We’ve discovered that the rabbits need to have their own litter box that is lined with grass hay. Rabbits are very habitual and your rabbit may need help establishing a daily routine. Check out our video, it’s on the home page, to see the simple daily routine that our rabbits have gotten used to. In the idea of creating a higher concept in the form of a harmonizing daily routine with your house rabbits, it’s very  nice to have a free-roaming rabbit with some exceptions. We feel that when the rabbit is enclosed in it’s pen it should be with one of the original RabbitHouses or something similar. Another item that should accompany the rabbits in their nightly enclosure is a Rabbit Potty or other high-sided litter pan (high enough that their bottom can’t hang over the edge, or there will be accidents.) We’ve observed that if the rabbit is given an alternative restroom or potty room, they will choose to urinate and do most of their pooping in the potty. Hence the grass den inside the RabbitHouse stays relatively clean and is used mainly for eating the grass hay, which is refreshed every day or so depending on the rabbit’s consumption. We allow our rabbits free run of the house during the daylight hours, and so the morning begins with the potty being lifted out of their enclosure and the lining pan cleaned and refreshed with new hay. The pen is collapsed and removed to the closet. The simple throw carpets are rolled up, shaken outside, and a quick sweep done around the RabbitHouse. Meanwhile, you’ll discover that the rabbits are very interested in the fresh hay in their potty, which has been placed in the room in the spot they most prefer to pee. (In a sense, this is how your rabbits will help you orientate the positioning of the Rabbit Potty in your room.)

CLEANING TIP** An important thing to consider is to clean any accident areas well, hopefully removing as much of the scent as possible. Vinegar works very well for this, and also for cleaning the potty plastic liner pan of built up pee residue. Once cleaned with the vinegar, warm soap and water is great to finish up.)

   By establishing a consistent routine, gradually the rabbits will focus on their potty more and more. Their routine, which they highly enjoy, is to exit their enclosure in the morning on their excited rabbit-run down that same rabbit trail to their favorite rabbit meeting place. This would be where all the rabbits come by from time to time, to see what’s up, to sniff around with great interest in revealing who has been by. The social routine is part of their morning constitution, as most people have their morning constitution. This setup works quite well, with the exception that there is no potty next to their main house now, so you may find that they have an accident around their house. The key here is either a second rabbit potty or what we offer at RabbitHouses.net is the Rabbit Cabana. The Rabbit Cabana is a larger version of our Rabbit Potty, with more hay and an easy to change pan since they will use this also as their potty, and the ability to hold a bouquet of fresh grass or greens of your choosing.

 

So the best thing that we can say about the Rabbit Potty is that this routine - a potty that stays with the house and a remote potty which is made available to them while they’re in their free-run open space - is the best system we’ve found. It does take some time to help the rabbits recognize to use their potty and not go on the floor around their house. If this is a problem, there are some things you can do to save your flooring and make it easier to keep clean during the training stage. A simple, easy thing to try is a piece of 1/8 inch plexiglass that you can find at the local hardware store. This can be laid flat on the floor, with the RabbitHouse and Rabbit Potty set on top, and the portable fencing creating a protected enclosure for night-time, etc. (We use a small pet exercise pan.  If there is a lot of pee, maybe consider finding some edge material that you can glue onto the edges of the plexiglass, making a lip to keep any moisture on the plastic, or using a towel on the plexiglass for comfort and absorb excess. If you can’t find plexiglass, we’ve heard of people using the type of plastic floor protector that goes under an office chair, with a sheet or towel on top.

   One very important thing to remember about the Rabbit Potty and the remotely located Rabbit Potty is that because this is a social focus point - even if you only have one rabbit - if another animal such as cat or dog were to use this as their litter box, the scent alone could deter the rabbit from going into or even near the potty box.  We think this is because since the rabbit consumes cecotropes (special poops) while in these meditative moments of their potty ritual, they also consume the hay and “read the daily paper” in the form of smell stories. I imagine, if I were farsighted and could only see clearly to about 5 or 6 feet away, a lot of my world would be about smelling. We find this is true with animals like the Himalayian snow leopard, where they would travel 150 miles on routine, ritualistic trails that bring them to these special sniffing spots, where there may be scratching or spraying of scent; their way of telling their story of prowess. Well, the rabbit does the same thing.

LITTER TIPS ** A special caution about pet litters. We recommend grass hay or timothy hay to be used as litter because there can be problems with some pet litters that rabbits may eat, especially ones containing zinc. And wood shavings or wood based litters can be risky because of fumes they emit.  Look to your local rabbit rescue organization for solid information on this topic.

