boxes too.

They don't seem to toilet in the straw in their bed. Straw doesn't absorb pee quickly and get damp like other bedding, any pee tends to make its way down to the bottom layer before being absorbed so the top bit they sit on stays dry which is great as it won't freeze. Unless it gets damp or smelly I leave it alone and just add a fresh layer on top every so often.

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Ahhhhhbisto · 19/01/2022 15:24

We use a cat litter tray filled with hay. Would one of those fit in your enclosure?
Also its not just bunny poo you need to entice them. Have you tried using bedding that has been urinated on?

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CheshireDing · 19/01/2022 20:12

Right thank you both I am going to order a couple of cat litter trays and also put urinated bedding in the trays as well as poop.

Hopefully that will make the place a bit tidier. Messy bunnies

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asteriodeleven · 19/01/2022 20:19

We use a high sided cat litter tray so they don't kick the litter/hay out. Just put cat litter and hay in there so. They seem to poo while eating so it all stays in there! Only the occasional one outside the litter tray!

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Passthecake30 · 22/01/2022 19:44

I have a similar size set up and have 3 large cat trays with newspaper/cat pellets underneath hay. Straw in their hutch. I do have to sweep up some poo but they always wee in the trays.

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pastypirate · 23/01/2022 00:06

The bigger I made the litter tray the more my boy got the idea. The corner ones a shite..my mini rex has a full size cat litter tray now which he is using exclusively - I could have saved a lot of cleaning if I'd known that!!

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feejee · 23/01/2022 00:18

My 2 have 2 cat litter trays with hay rack next to them. Put all poo and pee into it to train them. If possible with your setup try to get the litter tray in a corner, is the cage against a wall/corner of the room? Mine have taken well to toilet training now neutered, so fingers crossed for you.

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feejee · 23/01/2022 00:21

Also i had to keep them inside their cage for a day or two until they got the idea. Then i'd expand their roaming area with the run wire panels. If they then toileted outside the litter tray the space was reduced again until they were consistentlt using litter tray. Prob took 4 days all told (pre neutering the female went everywhere, nightmare on my parquet floor).

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pastypirate · 23/01/2022 10:52

@feejee

Since my boy was neutered he's been exceptionally clean Thats a good point

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bunnygeek · 24/01/2022 11:43

Some rabbits, even after neuter/spay, are mucky little monkeys.

My guys have litter trays but sometimes just in the vicinity is enough. Usually takes me about 20 mins/half an hour twice a day to pick up their "work" and tidy things. They have two litter trays which are spot cleaned - but also use their shed balcony as an toilet where I have hay and blankets, so I have a daily blanket wash. For some reason my guys don't really toilet in their aviary at all, just prefer to use their shed!

Ultimately, it's investing in good brooms and brushes, finding what works for you, and building a good compost heap (I have three!!)

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Realitea · 06/02/2022 14:33

I just want to say that I feel your pain. It’s taking me two hours a day to clean out my two at the moment. (Factoring in faff time as they won’t leave me alone when I clean out all the different compartments!) I’m going to get a big cat litter tray and put it where the majority of the poo and wee is and put hay in a hay feeder next to it. Today was a breakthrough actually where I noticed they hadn’t used their bedroom as a toilet! They’re only 13 weeks so I have to just hang in there.

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PossiblyDreaming · 06/02/2022 14:36

Have you got a litter tray in their run too? I had the same prob until I moved their tray to a corner of their run and now they pretty much only do it there. There’s still the odd poo scattered about but they only were in the run now which makes thing 100x easier and less smelly