Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum DIET & CARE Storing Hay Bales

Viewing 10 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • Rhian
      Participant
      51 posts Send Private Message

        This is my first time actually getting hay bales I liked enough to worry about storing them long-term. I know they need to be kept well ventilated, but how crazy should I be about this? I got some large Rubbermaid containers and drilled holes along all four sides (about two-three rows per side) would that be adequate? The lids themselves don’t have any holes as I’m storing them outside and I’d rather water didn’t manage to seep in, but I could probably drill some holes in them later since I really need to move them into my garage once I make some room. I live in a rural area with apparently some very rude cats, they sprayed the tarp I was keeping over them for a few days!


      • BB & Tiny
        Participant
        637 posts Send Private Message

          I keep most of mine in a horse hay bale bag in the living room.

          It didn’t all fit so I bought a large cardboard box and poked a million holes in it and keep the rest in there, in the living room. I have tried storing it in the basement but it seems to become damp.

          Oh didn’t read the full post. It rains to much here to store it outside, but where you are it’s snow so more dry. I have read about using rubbermaid, can’t say they went to the extent of drilling holes though, lol. Good on you ! I don’t see why that wouldn’t work.


        • Mimsy
          Participant
          271 posts Send Private Message

            I’m keeping mine in the laundry room in a rubbermaid, no lid.

            I have straw outside in a shed for the chickens, but I’ve had mice get in there so I don’t really trust leaving out there. Plus it’s rainy here and may get damp.

            I’m looking out for a really big wicker basket, like one for laundry to put it in. i figure it will look half way decent and keep aired out.

            When I lived in a cold/dry climate I kept horses and then I just kept it under roofed placed outside and never had any issues.


          • Rhian
            Participant
            51 posts Send Private Message

              I have all sorts of rodents out here, so that’s why the Rubbermaid bins seemed like the best idea. Hopefully nothing gets too determined to chew through them! We’ve kept other things outside in similar containers with no problems, so I’m sure nothing is going to get into them. I guess I’ll just keep an eye on them for the next few weeks and see how it goes, the hay itself is super dry (they’re pretty loosely packed together so I can get my hand right into the middle of each bale with no problem) so I don’t think I’ll have any moisture problems until the summer when it starts getting more humid.

              I maybe shouldn’t have bought three bales to test this out on, but they were so cheap and smelled so good!


            • BB & Tiny
              Participant
              637 posts Send Private Message

                Three bales ?!?!

                How many bunnies are you feeding ?


              • Rhian
                Participant
                51 posts Send Private Message

                  I have two rabbits and four guinea pigs, I’m hoping it’ll last close to a year or so. They’re fairly small bales, about 30-40 pounds, so I’m guessing I have roughly 100 pounds of hay. I go through about 10-ish pounds in a month. I’ll probably go through more now that I found some so cheaply, hurray for not worrying about hay waste!


                • vanessa
                  Participant
                  2212 posts Send Private Message

                    I think I go through 2 bales a year. 4 bunnies. I keep them in a large plastic bin in the garage. No lid or holes. I keep a dehumidifier running year round int he garage. Humidity stays between 50-70 percent. I have those large camel crickets int he garage, and every now and again, one of them hitches a ride into the house when I bring in hay. The hay stores fine though.


                  • BB & Tiny
                    Participant
                    637 posts Send Private Message

                      Oh okay, that is small bales. It is a nice feeling to not need to scrimp on hay. I’ve had my bale for two months and not even made a dent in the box of hay.


                    • vanessa
                      Participant
                      2212 posts Send Private Message

                        Those bales last FOREVER. Compressed or not – there’s a lot of hay in a bale. And at $8 a pop, I’d rather by bales then packaged hay. I use it for their food and bedding (on top of the bedding pellets and puppy pee pad). I change it out every day. I might go through a little more hay now that all 4 bunnies are inside. They ate a lot of grass while they were outside.


                      • Rhian
                        Participant
                        51 posts Send Private Message

                          So far it looks like my Rubbermaid containers are doing their job! We had some decent rain here, and I just went out to refill the hay bucket and it was still super dry and I didn’t look like any water had managed to seep its way in.

                          In other news, I may have severely underestimated my guinea pigs’ ability to eat hay when they like it. I would guess I’ve gone through at least five pounds of hay in one week, my hay may end up only lasting me six months at this rate!

                          I hope I can find hay this good again next year! Super low on weeds, not too dusty and everyone seems to like it.


                        • Dalielah
                          Participant
                          48 posts Send Private Message

                            I keep mine in an open untreated wooden box in my garage. We’re in south Florida, it’s really humid, so I get a new bale every few months just to be safe. Every now and then I find a lizard on my hay, but that’s it. Haha

                        Viewing 10 reply threads
                        • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                        Forum DIET & CARE Storing Hay Bales