Storms and chickens

[BarbaraP]

Despite scrubbing my rabbits' bedding tray thoroughly & regularly, I just couldn't get rid of an acrid smell coming from it. Closer examination revealed that the smell was coming from the small hole in the front edge of the tray leading to the hollow space inside. I upended the tray in the bath, squirted liberal quantities of kitchen cleaner into the hole followed by scalding hot water from the shower. When I emptied the water out from the hole I was horrified at what emerged - several slugs and other 'slimelife' in various stages of death and decomposition. Many swillings later, ending with a strong solution of bleach, I managed to get rid of both the smell and the occupants of the tray's interior. Our rablu is situated inside a large enclosure containing several shrubs and the bunnies prefer to sleep under those rather than in their rablu - I now understand why! I wouldn't want to sleep with the smell of rotting slugs, either.

 

When the inside of the droppings tray is completely dry I shall be taping a small piece of landscaping fabric over the hole to prevent any further occupation of it's interior - until either I or somebody else comes up with a better solution for this problem. I don't want to prevent air from circulating inside the tray as condensation will form during cold weather, so blocking it up completely isn't really an option.

[Snowy]

Eeuurrggh! That sounds horrid! Poor bunnies. Glad you managed to sort it out. I don't know of the hole that you are talking about, but does it need air circulating in the hollow space? If it's nice and dry inside and then sealed, surely it wouldn't be a problem? Just thinking a dollop of silicone sealant squeezed into it would do the trick.

[The Dogmother]

Hmm, there's no hole in mine

 

Bunnies don't usually sleep inside like GPs do - they are semi-nocturnal and prefer to sleep in the middle of the day and be active in the night. Most bunnies use their rablu as a loo - mine have their litter tray in there.

[BarbaraP]

The hole seems to be part of the manufacturing process - it's also in the newer tray that I bought recently and which is currently in the rablu. I haven't had the courage to examine the inside of that one yet ...

 

I'll ask the folks at Omlet about the judiciousness of blocking up the hole.