Holy Hay Batman!

[Alicia]

O M freakin G..what have I gotten myself into????  I just bought a bale of hay from a feed store this weekend because it was only 6.99 and will last a lot longer then those little bags from the store do..it LOOKED like it’d fit in a rubbermaid container that we had..omg were we wrong..WAYYYY wrong.  We’ve since bought an extra of the HUGE rubbermaid  containers and they are now both stocked full plus we have a smaller rubbermaid container in under Thumper’s condo and then we have a big garbage bag full of it that I think we’re going to use to make a scarecrow with on Monday afternoon because we just have WAY too much hay. 

Right now the two huge rubbermaid containers are in Shaina’s room next to the rabbit cage stacked on top of each other.  The bottom one doesn’t close because it’s way too full so I have a horse blanket covering both of them to keep the hay contained.

I hate having all this in her room though.  If it is outside would it get infested by bugs do you think??  What about heat/humidity?  The only place I could put it would be our utility room but it’s not air conditioned, it’s just the room where the laundry machines are.  Would it do ok out there if I left the tops off the rubbermaid containers and just laid the horse blanket over top?

Any other ideas of what I can do with this never ending mountain of hay?? 

[RabbitPam]

The scarecrow is an excellent idea.

Do you prefer to keep it all, or would you consider donating some of it to a local shelter for their bunnies? I know you just paid for it, but at that price, it may be worth it to pare it down somewhat.

[Sarita]

Well, do you really think you are going to be able to use it all? Do you only have one rabbit? For $6.99 if you don’t use it all then I think you will still be okay and hopefully won’t feel too guilty since it’s so inexpensive. After all Halloween is coming up and maybe you can use some to decorate too. You can also use it in your garden as mulch.

I think it’s fine too if it’s not in an air conditioned place – as long as it’s contained. They don’t keep the hay in air conditioned places anyway when they store it (hay farmers). So I think that would be fine too.

[Alicia]

I was actually thinking of bringing one of the rubbermaid containers to the horse farm that Shaina takes lessons at and donate it to them.  I was thinking about a rabbit rescue but the nearest one to us is over an hour away and we don’t go down there too often because of the cost of gas and wear and tear on our already worn and torn car.  But I need to call the feed store and see if they carry this year round.  It was so cheap because it’s local coastal hay.  If it won’t be available again then I’ll need to make this last.

[Sarita]

The horse place sound like a great idea to me. But yes find out first about availability.

[Alicia]

We have three rabbits..but I’m still not sure if I will be able to use it all because I’m not sure how long it normally lasts before going bad if it’s stored properly. 

[RabbitPam]

I thought of a horse farm too, actually.
Also, you might consider storing it in smaller, linen/cotton bags so the air can breathe a bit, which should help it last. No AC sounds fine, it’s more the humidity than the warmth that gets to it.

[Sarita]

Honestly I’m not sure since I’ve never bought a bale because I was afraid of the same problem you are now having and I have 9 rabbits :~) I know MooBunnay has bought bales – maybe she will answer this and can give you more of an idea of how long it lasts her – she also has 9 rabbits I believe.

[Alicia]

I’m fairly certain that even if I gave the horse farm one of the containers full I’d still have enough to last until next year.  The bale is MUCH bigger then it looked at the store!

 

Any idea where I could find cheap linen/cloth bags?  That’d probably be a really good idea because then if I do keep them in the laundry room I could just bring up a bag of it as I finish a bag, it’d make the transportation up the stairs with it really easy  

 

 Maybe I could sew some out of old sheets… I’m just not all that handy LOL

 

I’m kind of worried about the humidity outside too since we live in coastal Carolina, so it’s pretty humid here some days.  I’m really wishing we had a large closet right now lol

[Alicia]

I was just reading that hay shouldn’t be in plastic containers..is this true even if they’re not closed?  I could take the tops off of them and just put a blanket/sheet over each one and stack them that way..but I don’t know if I could find cardboard boxes big enough to hold all this   I really think I’ve gotten in way over my head with this bale! LOL

[Sarita]

I think the plastic containers are fine as long as there is circulation for the air.

