Hay Racks that can’t be pooped in??

[Alicia]

Ok I’m at my wits end here…Thumper is doing really well with his litter training..except that he thinks anywhere where there is hay is a great place to poop and pee as well..I already took the hay and put it in a rack which I hooked to the wall, that’s all that I needed to do for Tucker and Drue to solve this problem..but Thumper is so little and spry that he jumps right into the rack on the wall and poops and pees in it!  I’m wasting so much hay this way!  I’ve seen those hay balls but I’ve read that those aren’t that great because the hay doesn’t come out of them too well..I’ve also seen those hay bins at Petsmart and the Hay balls that spin..has anyone tried any of those? Or have any other ideas for a hay rack that can’t be sat in??

[Deleted User]

Here is one I got recently. It’s very sturdy and they really cannot get inside it. it’s smalll when you have several bunnies so I might buy a couple more.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm

Is this the one you meant? It’s by Superpet, and I tried it but found the spaces too small for my rabbits to pull out the hay.

 

[Alicia]

Oooh and the bars on that one are wide enough to get the hay through? I only have one bun in the condo that’s having the issue…the other two don’t have the pooping  in the hay problem lol so I think just one would be enough.

[Barbie]

I was googling hay rack ideas and this came up! There are some pretty good ideas on there, ones that I might try  =) https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/ta…fault.aspx

The hay rack I bought was from Petsmart – and I’m pretty sure it’s the same one youre talking about.  It’s a plastic one and fits on the outside of the cage, so you can hang it next to his litter box, but outside, so there’s no way he can jump in: http://www.petsmart.com/product/ind…4646  It did alright, but was kinda of small, and hay spilled out of the bottom all the time.  I fixed this buy wedging a rectangular piece of cardboard between the cage bottom and the cage sides, below the hay rack, to act as a place to catch the hay.  Then I  scooped it up and dumped it back in.  However, I’ve given up on it because it was too small and because Leroy is hardly ever in his cage anyway.  If you don’t mind refilling every so often, that might be a good solution for you, or get two. I just put some hay in the corner of his litter boxes and Leroy sits in the opposite end and munches and poos away – though that’s probably not your solution, since it sounds like Thumper enjoys pooping ON the hay.

I’m not sure that the hay ball is a good solution, simply because it takes up floor space… though I suppose you could hang it..

[Barbie]

I didn’t look at the link that petzy had posted before I replied, but that was the type of hay rack that I initially wanted. It looks like it’ll keep things at least somewhat tidy. I havent been able to find one in a store though.

[Deleted User]

Here is mine attached. The bars are 1″ apart. All my rabbits of different sizes can get to the hay through the bars.

If you go to my link posted previously, I think you can order it there online, too.

[Alicia]

OOoh I like that in that picture so much better then the site’s picture..yes I think that will definitely work!  Thanks  I’m going to order one this Friday (payday) so I guess I’ll just have to make frequent hay changes until then lol

 

 

[Alicia]

Barbie, I like that one from that link that’s a basket tied with the bottom of the basket facing into the cage..that might work for us if I can find a basket like that.  I have it right now as a plastic basket that’s zip tied to the side like the first picture of the basket in that link….but he just jumps right in it LOL..so if I could find a wide spaced one like that I could just tie it like that…so I guess I’ll hunt for one of those before ordering on Friday..that way I might be able to get it without waiting for shipping and for a lot cheaper..

I wanted to see the toilet paper holder idea on that thread but the picture wouldn’t show..I was wondering what kind of toilet paper holder it was….hmmm maybe I’ll just walk thorugh the bathroom accessories section at target and bed bath and beyond lol

[Sarita]

I always have such terrible luck with hay racks that I’ve ended up just putting the hay in the litter boxes just to one side and it works pretty good for the majority of my rabbits. Alot of people don’t like doing this though but I just keep putting fresh hay on top and yes, it’s wasteful but it doesn’t take up any space and I don’t have to worry about the hay spilling out like Barbie mentioned too. I bought a really really nice one from Rabbit Haven that I just loved but my rabbit’s were quite a thrilled.

