house trained rabbits

[squirtle]

i've recently read about people keeping rabbits in the house running free, allegedly you can house train them and have them using a litter tray. Has anyone done this and is it a difficult thing to do?  I'm only renting and would hate to devastate the house.

[log4i]

it is possible to house train a rabbit but takes a lot of patience . just one word of advice for you though, keep an eye on your wallpaper and wires!! mine chewed half of the wall and went through at least five phone chargers!!

[Drusilla]

I once had a male 'Dutch' rabbit that we allowed into the house. We didn't ban him because of the obvious reasons, but he began to shoot 'white stuff' from his back end if we tried to catch him. Needless to say, he stayed in the garden after that. Something a bit chilling when a rabbit finds you a turn on. 

[happy_face]

I once had a male rabbit who was always kept outside but at times I brought him in and I managed to house train him. I would basically have a litter tray but with old newspaper instead of kitty litter and then I would keep and eye on him. Rabbits tend to sit still and lift their tails up when wanting to do a wee. So I waited for this to happen and then calmly lifted him off the carpet and onto the litter tray. This did take quite a few attempts but it worked. As rabbits will always keep one corner of a cage as 'toilet' they will do the same in your house if you train them. The only thing is you will never be able to train them from dropping little poo pellets everywhere as they do that constantly

[squirtle]

Thanks to all who answered, think i'll give it a go, have Hamster who manages to get 'poo pellets' out of the cage and all over the floor so i'm used to picking them up. Also some of the wallpaper and the carpet have been chewed when he once escaped due to my inability to close the cage properly one night. Found him next night in bedroom after giving up hope. Hopefully landlady won't notice!!!!!!!!

[christini]

I've done this - i was renting a flat and had 2 pet house rabbits. I kept them in a big pen in the daytime and when i got in form work i l"let them loose" You might find this easier to do 'cos at least you don't have to worry about the havoc they might be causing without you there. If you are thinking about this, consider a FEMALE NEUTERED rabbit as they are less likely to be territorial, spraying etc.

p.s. i remember on my flat inspection at the end of the rental the landlady noticed some 'animal hairs' I replied "yes the cat from next door sometimes runs in the flat, terrible isn't it"! ahem!...

[SMT]

I have 2 house trained rabbits (1 male, 1 female). The male was really good when young but as soon as puberty kicked in he forgot the training and went where he wanted, spraying his scent everywhere. The solution was a visit to the vet and castration. Since this he has been excellent. The female was no problem from day one but she just copied the male. Once they had decided on their "toilet corner" in the hutch, I put a litter tray there too. I use a wood litter suitable for rabbits (available from pet shops) and a "corner" shaped litter tray. I did try the usual square/rectangle litter tray and cat litter but this didn't work at all. I think it goes back to the fact that they have a "toilet corner" in the hutch. Each evening they are let out into the garden and when it starts to go dark or rain they sit by the back door waiting to come in. You do need patience but it's great in the end. One thing they do, is they eat their own poo (this is apparantly normal and aids digestion). This also saves on the litter problem. Once the novelty of running around the lounge wears off, they both just lie down together quietly like a couple of cats. The male will also sprawl infront of the fire!!! Hope this helps

[squirtle]

well i reckon it'll be a challenge, i have a 3 bedroom house to myself and a large back garden so they'll be plenty of room for some extra house guests. Thanks to everyone for the advice. Much appreciated.

[morg_monster]

My brother's rabbit used to come in the house after school. We didn't have to train her at all, she just started going in a corner so we put the tray down there. We didn't use litter, we used a tray with a layer of newspaper on and then an old towel or tea towel to soak up the wee! When she went back in her hutch for the evening the poo would go on the compost heap, the newspapers in the recycling and the towel in a bag to be washed at the end of the week. Less hassle than litter!

We only used to let her have the run of our kitchen/living room, because it had wooden floors. Plus we had a big house and when she got out of that 1 room it usually took ages to find her. She did pee when sitting on duvets a couple of times, so most of our duvets have nice yellow stains. Rabbit wee is pretty mucky!