Materials used in drop trays......

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truebroodgenetics

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Hello all! I've tried several different materials in the pullout drop trays for my bunnies, and so far am not satisfied with ANY of it. I clean cages 2 times per week. The first day I just scoop out the wet stuff and replace it with clean dry stuff. The second day, I do a thorough and complete cleaning.

I have talked to several people, including 3 exotic animal vets, about using clumping cat litter in these trays. Keep in mind, the trays are exactly 5 inches below the rabbits, so they are nowhere near it. Obviously, if the rabbit were to be in contact with the litter, it would kill them for a few reasons. Now....I've had 3 well known breeders tell me that as long as it isn't really dusty, it would be fine. I also had 2 exotic animal vets tell me the same. NO DIRECT CONTACT IS CRUCIAL!!!!! On the other hand, I had 2 well known breeders and another SMALL exotic animal vet tell me NOT to use it, for various reasons. One of them overlooked the fact that they wouldn't be directly IN the litter.

What I'm looking for is opinions, especially if you have experience with this. So far, I haven't spoken with anyone that has actually used litter this way and gotten results, whether negative or positive. Before I use litter for my rabbitry, I want to make sure I'm not putting my investments in danger.

Thank you, everyone, in advance!
 
Rather than use wood chips, try using some Arm & Hammer Pet Fresh carpet cleaner after the trays are emptied and rinsed. I give a light dusting with it in my drip pans, and it really makes a difference in neutralizing the odor. It creates alot less waste product than using shavings, wood chips, or anything else as well. At any rate, I would NOT be using cat litter of any kind if I were you.
 
So you don't use anything BUT the carpet cleaner in your trays, or you use it UNDER your shavings, or whatever you use? And thank you for the response, but WHY do you advise me NOT to use litter? Is it because of the fragrance, or what? I need to know the reasoning behind your advice. ;)

And as for the horse bedding, yes, I like it also, BUT lol my pull trays are NOT very deep at all, and the slightest moisture fluffs the bedding so high that it makes a huge mess when I pull the trays out. If i cleaned EVERY day (which i don't have time to lol) it might work. Thank you though!! :D
 
Ive hear the wood pellets work good.

I personally use nothing in the trays. Ive heard to do this from more than one other breeder. Works good and is easier and less time consuming.
 
Jesse L":1i0qc0m8 said:
Ive hear the wood pellets work good.

I personally use nothing in the trays. Ive heard to do this from more than one other breeder. Works good and is easier and less time consuming.


are your rabbits inside or out, ( I mean in a heated or unheated building) and if outside, do you have access to running water, even in cold temps? I love the idea, but wonder how well that would work for me in the winter :x i have access to water from a hose, but i can't use it in the winter :(
 
I have no experience using cat litter with rabbits, but I do use wood pellets (or hardwood shavings when I can't get the pellets) and Sweet PDZ sprinkled on top to help neutralize any odors in their trays. I am not sure what kind of scoopable cat litter you are looking into, but I read somewhere that the ones with deodorant crystals are toxic to rabbits. I wish I could remember where I saw it, but something to be mindful of. A concern that I would have would be how dusty clay litter is and how rabbits have sensitive respiratory systems. I guess if you could haul all the trays away from where you keep your rabbits before dumping the litter in or out that it might be an option, but it would be more trouble than it was worth for my set-up (not sure about yours). Also, scoopable cat litter is very heavy and some of my larger trays are already heavy enough to haul down from the top of the stackers after only a day or two max with the large breeds. Not sure if any of these are a factor for you, best of luck!

ETA: Have you tried shavings? They don't puff up, but they help absorb/reduce odor, and are lightweight.

Lauren
 
HendricksHearth":qky06a18 said:
I have no experience using cat litter with rabbits, but I do use wood pellets (or hardwood shavings when I can't get the pellets) and Sweet PDZ sprinkled on top to help neutralize any odors in their trays. I am not sure what kind of scoopable cat litter you are looking into, but I read somewhere that the ones with deodorant crystals are toxic to rabbits. I wish I could remember where I saw it, but something to be mindful of. A concern that I would have would be how dusty clay litter is and how rabbits have sensitive respiratory systems. I guess if you could haul all the trays away from where you keep your rabbits before dumping the litter in or out that it might be an option, but it would be more trouble than it was worth for my set-up (not sure about yours). Also, scoopable cat litter is very heavy and some of my larger trays are already heavy enough to haul down from the top of the stackers after only a day or two max with the large breeds. Not sure if any of these are a factor for you, best of luck!

ETA: Have you tried shavings? They don't puff up, but they help absorb/reduce odor, and are lightweight.