[Barbie]

Alicia, here’s the picture skibunny posted with the toilet paper rack.  I dont think that it would work for you, since the top is still open.  Maybe you can fashion some sort of lid from a piece of cardboard and some of those binder clips thingys (I use binder clips everywhere, and they work great for keeping cage doors shut!)

 

Good luck finding something that works for you!

[Deleted User]

Skibunny’s newly adopted rabbit Sandy illustrated the bathroom tissue holder as a hay bin not long ago….

[Alicia]

I tried doing that in Thumper’s cage Sarita. Before I added the basket of hay hanging on the wall I put the hay in the one corner of the litter box and he immediately goes in and spreads it all out and poops and pees on it.  I even gave him a nice new big litter box thinking it was because he didn’t have enough space..but nope..he just spreads it out and poops on top.  I’m finding that I’m wasting almost ALL of the hay I give him this way.  What I do is hang the basket with the hay over the litter box, that way when it does fall it’s contained, but they have at least a chance to eat it without it being dirty.  This works out great for Tucker and Drue, but Thumper..he’s just too curious and jumpy for his own good LOL..I even put it up pretty high thinking he would realize it’s not a place to sit but nope…HOP..right in!  He’s such a silly bunny and he’s doing amazingly well with his litter training considering he had no litter box at the pet store..but he just sees hay as litter.

[Alicia]

Haha omg yes ..that picture is exactly what Thumper would be doing in that holder! LOL..

I do however like that for my toilet tissue in my kids bathroom….hmmmmmm LOL  I think I’ll still be on a hunt for that..but for different reasons!

[Deleted User]

Hay is a litter material in a sense, an edible litter material. They need to have hay in their litter boxes to munch, wasteful as it seems. I just like to also offer a clean supply and the rack with the closed top is the best I had so far.

[Deleted User]

Alicia, if you are using a basket that he can jump in right now, maybe you could attach it to the outside of his condo/cage for him to eat from.

[Alicia]

Well I put it right above the litter box, so they do have the hay to munch while they go, and inevitably some falls in shortly after it’s filled so there is some in there pretty much at all times..for instance I loaded Tucker and Drue’s this afternoon and then after that I changed their water and tidied their area a little bit..by the time I was done they were already in the litter box and hay was in there..so it’s not as if they don’t get hay in there, I just like the majority of it to be where he’s not going to poop all over it   So I definitely think a closed top holder is the way to go for us too!  At least for Thumper, the other two do pretty well with theirs..I have a treat hay rack which holds the mint timothy mix up pretty high where they have to reach up for it and then I have their main timothy supply down at their litter box at a level where it meets their heads perfectly when they’re in their litter box and it works out awesomely for them.  It’s amazing how much different Thumper is from Drue and Tucker! I know each bunny has their own personality but it’s all new to me because Tucker and Drue have always acted pretty similiar, they each have the same habits and routines..Thumper is just completely different then them in almost every sense!

[Alicia]

I was thinking about that too Petzy, just putting it on the outside..the only thing I was worried about was if the grids would be big enough that he could pull it through.  Thumper doesn’t really like to eat hay that much so I fear that if he really has to work at it he just won’t eat it.  I think I’m just going to have to deal until Friday when I can either order that one from DFS or find a basket like that one that I can hook with the bottom side pointing in so that he can easily get the hay but can’t get IN it..

[KatnipCrzy]

If you are looking for the wire basket type I foind mine at Meijer- a local grocery/general merchandise store.  It was in the kitchen aisle next to sink mats, dish drainers, etc.  I think it is used for some type of kitchen organization.  It was 4.99.