   In the afternoon or the evening, usually around 5 o’clock, 6:30 or 7 is too late, we notice the rabbits rowdy around, and this is a sign that they are going to riot if they don’t get some dinner. So it’s very simple to put a handful of fresh hay into the RabbitHouse, the Rabbit Potties and the Rabbit Cabana; everybody goes home for dinner. If it’s time for bed, we move the remote potty to the other side of their house, the portable fence is taken from the closet and unfolded around the RabbitHouse and trainer pan if needed, and they are all snug little bunnies in their special Rabbit Home.  I hope some of these ideas help and I think you may begin most definiately with the Rabbit Potty idea, separate litter boxes for the rabbits from the other pets. The Rabbit Potty should be lined with grass hay.

   We’ve learned a lot about healthy house rabbit food choices from the House Rabbit Society at rabbit.org including that the main part of a rabbit’s diet should be grass hay, with a cup to two cups of greens/vegetables each day. (Celery should be cut into 1 inch pieces, as tough celery strings sometimes wrap around rabbit’s teeth and get stuck!) Limit sweets ,such as fruit & carrots; no more than a tablespoon per rabbit per day, and no grains or nuts because they’re too rich for bunny’s digestive system. You may also want to reconsider the rabbit pellet food, most of these are designed for raising meat rabbits and are too high in calories for house rabbits. If you decide to feed pellets, try to find the ones that are not based on alfalfa, which are too high in protein.  If your rabbits are given treats too often, too much sugar can affect their attitude, ha ha, like little kids. If your rabbits eat more hay and veggies they will have a mellower disposition. So very simply said, if you spoil your rabbit, they might become brats instead of rabbits.

  

Okay, let’s review really quickly. Rabbits love routine. Rabbit’s main routine revolves around their potty habits. The potty habit of the rabbit is to read the smells left in the most communal place that all their buddies and family are sure to frequent. The Rabbit Potty is always in the same place, once your rabbits show you where it is going to be, and this will be basically where you can’t get them to stop peeing! A plexiglass or plastic pan can help in this potty training stage, and recognizing the need to confine the little guys through the night to the smaller space which they will learn to keep clean and dry. Remember to use phrases like “Ricky, use your potty. Ricky! Use your potty!” and in the beginning to go over and help them remember to turn around and just jump into their potty. After your rabbits learn their names and get the idea, they will know what to do when you are telling them to use their potty. Like with children you may have to remind them simply, respectfully, Many times. Be patient and stick to it. Rabbits can understand you, so work with them on their level, recognize their simple needs, and if you take a little pride in their home, they will also!

   As far as bunnies being sociable with their human caretakers, we’ve found that rabbits generally like to be close to the ground and often do not enjoy being held very much. Since a rabbit can stand 10 to 12 inches high, and we stand 60  to 80 inches tall, we are like giants to the fuzzy guys. And of course, children always want to pick up the rabbit. This can cause a lot of fear in a small animal, and if dropped only once can make a lifelong impression and the animal may always struggle when lifted from the safety of the ground.

   Rabbit language is about learning a little of the body language. If you sit still, the rabbit will eventually come up to you and bump you with it’s nose. This means hello, who are you? what are you? you got anything to eat? Respond slowly & calmly, speaking softly. If bunny is still interested, try gently rubbing the rabbit’s cheek, generally not touching the ears or neck. The courtesy between rabbits is to lick the cheek & eye area, and the social touching, grooming included, is about it. Sometimes the rabbit likes the lower part of the jaw rubbed gently, and some rabbits will grind their teeth a little bit in a form of enjoyment. The rest of the body, from the shoulders back around to the butt, including the lower part of the back, are kind of off limits, unless there is a lot of trust, because when rabbits are upset or angry with each other, they will nose or bite at the sides or back in order to irritate their fellow rabbit so they will move away. So getting to know your rabbit sometimes is completely on their terms, especially if your rabbit has had anything less than a sweet home childhood up till they come into your life. Hopefully, like with most children, with help they can transcend these rough times and enjoy the best rabbit life we can offer.

We would like to send a fuzzy thanks to the loving family of Margot, Maggie & Duncan, who adopted two brother rabbits and sent us a wonderful email asking excellent questions, which we’ve tried to answer in the above article titled “The Daily Rabbit Routine.” They have rekindled our effort to complete a book about our experiences with house rabbit companions, and insightful ideas about living in harmony and minimizing effort and blossoming enjoyment through fresh ideas. If you would like to get on the list for updates on the book, please send us your email to rabbit@rabbithouses.net

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