Lauren
I use shavings now, actually. LOTS of waste, and that's what I'm trying to get away from.
 
I think the litter would be safe if they can't consume it. For the sake of their tender noses I would choose an unscented variety, but I admit I have no science behind that, just my own preference. There is no way that I can see that it can harm them if they can't touch it and it is poured into the pans away from them to avoid dust.

Good point about the weight HendricksHearth!

Also, if you have 5 inches below your cage floor and the pans are too shallow, is there a way you could add sides or deeper pans? Or is there a bar in the way?

I HATE cleaning pans, which is why I don't have them anymore--I went to an outdoor hutch type system, even though I could have twice as many rabbits if I could put up with the pan cleaning. But I CAN'T, and I live in a very mild climate.
 
No experience with using cat litter but it would kind of ruin the value of the manure, wouldn't it? That stuff is gold in the garden and I'd hate to see the waste go to waste.

How about peat moss? It's odour free, it's acidic so will neutralize urine odours and it's valuable as a soil builder. You wouldn't need much of it in the trays, just a bit to soak up the urine.
 
eco2pia":253qpdsj said:
I think the litter would be safe if they can't consume it. For the sake of their tender noses I would choose an unscented variety, but I admit I have no science behind that, just my own preference. There is no way that I can see that it can harm them if they can't touch it and it is poured into the pans away from them to avoid dust.

Good point about the weight HendricksHearth!

Also, if you have 5 inches below your cage floor and the pans are too shallow, is there a way you could add sides or deeper pans? Or is there a bar in the way?

I HATE cleaning pans, which is why I don't have them anymore--I went to an outdoor hutch type system, even though I could have twice as many rabbits if I could put up with the pan cleaning. But I CAN'T, and I live in a very mild climate.

Yes, there is a bar in the way. I've even looked into modifying the cages to be able to use a deeper tray. It would compromise the integrity of the cage too much. The weight isn't a major concern, because the trays don't hold much lol.

And I would LOVE to convert to an outside hutch system, but I have WAY too many rabbits for that! :x
 
I haven't quite figured out the best way to do this one. I tried shavings and found it too time consuming and I was using way too much shavings. I might try wood pellets but for right now I only have one top cage that doesn't open directly to the wood shaving covered floor which I just scoop out every couple weeks. I've also tried leaving the pans empty and the urine smell seems way too strong and harmful to the rabbits. Cat litter is often really nasty stuff with harmful dust and ingredients that are only used because a cat is not around it's litter much. I actually use chicken layer feed in my cat boxes. It works the same as corncob litter.
 
truebroodgenetics":evjua4np said:
Jesse L":evjua4np said:
Ive hear the wood pellets work good.

I personally use nothing in the trays. Ive heard to do this from more than one other breeder. Works good and is easier and less time consuming.


are your rabbits inside or out, ( I mean in a heated or unheated building) and if outside, do you have access to running water, even in cold temps? I love the idea, but wonder how well that would work for me in the winter :x i have access to water from a hose, but i can't use it in the winter :(

My rabbits are in the barn. Last year it did freeze in there, althought his year i am planning to keep it JUST above freezing if possible.

I have running water, although i cannot use the hose in the winter.

I just scrap pans out if they are frozen.
 
Peat moss might be a good idea to check into like Maggie suggested for your particular set-up. I would try it myself except that it is super expensive here for some reason and difficult to find in stock year-round. Also for shavings or wood pellets, I don't know if this would help anyone, but I just pay attention to where the individual rabbit likes to use the tray (like the back right corner for example) when I am walking out to clean it, and then I just use a handful or two of shavings or pellets for the urine spots (I don't fill the entire tray with shavings/pellets). For cleaning, I toss the contents of the trays in my garden (everything- hay, waste, and used substrate) and I never have tons and tons of shavings everywhere because I use so little per tray. I do clean frequently though- I don't think this would work for someone that was looking to clean once a week. Then again, I don't think the substrate would matter in that amount of time because things would be growing, ya know (at least here in GA they would)? :x

Lauren
 
HendricksHearth":2c8dj91l said:
Peat moss might be a good idea to check into like Maggie suggested for your particular set-up. I would try it myself except that it is super expensive here for some reason and difficult to find in stock year-round. Also for shavings or wood pellets, I don't know if this would help anyone, but I just pay attention to where the individual rabbit likes to use the tray (like the back right corner for example) when I am walking out to clean it, and then I just use a handful or two of shavings or pellets for the urine spots (I don't fill the entire tray with shavings/pellets). For cleaning, I toss the contents of the trays in my garden (everything- hay, waste, and used substrate) and I never have tons and tons of shavings everywhere because I use so little per tray. I do clean frequently though- I don't think this would work for someone that was looking to clean once a week. Then again, I don't think the substrate would matter in that amount of time because things would be growing, ya know (at least here in GA they would)? :x

Lauren

If it weren't for three kids, including a 2 year old, I would clean EVERYDAY if it were up to me! lol I LOVE being in my barn with my bunnies! 2 times a week seems to work pretty good for me.