At first I had the hay baskets in the NIC pens open side up- but Cotton immediately learned to jump in to eat and poo and pee right in the fresh supply of hay.  I always throw a handful in the litterbox too- but it is nice to have a fresh supply that I know is not soiled for them to eat at all times.  Schroeder immediately digs all of his hay out into the litterbox- but it gives him something to do so I don’t mind too much.  If you have 3 bunnies depending on your space for storage you might consider buying a bale of hay (horse hay/timothy/grasss hay).  I use that as the majority for my bunnies and one bale lasts for 4-5 months and I don’t stress about the amount I am having to throw away from Schroeder emptying his bin.  I also give a handful of “treat hay” every couple of days that they then gobble down also.  My bunnies love all the hays I have tried from BinkyBunny.

I store my bale of hay in my garage- I wrapped it in an old cotton blanket to keep it clean and dry and put it in our wheelbarrow to keep it off the floor (since our car tires can bring in water or slush/snow/ice in the winter).  I just refill a bin inside about every week or so.

 

[Deleted User]

Another thing that came to mind, is those wire balls. You could hang one right above his litter box so any hay will fall into the right place while still providing him with a clean hay supply. Plus, they cost a lot less than the closed rack. Here are some pictures from another thread.

https://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/a…fault.aspx

[Alicia]

Do you get a big bale or a mini bale like in the BB store?  I don’t know where to get a big bale that I would trust to be fresh..There are some farms around here but I would worry that it’d be mildewy or something.  I was thinking about ordering a mini bale from BB though since I thought that might last longer, right now I buy the big bag of Kaytee hay and that’s I think 14.99 for the 96 oz one and 8.49 for the 48 oz one though, so not sure if I’d be saving anything there.

 

I’m definitely going to look around and see if I can find something like that basket in the organization/kitchen section of the stores around here. 

[FluffyBunny]

Right now I use this hay rack – http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp

It holds a lot of hay and I don’t think a bunny could jump into it.

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Ill have to take a picture of mine soon, thistle too jumped into his hay bin and pooped, I kept finding poop in their hay! SO I made a thingy to go ontop like a triangle, so that he cannot even jump on top of the hay bin, I really have to take a picture, but my sister stole the camera and went to England…

[Deleted User]

You want to hear something funny? When I first got my mini rex Lint I wasn’t well supplied in the rabbit department, but I wanted to confine his hay in some way… I resolved to hanging a giant professional-size wire whisk from his gate, stuffed with hay– looked weird!

[Barbie]

Haha, Petzy, I’m sure it did look funny, but I bet it worked!?

[Battie]

Posted By Barbie on 08/11/2009 11:47 AM

I was googling hay rack ideas and this came up! There are some pretty good ideas on there, ones that I might try  =) https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/ta…fault.aspx

The hay rack I bought was from Petsmart – and I’m pretty sure it’s the same one youre talking about.  It’s a plastic one and fits on the outside of the cage, so you can hang it next to his litter box, but outside, so there’s no way he can jump in: http://www.petsmart.com/product/ind…4646  It did alright, but was kinda of small, and hay spilled out of the bottom all the time.  I fixed this buy wedging a rectangular piece of cardboard between the cage bottom and the cage sides, below the hay rack, to act as a place to catch the hay.  Then I  scooped it up and dumped it back in.  However, I’ve given up on it because it was too small and because Leroy is hardly ever in his cage anyway.  If you don’t mind refilling every so often, that might be a good solution for you, or get two. I just put some hay in the corner of his litter boxes and Leroy sits in the opposite end and munches and poos away – though that’s probably not your solution, since it sounds like Thumper enjoys pooping ON the hay.

I’m not sure that the hay ball is a good solution, simply because it takes up floor space… though I suppose you could hang it..

I have that same purple rack.  If you zip-tie it to the cage through the holes in the hooks it won’t spill out the bottom any more.  I think it only spilled so much because it’s very easily bumped with just those loose plastic tabs to hook it on.

[Barbie]

Battie, I never even thought of using zip ties.. hmm leroy might be getting his hay rack again. I hate that becasue I just put the hay in his box I have to waste so much with all the soiled litter. Anyone have any suggestions for “hay racks” outside of the cage? Leroy spends most of his time out of his cage now – he’s only in there for bed time, so I need a better way to give him hay by his litter boxes in the other rooms.

