It’s been 5 whole months! U/D 21/6

It’s been 5 whole months since Junior last had a choking episode. 4th January.

I am still taking the hay away from them at night but I’m wondering if I need to try making some changes to their lifestyle.
I’m not going to lie. My rabbits are miserable. And I don’t know why. They’ve practically gone feral. They are peeing everywhere and I can’t clean them up without them peeing all over me. I can’t understand why this has happened because although they now live outside, I still visit them as often as I did when they were in their room upstairs. I’m at a complete loss with them

What would you do? Would you try leaving a tiny bit of hay over night and build it up?

Would you start with a hay cookie perhaps?

The thought of either terrifies me but I feel like I need to do something.

I've pmed you but this is ideas on another tack. About them peeing so much. Do you know if it's both doing it or just one? Are they drinking more?
I'm wondering if there could be a kidney/bladder issue. If one had a problem in that area and was drinking more... and as a consequence peeing more ... it could throw its litter training off which in turn could have a similiar affect on the other. Could you put them in adjoining pens to check this...
Just an idea.

Before making any decisions regarding the hay I would get an opinion from your vet or vet nurse some one that knows rabbits.

Could be just a change in living situation that caused the peeing, every time I change their carpet it poos everywhere, although can't see why they would pee on you if that was the case.
I googled and found this

Territorial tendencies: Intact rabbits (especially males) will frequently mark their territory as a normal instinct. Intact rabbits that are housed together will regularly attempt to mark their cages, each other, and on some occasions, their handler in an effort to display dominance.

Too few litter boxes: If you allow your rabbit to run free in the house, you must provide an adequate number of litter boxes. On the other hand, it can also be beneficial to confine your rabbit to a specific area of the house that clearly provides a litter box. Owners should also consider the number of rabbits they have in one area. If too many rabbits are forced to live in a certain area, rabbits may urinate and defecate outside the litter box because the litter will easily become soiled and uninviting.

Behavioral issues: Just like humans, rabbits respond to change. If a rabbit does not agree with a certain change in its environment such as a new person, new pet, hutch location change, or feeding schedule, it may start to exhibit unwanted changes in urination behavior. To avoid this problem, make sure you make changes to a rabbit’s environment gradually.

I would say maybe a mix of the top and bottom, if there nothing medically wrong.

Xx

So I feel like we’ve made a bit of progress.

I’ve bought them a giant garden planter to use as a litter tray, so they can step in rather than having to hop in.

Things improved a little, even though they don’t actually pee in it! Only 2 pees in it in a week!

But... I’ve taken the plunge and I’m leaving them with a little bit of hay overnight. Gradually building it up. I’ve removed the hay rack and the hay is going straight in the planter tray and the 2 other trays. They are peeing in the 2 other trays. There has still been the odd accident but big improvement.

One obvious problem is the vet bed. Like many, many people have said (you included @Gayle!) rabbits tend to use it as a toilet.

So last night I removed the vet bed. And so far, not one stray pee. I’m not stupid enough to think this is the end of it but I do really believe they have/had lost the association between the hay and the litter tray.

Another thing I’ve noticed is, Molly is the main culprit. Not Junior! I caught her mid stream one night last week and plonked her in a tray.  Junior rarely goes upstairs in the shed and I found pees there frequently. A puddle also appeared at my feet the other day and Junior was in the big tray so wasn’t him.

I can’t remember if I mentioned Junior’s sore feet but I got a course of baytrill for him and they’ve healed up so well

@Gemma, re contacting the vet. They will just tell me to keep the hay away from him. They’re not going to put themselves in the firing line in case he chokes again.

Fingers crossed you've got on top of it. Does can be silly about pee at times, territorial issues etc. upset them. Maybe Juniors choking upset Molly. Who knows how their minds work?

Sounds progress in the pee area at least.

Hopefully that the last of choking, have had blitzwing choke and it been the scariest thing ever.

Fingers crossed xxx

It’s horrific isn’t it

I’m not one to panic but one of them in particular was so grim I freaked out and ran inside to phone my dad and I couldn’t go back in the shed. I was so sure he had died even after all my efforts to help him.