Convert to cage free?

I wasn't sure which forum to post this in, but I suppose it is mostly about housing for the buns. So I have three rabbits. Jesse, ten years old. Lina is three, and Bennie is one. Bennie is Lina's kit. Jesse is a neutered male. LIna and Benine are not spayed. They currently live in the basement, which is not finished. When we do finish it, I would like to have a rabbit room. Currently they all live in separate hutches and I set up separate playpens for them when they want out. I would like them to all be able to roam free in the room, but Lina has a bad habit of mounting the other rabbits! And Bennie is terrible at using her litter box. She never has accidents outside her cage; if I let her roam the house for a couple hours, there are no droppings. But she poops all over her cage! I don't normally have so much trouble litter box training. Would it help to spray down the bottom of the cage when I clean it? Currently I just sweep it out because I'm nervous about using chemicals around the buns. Is it possible that she smells poop in the floor of the cage (it's plastic) and thinks it's a place to go? So my main questions are... How can I break Lina's mounting habit? What can I do about Bennie's litter box problems? Thanks in advance! :bunnyhop:

mounting is two things. 1) I AM QUEEN!, dominance. 2) AHH BREED ME!, hormones, she wants bred and right this second darn it. in the case of the first the rabbits should work it out and one will be higher in the hierarchy than the other. if the second, I cant really say for pet rabbit. in my case I would breed her and she will chill into being a mom most likely.

The pooping is territorial marking.

Getting the rabbits together more often will probably make it worse, not better. Once you have them in a shared space, they will probably poop all over places where they didn't before.

I have no idea how to correct that.

Would Lina's mounting still be hormonal if the only male in the house is neutered? Also, I don't mind some droppings. But Bennie just is clueless when it comes to the litter box. Would neutering fix any of these territorial behaviors?

Would Lina's mounting still be hormonal if the only male in the house is neutered?

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Absolutely - she will still cycle unless she is fixed and will be more prone to ovarian cysts and cancers as her eggs ripen every time she masturbates, I highly recommend spaying her

Yep get them spayed. This'll get along better and have better litter habits.

Mar.K":3w4oz3e9 said:

Would Lina's mounting still be hormonal if the only male in the house is neutered? Also, I don't mind some droppings. But Bennie just is clueless when it comes to the litter box. Would neutering fix any of these territorial behaviors?

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Yes, If she is intact then she'll still have the hormones. Whether the male is intact or not. And maybe more so since she's not getting what she needs from the only male in the house.

NO! It may lessen it but never erase it. These behaviors are hardwired in to all animals. The same way a male dog will still try to breed a female in heat. They may not go hunting her down but if she's close all bets are off.