If you live or work on a homestead or farmette, then your chores probably include “managing animal waste”. We’ve found it very hard to move poop and clean hutches without getting something stinky on our hands, boots or work clothes. Rabbit poop is often soaked with rabbit pee and has a pretty nasty smell.
One day after cleaning the hutches and shoveling the poop soaked pee below the hutches, my teenagers asked me, “Is rabbit pee toxic?”
No, rabbit pee is not toxic and is not a threat to humans who routinely wash up immediately after their chores.
A healthy and hygienic rabbit does not pose a threat to healthy humans. If practicing good hygiene after cleaning the rabbit’s living area, then rabbit urine generally does not pose a risk to you. If you have open sores or a sensitive skin condition then you want to stay away from rabbit urine.
Big Note: If you are working in the rabbits’ living spaces then you may want to wash up before moving on to the chickens’ living spaces, and vice-a-versa.
Washing up and not treading poop from one species’ living area to another species’ living area is a best practice for keeping your animals healthy.
This practice helps reduce the spread of common farm animal illnesses from one species to another and reduces bacterial and viral stress on your animals.
Rabbit urine can carry and spread a deadly disease to other rabbits – it’s called e. cuniculi.
Read on to learn more.
Can Humans Get E. Cuniculi From Rabbits
If you are practicing good hygiene and your immune system is not heavily compromised, then there is almost no risk of you catching e. cuniculi from your rabbit.
However here are some factors that could lead to you contracting e. cuniculi from your rabbit:
- You don’t practice good basic hygiene
- Your immune system is weak and compromised
- You are around a massive number of rabbits in an enclosed area.
- You are breathing in massive amounts of vapors from the urine.
- You have open sores or a skin condition
- Your rabbit is known to have e. cuniculi but is not under treatment
The parasitic e. cuniculi is spread via urine. The spores of the parasite are in the urine of an infected rabbit.
Is Rabbit Pee Supposed To Smell Bad?
Yes, bunny urine generally has a strong smell.
Does Rabbit Pee Have Ammonia In It?
Yes, rabbit pee has ammonia in it.
Three parts hydrogen and one part nitrogen, ammonia occurs naturally in human urine as well. Bacteria turn nitrogen into ammonia.
Why Does Rabbit Pee Smell So Bad?
Well rabbit pee is waste, so like other animal waste it smells bad. Additionally, rabbit pee is comparatively high in ammonia content.
How To Reduce Rabbit Pee Smell
Here are a few ideas for reducing the strong smell of rabbit urine.
Harvest the Pee and Poop – Catch pee and poop under the hutches using a reusable catchment system like an open wooden box. As the wooden box fills up you can harvest the pee soaked poop and place it in your compost or spread it in your pastures.
Rabbit pee and poop make wonderful amendments for building soil and renewing soil. Here is a related post: Rabbit Manure Tea!
Clean Cages and Hutches Regularly – Keeping cages and hutches clean is an obvious way to reduce urine odors.
Provide an Outdoor Run – If the rabbits have access to an outdoor run, then they are likely to pee in the outdoor area of their living space, as opposed to peeing in the covered portion of their living space. Even better is an arrangement where you can move the hutch and outdoor run from time to time.
This concept of a mobile hutch and outdoor run allows the rabbits access to fresh, clean ground when you relocate their living space.
Rabbit Tractor – On nice days, some people move their rabbits from the hutch to a rabbit tractor in the morning. The rabbits are then moved back to their cages or hutches in the later afternoon. This allows the rabbits access to clean ground.
The rabbits will fertilize the ground with their pee and poop as they play and nibble in the rabbit tractor throughout the day.
Ventilation – If your bunnies are in a shed, then perhaps the shed needs some ventilation. Proper ventilation will pull in fresh air from one end of the shed, and push it out the other end of the shed. Additionally, proper ventilation will let the floor of the shed dry out, etc.
If you’ve thoroughly and repeatedly cleaned the rabbit’s living area and the smell still seems overwhelming to you, then you or your rabbit may have a health problem.
If your respiratory system seems aggravated then your rabbit’s respiratory system may also be aggravated by the urine and ammonia fumes. You should contact your veterinarian and consider contacting your own physician as well.
Frequently Asked Questions Related To Is Rabbit Urine Harmful To Humans?
Is Rabbit Pee Bad For Pregnancy?
No, rabbit pee is no more threatening to pregnant women than human pee. Physicians discourage pregnant women from dealing with cat poop, and cat litter, because too often cat poop carries the Toxoplasma parasite that can transmit to a pregnant woman and harm the fetus.
Rabbit poop does not carry the Toxoplasma parasite!
Here’s a video about the various colors of rabbit urine and what they indicate for your rabbit.
Final Thoughts on Is Rabbit Pee Toxic?
Here are the germane bullets we’ve discussed about “Is Rabbit Pee Toxic?”
- The urine of a healthy rabbit is not toxic
- Keep rabbit living areas clean and hygiene high – the ammonia in rabbit pee can severely aggravate a rabbit’s respiratory system, weakening its immune system and making it more likely to become ill.
- Parasitic e. cuniculi spores are dispersed in an infected rabbit’s pee
- The e. cuniculi parasite is generally not a ris for healthy and hygienic humans. However, e. cuniculi can be a risk for humans with compromised immune systems, open sores, sensitive skin conditions or who practice poor hygiene around rabbits.