Bunny smells in the house

Question
Hi there,
We have a male and female rabbit (brother and sister) who are 10 weeks old. They are not yet spayed/neutered and will be as soon as they are old enough. I am trying to litter train them, and while they do often use the litter tray, they also go elsewhere. We have both indoor and outdoor setups for them, however I am finding that our whole house really smells bad if I have the bunnies inside any longer than a couple of hours. If they are inside overnight, our house stinks the next day. I change their litter tray at least once a day, and clean their indoor/outdoor areas each day also. I would love to have them inside with us more, but we just can't cope with the smell! Is it just because they are not solely using the litter tray do you think? Should it get better when they are de-sexed? Any suggestions for dealing with the smell?
Thank-you!

Answer
Dear Danielle,

It's really unusual for bunnies this young to smell bad, since rabbits are innately clean and tidy.  I do wonder if they are overproducing cecotropes or are gassy because of incorrect diet with too much starch and treats.  Please check that here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

Neutering and spaying will reduce the odor.  But as I mention, I just don't think this is the only culprit.  A healthy bunny has no significant odor, and something has to be causing this unusual smell.

It would not be a bad idea to get both bunnies to a good rabbit vet for a complete checkup to be sure they don't have fleas or mites, which also can make them smell:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/furloss.html

You can find a good vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Hope that helps.

Dana