Hay trouble suggestions

[Stickerbunny]

Ok I FINALLY got Stickers eating hay regularly. Powder loves hay. Should be problem solved, right? Wrong. Since they have bonded, they have started pooping as they eat hay, before they bonded they never did that and their hay was left on cardboard sheets on the ground for easy clean up. Well, now they have decided if the hay is there it means it’s a litter area. Which is weird, because I don’t put their hay in the litter box …

So I clean everything up, move their hay into their litter boxes (in a clean way). Does that work? No. They REFUSE to eat it if it’s IN a litterbox. So fine.. hay holder near the litter box. Nope, again they refuse to eat it. So I put it into a cardboard box since it’d be easier to clean out the box every day than vacuum up the floor and I can replace it when it gets too soiled. Stickers won’t go in the box to eat. So I clean out the bottom of a pet store cage I have and set their hay up in that, Stickers came in the cage and she doesn’t mind going in there… well, now she’s decided she won’t go in there to eat, so that isn’t working either.

I’m out of ideas. If the hay is out, it’s litter, but if it’s in a box or ANYTHING Ms. Picky refuses to eat it. If she doesn’t have her hay available the way SHE likes it, she chews everything her teeth can get ahold of (including me, she bit me pretty hard today on the knee o.O).

Is there any type of hay holding solution you guys use that she could be more tolerable to? She likes her hay on the ground, not in anything, so I can’t think of anything that would mimic that but put the droppings back in the box where they belong.

[TriBun]

Ugh, sounds like you’ve been through the wringer on this one. What about one of those grass mats? You know, the sea-grass mats or Timothy hay mats, like the ones in the BB store. I used one of these with a rubber mat underneath it when I was having mobility issues with Rosy. The rubber mat is one of those you’re supposed to put under dog or cat food bowls to keep any spilled food or water contained. I found mine at Walmart, it has a little lip on it to keep liquid from running. You might not need the rubber mat (I had to use it because Rosy would also pee while she ate her hay), but I really liked the grass mats, it’s flat so Stickers might think she’s on the ground. After they eat you just pick up the mat, dump it in the trash, and put it back.

It’s probably not the best idea (you’ve already tried all of those), but it’s an option. *shrug*

[tobyluv]

I give my bunnies their hay on quilted cotton place mats. It’s almost like eating on the ground. Mine don’t chew on the mats, but if your bunnies are bad chewers, you may not want to use the cotton place mats. They are washable, which is good for me, since one of my bunnies often pees on the hay. I also use the cotton place mats to give them their veggies.

[Stickerbunny]

lol yeah Tribun – I tried a bunch of things Stickers is SO picky, getting her to eat hay has been a battle ongoing since I got her

I’ll try a mat with something under it – she did start peeing on the area in between cleanings because it smells like her litter box *sigh* she’s not a big chewer, but she is a huge digger and anything on the ground means “dig” to her, but maybe I can find something she will accept without kicking it out of the way lol she’s already destroyed the carpet in her room so it’s not like she can hurt anything if she does dig it.

[Author]

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