[Barbie]

Yikes! I had that same problem with the bale of hay I bought a couple weeks ago… Those suckers have a tendency to expand when you cut the bailing twine =P I too was amazed at how much hay I now have. I mean, I’ve been riding and caring for horses for years (haven’t in a couple years cus of college) so I knew about how big a square bale is, but when you look at the amount of hay that even the most voracious hay eater (bunny) consumes in a day compared to the mountain of hay you now have sitting in the middle of the room, it’s a bit overwhelming. I found that I was able to squish 3 or so flakes of hay into a 14 gallon Rubbermaid tub, and then 6 or 7 into big cardboard boxes, so in all I have the plastic tub (which I’ll be feeding out of first) and then two cardboard boxes of hay to store. One I’m keeping in a hall closet, the other in my parent’s garage. So we’ll see how that works out. I may end up donating one of the boxes to my local rabbit rescue.

As for the boxes, I’m using two boxes that originally hold a ton of paper towels that you can buy at Sam’s club. I would try going into a grocery store and asking if they have any large boxes you can have.

[Beka27]

I am a little concerned about the laundry room idea… our laundry room always smells strongly of detergent and fabric softener, I’d be worried that the smell might get into the hay somehow… maybe, maybe not… what does everyone else think?

[Alicia]

Mine doesn’t but it’s an outside room, and the door to it is almost always open, so it gets a lot of fresh air

[luvmybunny]

I was considering buying a bale of hay actually….I go through a lot of hay! Two bunnies and two chinchillas! I think the storage containers will be fine for storage, too. Donating it would be nice too. Good luck with your scarecrow – you’ll have to post pics!

[Alicia]

I’m thinking of using some as litter too instead of buying litter…just putting down some newspaper for easy changes and then laying down some hay..they love pooping on hay..they always pull it out of the hay rack and poop on it so I figure I might as well make it easier for them!

[Deleted User]

If you give the excess hay to the horse farm, could you make a deal with them to supply you in case you do run out?

[Deb'sBuns]

I buy a bale at a time with 5 rabbits. I keep it in plastic bags with holes in it in the garage and it does fine. But I also have 4 guinea pigs.
I go through alot of hay. A bale usually lasts me a few months.

[Alicia]

It does good even in the summer out there?  I’d MUCH rather store it out in my laundry room..which is similiar to a garage as it’s only ventilated by the door and it is an outside room!.  If I could get at least one of the buckets out there that’d be awesome..I hate having these big massive container’s in Shaina’s room!    And I know MIke could drill some holes…what about pests though?? That’d be my biggest concern..that spiders would make their home in it..eww

 

And I’m not sure about making a deal with them….I just started the lessons for Shaina there last week and it’s a group of people who own the property and keep their horses there so I don’t know who I’d even need to talk to and I’m not sure how I’d approach asking them without feeling awkward.

[Crazyt123]

Posted By Alicia on 09/13/2009 02:06 PM

I’m thinking of using some as litter too instead of buying litter…just putting down some newspaper for easy changes and then laying down some hay..they love pooping on hay..they always pull it out of the hay rack and poop on it so I figure I might as well make it easier for them!

 

This is what I do! Fill the litter trays and then some hay racks with it!

But I never have to worry bout having to much or running out, Speically now that I got my Show Heifer! XD

 

 

Also you could get a metal barrel , thats what we use at the barn  the hay stays fresher longer then in rubbermaids.

[Monkeybun]

You could always just wrap upa pile in those old sheets you mentioned, fabric is fairly breathable, and if you just wrap it nice, you won’t have to do any sewing AND if its wrapped nice and good, you might not have to worry about too many pests getting in it.

[RachelB]

I just bought a big wicker laundry basket (1ft by 1 1/2ft by 3ft tall) from Walmart. You can fit about 1/3 to 1/2 a bale in there. The other half bale is in a box sitting in the shed. Having so much hay is WONDERFUL!! I never worry about putting lots in their litterbox, or sweeping up hay messes from them eating. I hated having big boxes sitting around my living room bc I felt like it looked like I was still moving into my apartment (unless of course they are cut up for bunny houses). The wicker basket has lots of air circulation and looks good too!

[bunnytowne]

YEp  those bales go forever.    Where to store them. 

I got a very compacted bale to.  It is in 2 containers and I am ordering another 30 lbs of mountain hay too.   I can put part in a big storage container  yep another one  and the rest in the bag under the bed.   lol

Yep you won’t have to worry abou thay for a long time.   Hay hay everywhere   Join the gang lol

[KatnipCrzy]

I store apple sticks that I get from my Grandmothers orchard in pillowcases- so that could be a cheap solution.  They are breathable and washable and you might have some old ones laying around.

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