How To Keep Rabbit Odor Under Control on The Homestead

Ug… that smell! You know the one. That car was full of rabbits after a 3hr trip one where half of them decided to take a leak after the first 30 minutes.

Or when you step into a barn full of rabbits and the ammonia takes your breath away even though the floor has been cleaned up.

No matter the situation you find yourself in the smell can be a bit much after a short period of time. So let me give you some easy tips that will work if you are traveling with rabbits or you are raising them on your homestead using cages that have trays you have to empty often.

Rabbitry Set Up

My preferred way to house my rabbits is outside in a lean-to style cage. The waste falls through to the ground and the height of the hutches gives the rabbits tones of airflow. When I used to let people come to the rabbitry I got so many compliments on not having a smell to it. (I don’t any more for safety reasons)

This has been a huge help both in the health of the rabbits and saving me time. So if you are able the best time saver is going to be hutches outside. But I know not everyone has space for that. Which is why I have this simple post to help you tame the smell.

Another option would be to leave the doors open during the day to the shelter that you keep your rabbits in if you have to use stacking cages.

Best Types Of Rabbit Cages

Whether we are talking travel cages, stacking cages with trays, or hutches the best option for the health of your rabbit is to keep your OFF the area the waste falls through.

So many these days are flat bottomed and they allow the rabbit to sit in the tray. This is so unhealthy for them. But it also does not help keep your rabbit from stinking. With that said check out this post if you need to find a better rabbit cage option. It doesn’t have to be for outdoors (by outdoors I mean not living in your house, they still need shelter) but there are some great tips to help you find even a cage for your indoor rabbit.

Travel Carriers

Rabbits take a leak whenever they feel like it. They are not like dogs where they will hold it and wait to go outside. So if your rabbit is on a flat bottomed cage or carrier they are going to get covered in their own waste.

And when you are traveling there are not many good places to stop and clean up the mess. When it comes to showing we don’t want to see any stains and certainly not any fecal matter on them to show.

These are the number one travel carrier I recommend to anyone even if you don’t show is the type I use in my rabbitry and you will see if you get into rabbit showing. It has a wire bottom, metal tray, and great air flow.

And here is why I think these are the better way to go. The typical travel carrier that you will find at a pet shops or doing a quick amazon search is ok if you are willing to deal with the mess of the rabbit being directly on the cage floor. Bot not only that rabbit fur (just like any hair) holds the smell very easily so this makes it hard to get rid of the smell until the rabbit sheds that hair.

Sure there are sprays and home remedies you can try but most of them don’t get rid of much of the smell.

Aside from keeping the urine off the rabbit a bonus point for them is they are a “top loader” allowing you to get the rabbits out from the top instead of the side which can prove very difficult.

Start Clean

No matter how clean the rabbit carrier or cage tray is when you first started it only takes a day or two before the trays start to have a stench to them.

Even though I said it does not matter how clean you make the tray it won’t stop the smell it will still help your supplies to last longer and you will get more trips out of one application

Clean your carrier tray out well. Hose them out if possible because any urine residue left on the tray floor will eat away at the material especially if it’s metal.

Once they are cleaned well you won’t have to do it every time. I hose trays out twice year usually.

Use Wood Pellets

Add a thin layer of wood pellet bedding. <—- THIS IS KEY.

These can be found at your local feed supply or hardware store. Most often are for a horse stall. I saw a major difference in the smell of the rabbits travel cages just using these wood pellets instead of pine shavings.

The wood pellets will swell and turn to a crumble after they have absorbed the moisture in the tray. The wood shavings really don’t absorb all that much they just slow it down. So I think that is the main difference.

What ever you do. DO NOT let your rabbit be on the bedding or be able to nibble on it. This can get in their gut and cause massive issues and even kill them. (This is another reason why I am so against rabbits being on the solid surface)

The best part is that wood pellet bedding is less than 6 bucks for a 40 pound bag currently.

Add Essential Oils

Next, add a few drops of Lavender or Geranium Rose essential oil to the carrier tray. These oils are calming to the rabbits as well as humans and they make the car smell great. One tray is good for about three car trips depending on how long they are in the carrier.

I do this combination every time we go to a show and believe me your passengers will thank you for it. You can use this method for any animal you are traveling with.  Not just rabbits or small animals.

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