I only have 4 or 5 rabbits that pee in the same spot! lol Pooing is another story. They all pretty much poo in the same spot. My bucks are BAD BOYS!! if they know there's a dry spot under that wire, I swear they AIM for it!!! LOL So, that wouldn't work for me. Thank you though!!! And I wish that I was in Georgia instead of Ohio!!! :p
 
Would it be possible to put a small block under the tray so that the urine all drains to one end? That way, a small amount of litter at that end would absorb the liquids and the rest of the tray would stay relatively dry.

Truckinguy has an innovative system for dealing with rabbit waste. He has pictures on this site someplace, but can't remember where off-hand. His system drains off the urine into a container while the poops get stopped by screening. Looked good to me, but since I was headed towards colony raising, I didn't pay as much attention to it as I might otherwise have done.
 
I've seen a few setups that had sloped tin or other metal instead of one pan per cage. It all runs to the back and is either dumped on the ground if it's outdoors on grass or separated in different containers so the poops stay dry for better use in the garden and to avoid mold growth between cleanings. I've debated various ways to do that so I can use the waste without shavings in the garden.
 
I swear I posted this earlier, but it disappeared. I use peat moss in my trays. It absorbs really well, keeps odors down, and is good for my garden, especially with rabbit poo in it.

I also add 1 tablespoon per quart of apple cider vinegar to their water. Helps keep their pee from smelling as much.
 
truebroodgenetics":2o6r7j13 said:
So you don't use anything BUT the carpet cleaner in your trays, or you use it UNDER your shavings, or whatever you use?

A light dusting of the carpet fresh is all I put into the drip pans, and it works very well.

And thank you for the response, but WHY do you advise me NOT to use litter? Is it because of the fragrance, or what? I need to know the reasoning behind your advice. ;)

It's because it greatly reduces the amount of waste material you have to dispose of. Also, try and understand that I clean my drip pans out every 2-3 days. Once cat litter begins to clump up, it can be rather difficult to clean out of the pans. I remember all too well what it was like to have to remove it from a cat box.

And as for the horse bedding, yes, I like it also, BUT lol my pull trays are NOT very deep at all, and the slightest moisture fluffs the bedding so high that it makes a huge mess when I pull the trays out. If i cleaned EVERY day (which i don't have time to lol) it might work. Thank you though!! :D

I'm not saying that the horse bedding doesn't work well. I considered using it myself before I embarked upon getting back into raising rabbits, but what ultimately changed my mind was how much waste I'd be putting out. As it is, I just clean out the drip pans every 2-3 days by using a 5-gallon bucket to run the urine and poop into, then rinsing the drip pans and dusting the bottom of the pan afterward. Each drip pan takes approximately 3 minutes to completely clean, and that's manageable for just about anyone. Afterward, I'm left only to empty the "muck bucket" and rinse it.
 
trinityoaks":ra3xb4ua said:
I swear I posted this earlier, but it disappeared. I use peat moss in my trays. It absorbs really well, keeps odors down, and is good for my garden, especially with rabbit poo in it.

I also add 1 tablespoon per quart of apple cider vinegar to their water. Helps keep their pee from smelling as much.


LOVE this idea! Not only would it reduce the ammonia, but it also helps get your rabbits "in the mood" for breeding! Thank you so much!<br /><br />__________ Mon Nov 22, 2010 8:07 am __________<br /><br />Ok, here we go lol...

Not enough room under my cages to place blocs for drainage. The space where the trays go are extremely narrow, and there are bars in the way. Otherwise, a great idea.

LOVE the apple cider vinegar suggestion! I did a little searching, and it turns out, breeders also use that to get their rabbits to cooperate for breeding. Since I breed year round, this would be beneficial in more than one way, and extremely inexpensive! So, I will DEFINITELY be using that idea!!

billylilwigeon, I'm relieved to hear your reasons for not suggesting cat litter. I don't mind scooping, as I do it for my cat everyday. There isn't much waste, at all, and I usually don't have to add more cat litter for several weeks, and when I do, it isn't very much. Time wise, it would beat the process I have now, because on the first day when i scoop out the wet stuff, there's ALWAYS puddles of pee under it, and I don't just throw clean dry stuff on top of it. I wipe that spot off and THEN add dry wood shavings. Using cat litter would actually be WONDERFUL on saving time, waste, and everyone's noses! LOL
 
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