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[GoldenFlight]

Same! However, unneutered Bucks can prove almost impossible to litter box train.

My young buck is litter box trained. Is it only hard to train older bucks?

 

[BantamSlave02]

@GoldenFlight If they aren't trained before puberty it becomes difficult.

 

[GoldenFlight]

Oh okay.

 

[BantamSlave02]

Y

Oh okay.

Yeah.

 

[CyndiD]

My buck is just under 2yo, i am told. and i just acquired him, i tried to litter train him and he just kicks that litter box around & tries to kick it out of his cage. he hates it. the 1mo kits are trained, it only took 1 week and the 3mo does are litter trained. i have to get bigger boxes.
what kind of litter box do you all use. i am afraid to get plastic cat litter boxes for fear they will chew and eat the plastic. what do you suggest? anyone.

I even put a flat piece of thin wood into my bucks cage to place his grass hay on, to try & keep more of it in his cage and he started scratching and biting and picking up the wood, he didnt want it either, i am guessing that is why he was doing that? what do you think?

 

[ChocolateMouse]

My guess is he was bored. That's the sign of a bored bunny that doesn't have to opportunity to express their natural behaviors. Lemme guess, you have wire floors and bare wire cages? Rabbit don't "play" the way dogs or even cats do. Usually they get great joy out of just doing the things that come naturally to them. That includes digging, running, chewing tearing and throwing objects, hiding in quiet dark spaces and searching for food. Frankly, a bare wire cage with a wire floor and a feed dish provides none of that. A rabbit starts to go a little crazy imo under those circumstances.

Luckily this is easy to fix. Toys are easy and free to produce, which is good because rabbits destroy them as part of playing with them. An empty toilet paper roll with an alfalfa cube in it, a paper towel roll with a carrot inside and the ends folded over, a piece of old carpet tubing stuffed with hay and dried dandelions, a plain brown cardboard box turned on it's side as a rabbit-edible shelter, a piece of natural twine with some apple, rose, pear, black/raspberry, mulberry or other rabbit safe wood branches tied into it and hung from the top of the cage... Personally, I have solid floored cages bedded with hay. This lets my rabbits dig and hunt for their favorite parts of the hay to eat every day, or arrange the bedding in their cage to suit their preferences but this is a personal husbandry thing and takes extra cleaning. You can also buy toys. I have had a lot of luck with lava rocks, cage kebobs and nut knobblers. No particular endorsement on brands or stores, just some quick links I found.

https://www.chewy.com/kaytee-lava-l...Y2QbYIqa1klrq6HsnUjMDMM43VYIOsirNKRoCLgbw_wcB
https://www.amazon.com/Kaytee-Perfe...9_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=37VQQPJT8E81NHTVXJ4Y
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Super-Pe...30463&wl11=online&wl12=20585600&wl13=&veh=sem
https://www.amazon.com/Kaytee-Small-Animal-Knot-Nibbler/dp/B0002DJEYI

My rabbits have also absolutely loved these and these;
https://www.amazon.com/Kaytee-Count...9_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=37VQQPJT8E81NHTVXJ4Y
http://www.lambertvetsupply.com/Sna...l90uVjBJ9yglmxnCIUh6w9thH7Sn2MGjPsxoCVqTw_wcB

But they can get a little gross after a while in cages with bedding or un litter trained rabbits (they get peed on) but they might do better on wire floors.

Another DIY or buyable option is something like this;
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ware-Hay...54378&wl11=online&wl12=32801419&wl13=&veh=sem

Which will last as long as the metal doesn't rust through. I don't have any of these myself but I like them.

Rabbits have a strong instinct to chew, dig, tear and throw objects in their cage an envirionment. It's good for them and reduces stress. It also helps maintain healthy teeth and I personally find that the lower stress of having stuff to do leads to healthier, more manageable rabbits.

If you DO wanna put a litter box in, you will need to give him something to do other than chew on and throw the litter box. Then make the litter box too difficult to move. Otherwise he'll just keep taking out his stress and needs on the litter box because it's literally the only thing he has available.

 

[CyndiD]

@ChocolateMouse Hi, i was watching Youtube today, i watched videos on Rabbit behavior and setting up their quarters w/toys and litterbox & houses, etc. i learned so much today and saw most of the things you shared w/me. thank you for explaining some behavior issues. i think my buck was just feeling good and playing w/t light piece of wood, cuz he could move it easily. he has been bounding around, so he is feeling playful. he enjoys me petting him.
i really like the Snak Shak... that has given me ideas of making my own for them. i have willow branches and have woven them; i want to make some woven rings made of willow and grasshay that i feed the rabbits. and i could make them into a house they could crawl into.
the rabbits came to us in their own cages (very old and dirty) but 3 out of 5 had homemade hay racks in them, so i have an idea of how to make some.
thanks for all the wonderful web-sites of goodies for our rabbits.
I will keep them busy and try to keep them happy.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I'm glad he seems to be enjoying the objects in his cage. I am really passionate about trying to raise food animals humanely, and that includes enrichment and healthy behavior. It always makes me sad to see people with meat rabbits in bare 2'x3' cages. The snak shaks are really firm and hard, you might find that a willow shack is fun but disintegrates fast, just as a heads up. I find that anything that's woven is demolished in a day or two so I try to keep it simple and low effort. I hope your bunnies produce better for being in a healthier mental state!

 

[AmandaVirginia]

With my vision and my dad's handiness, we (okay mainly him, well entirely him) made this antique nightstand into a bunny hutch for my Netherland Dwarf, Ruby and my Lion Lop, Reesie!

And, I just absolutely love it!

 

[uncredibless33]

I have three pedigreed Dutch at the moment- one buck and two does. One of our does, Emily, is expecting kits next month- she's black, bred to my chocolate buck, Victor. I'm working on building a cage setup for my rabbits (they live in dog kennels at the moment) and making a large "maternity ward" for my mothers and their kits.