Funny story, as I was typing this, I typed “his other rooms” then had to edit it when I re-read my post… It’s official, Leroy has taken complete control, and my house will hence forward be known as “King Leroy’s Domain”… Lol. Too bad he can’t pay the bills too…

 

[Deleted User]

Someone on the forum, I beieve it was kytkattin used empty Kleenex boxes for hay. That might work if you need a hay supply but have no grid to attach it to.

[Alicia]

Well I think I found a solution!  I was at Petco yesterday and they had a jumbo treat basket ball which is like the little one that Petsmart has that’s too little for hay to fit thorugh it but is HUGE and it has big spaces through it..I can’t actually imagine what it could hold except hay..the spaces are pretty far apart, anyway it works perfectly for hay and I hung it above his litter box so this way he gets to eat his hay where he likes to..but I don’t have to worry about him peeing on it. 

 

I also found that he likes to pull hay out from toilet paper holders, and in fact if I put the hay in the toilet paper holder he is so intrigued by the fun of it that he actually eats much more hay then he would otherwise!  So, works for me!  The kids now have instructions that whenever a roll is empty to bring it in and put it in Thumper’s supply basket LOL

[Alicia]

Oh and I forgot to mention..the treat ball was on clearance for $2.18!

[Barbie]

Yay glad to hear you found a solution!

[Monkeybun]

I tried the toilet paper tube thing with Monkey, as I rememebred when I was little Mom gave them to our bun Rambo. He loved em. Moneky couldn’t be bothered with tem. So we ahve a couple shopping bags full of toilet paper rolls gathering dust lol. Oh wells

[skibunny8503]

Posted By Petzy on 08/11/2009 12:17 PM

Skibunny’s newly adopted rabbit Sandy illustrated the bathroom tissue holder as a hay bin not long ago….

 

LOL Yes I am having the same problem with Sandy!  The toliet paper holder that is bigger (seen in the other pic) works great with Archie and Gracie, too tall for them to jump into.  But I was using the smaller one with Sandy and she is ALWAYS going in it!  I was just telling my husband that we have to figure something out because it’s starting to smell because she keeps peeing in it!  She’s actually bigger now and still insists on going in (thought she would stop once she hardly fits in, but she gets her butt in there somehow).  I like the box idea, I think we’ll try that today!  I’ve tried that purple plastic hay rack before when I first got Archie and I didn’t care for it because the hay kept coming out from the bottom and it just didn’t hold to much hay.  I’ve tried to find a wire box but haven’t had any luck yet.  I hope the box works…watch she’ll probably lift her legs up and pee through the bars just to make me mad

[skibunny8503]

Posted By Petzy on 08/12/2009 12:43 PM
Someone on the forum, I beieve it was kytkattin used empty Kleenex boxes for hay. That might work if you need a hay supply but have no grid to attach it to.

I tried that for fun as a toy but you have to be careful or else this might happen : 

We just made a new hay box for Sandy!  We just zip tied an empty box to the outside of it and made a hole on top for easy access, looks great!  Hope she uses it ok.  We were thinking about putting a top on the tolet paper holder but with our luck she’d still jump on it and possibly jump outside the cage   I think once (or hopefully) they’re all bonded and in one cage, we’re going to get a giant paper box that will go across 2 grids and zip tie it as the hay bin because we’ll have 2 litter boxes next to each other.  

[Barbie]

hahaha skibunny, that is so funny!!! i love how his buddy came to help! i use kleenex too! but I bought some puffs, for the different box opening, I figured it might be easier for Leroy to get his head in – and out! I haven’t tried it yet though.

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Funny story, as I was typing this, I typed “his other rooms” then had to edit it when I re-read my post… It’s official, Leroy has taken complete control,

Haha Barbie, Fern and Thistle live in my bedroom and me and my mom and dad often refer to it as the ‘Bunny room!’
I know how you feel!

[Author]

Messages