litter training problems

Question
Hello I have two dutch rabbits that are a bonded pair.  We have had a neutered male a little over a year and a female who is 4 months old not yet neutered but we are planning the procedure for next month.  Before we got the female our male was almost perfectly litter trained.  The bonding process was amazingly easy, but now our male is pooping everywhere!  We keep adding more boxes to there space which is an entire room, but he just poops next to every box.  He is still very good about urinating in a box. The female is not having a litter problem at all.  If we try confining him in a cage he just chews on it like crazy until we let him out.  Help!!!! This is horrible!! Lorraine PS They have been bonded since the beginning of April

Answer
Hi Lorraine,

wow, you got her way too early if she's 4 months old and been with you since April 1.

I would imagine this will get better once your gal is spayed (males get neutered).  Her hormones are affecting him.  He wants to mark the boundaries of his territory to keep other males away.  The reason it started recently is probably because she is hitting sexual maturity and he's picking up on her pheromones.

If the extra pans aren't working, just leave out the regular pans when they are out playing.  I might try laying out cotton towels (find an outlet store and get good but inexpensive ones) in the places he poops around the boxes and this may help cleanup for awhile.

Realize that if he is keying off her hormones, it will take about a month for her hormones to finalize to their new, lower level after her operation.

Lee