homelitter training: successfully toilet train your rabbit
Learning how to litter train rabbits not only provides a cleaner more comfortable living area for the rabbit, but also saves the owner a lot of cleaning time!
It is not difficult to litter train your rabbit. All you need is a litter tray large enough for your rabbit to fit in comfortably, with raised sides to prevent their bottom going over the edge. You will need a layer of safe, absorbant litter material (see below), covered with a layer of hay, to keep them dry and give them something to nibble on when they go, which they like to do.
Litter training is unlikely to be completely successful until a rabbit has reached maturity (4-7 months old) and been neutered/spayed.
if your bunny is to live indoors
Place the litter tray in the corner of the rabbit's hutch/cage along with some droppings. If they have already picked a corner, place it there.
For the first 2-3 days your rabbit should be kept in their hutch/cage, only let out for short periods, and not allowed near any corners.
After this time, you can gradually let your rabbit out for longer periods of time, they should now go back to the tray when they need the toilet. Reward them with a treat when they do.
You must be vigilant for the first week or two, ready to usher them back if they look like they are about to go to the toilet.
You should limit your rabbit to one room until fully litter trained and neutered/spayed.
If your rabbit is to have full access to your house, you should do this gradually, one room at a time, every week or two. Always supervise them until fully trained.
Should mishaps occur you must not scold your bunny, as they may associate you with scolding and avoid you. Simply usher them home and confine them to one room for a day or two. Then start again.
Sometimes it may be necessary to have a second litter tray around the home.
If you intend for your bunny to sleep in a basket, it is best to wait until they are fully trained, then place the tray (uncleaned) in a corner, either where the hutch/cage was or as near as possible.
if your bunny is to live outdoors
If your rabbit is to be housed for long periods of time, let out by you for its exercise, place the tray in a corner of the hutch with some droppings in. If they have already chosen a corner place it there.
Sometimes a rabbit will go to the toilet in the sleeping compartment, this usually occurs if the hutch is unsheltered and not covered when raining or at night. Ensure the living area is dry and free of draughts, clean out the sleeping compartment, placing some of the soiled hay and droppings in the litter tray. You may have to repeat this a few times, depending on how long it has been going on.
If the hutch is attached to a run, allowing your rabbit 24 hour access, place the tray in a corner of the run. Ensure the tray is sheltered from the rain, as your rabbit is unlikely to want to sit in it when it is soaking wet!
It is amazing how many people don't litter train outdoor rabbits, but then complain about having to clean them out so often. So little effort can save so much time. An untrained rabbit's hutch has to be cleaned at least every two days. When trained, you simply clean out the tray every 2-3 days, only cleaning the hutch weekly.
litter materials
Paper pulp, dry grass pellets and compressed sawdust pellets are recommended rabbit litters.
A newspaper covered with straw or hay is not as absorbant and can be a bit messy but is ok, as long as the straw or hay is not allowed to go mouldy (mould is poisonous), and your rabbit doesn't keep ripping up and eating the newspaper (eating to much paper can cause blockages, and some inks are poisonous).
You must not use pine or cedar chips/shavings, these give off chemicals, which have been shown to damage the rabbit's liver. Clay and clumping litters will cause severe blockages leading to death if eaten, so too can corncob litter.
