Most efficient way to feed hay…

[Florida_Bunnies]

I know there has been a lot of discussion on hay racks, are they the most efficient way to feed hay? I have a feed “bin” (as it was called at the pet store) but Nibbler seems to refuse to eat his hay out of it, he likes his hay closer to the ground. Would a low basket (willow perhaps?) be better to put his hay in? Lately I’ve been just placing his hay on the bottom of his cage and he likes it best that way, but it seems like we waste a lot of hay because I end up cleaning it out because I’m not sure what is fresh and what is old hay. =/ Any tips/suggestions?

[LoveChaCha]

I really love peeled willow baskets! Not only is it a good place to put hay but it doubles as a chew toy

If you have old hay, put it with the new and kind of shake it, blend it in with the new hay

[lashkay]

Don’t know if you’ve checked  the other threads – your hay routine, from …. – etc. but I still am finding both Petie and Dustor spend hours picking hay out of the mini-horse hay bag that keeps it tidy behind the nylon net cords. Very easy to use, just cram the hay in and tie one on! LOL  I got mine on eBay under the title, but if you wish I can check into where else they’re available. Horse and tack supplies places and places that sell horse hay probably have them too.

 

[LoveChaCha]

Wow Lashkay, brilliant!

[Monkeybun]

the only problem i could forsee with that is if you have a chewer. I just pile my hay in their litter boxes, works fine for them. And then it just gets emptied with the litter.

[lashkay]

Fear not, my buns do not chew on the nylon cords of the net haybag – they’re really tough and sturdy. They do chew the hay. lol Problem solved! Seriously, it’s great cause finally FINALY, hay isn’t being wasted and ending up scattered all over the floor for the sweepers. Before, I did what you do, Monkeybun.

Thank you, LoveChaCha…I was pretty desperate to try ANYTHING that wouldn’t waste hay. About at the end of my rope! I typed in “hay” on eBay and when these came up, I couldn’t wait to try them ($8 shipped free)! There’s no turning back for me now.

[Monkeybun]

My Moose would see that bag as a challenge hehe

[lashkay]

MB: You won’t know til you’ve tried! But, I know what you mean, after my bunnies have put me through a fright by attacking hard plastic and linoleum, it’s easy to assume that nylon cords would be DA-da-DA-da – another challenge! LOL All I can do is hold out my hope as long as they’ll let me. Personally, I don’t care for the taste of hay, when little wisps of it in the air have landed on my tongue BLEH! But I wonder what in the world constitutes a rabbit’s taste buds when linoleum, hard plastic and plastic bags, carpet, pet beds, etc. are found to be just as “tasty?” as hay, pellets, or a banana! How can they stand it? I promise I’ll report back at the first sight of chewing of the nylon netting, if it happens.

[Molzy]

I got one of the hay racks from http://www.leithpetwerks.com, and I LOVE it! It hangs on the side of the cage with eye hooks, so I can grab it out when it’s empty and then fill it with hay over the bin I keep hay in, which is way less messy than how I used to do it (tranferring the hay by hand from the bin to his litterbox). It also keeps the hay off the floor of the litterbox, which seems more sanitary to me. I got the smaller hay rack that they offer, and it gives Riley (3.5lbs) about 2-3 days worth of hay if I pack it in well.

The one I got it this one: http://www.leithpetwerks.com/prodpage.cfm?prod_code=HH125

It came with two extra slats to replace the slats as he chews them, but he has been ignoring them so far in favor of eating hay. I keep Riley in a dog crate, and it hangs really nicely on the bars.

I can take a picture of him using it tonight when I get home.

[Kate Monster]

Kate and Spence are incredibly silly about their hay, they like it to be challenging. I stuff a basket with hay and they enjoy shoving their heads all the way inside instead of eating the hay on top, to be sure, they also throw the basket around (usually into the water dish) and eat the basket sometimes which can be messy, but they do that a lot less than I thought they would. They also really like it when I put hay on top of their house so they can eat when they jump up there. Those are the only two places that they will consistently eat the hay. It has to be game or a happy surprise when they find it, they are silly bunnies. And they both agree with each other about where the hay should be. I really think there’s a bunny conspiracy going on in my apartment, I have yet to find anything that one will like and the other does not. But I scoop up the hay that they toss around and won’t eat and put it on top of the litter box so it doesn’t get wasted.

[Monkeybun]

Lash: Moose likes going for shoelaces when he is out playing… he’d probably thing that bag is a big pile of shoelaces tied together just waiting for him silly little man

[lashkay]

MB: Oh, yeah, then, I can see your reasoning. Good point! I’ll keep an eye on them.

[RabbitPam]

lashkay: that’s a very cool thing. One question – are those holes small, like NIC cube holes, or large enough for a baby face to get stuck in? Just wondering about a choking hazard – if it should be only for fully grown, and maybe not micro-sized bunnies. Otherwise, I like it.

[RabbitPam]

Sammy, like ChaCha, eats from a peeled willow basket.

[lashkay]

RabbitPam – Good point! 2 minds are better than one, apparently! Looking at the holes, I would say that when a baby bunny grows to a certain age it might be possible for them to get their heads stuck. So for babies to young buns, I wouldn’t take the chance and would feed hay out of something else for them. For my 6 and 11 monthers, though, I have no worries though. The hay mass essentially “adheres” to and bulges against the netting and the rabbit only has to stick his tooth against it to pick off a piece of hay. The hay seems to stay packed tightly against the netting even as the hay is picked out and the bag slowly contracts so it seems to me that it would be hard even for a baby or young bunny to get its head past the outer surface of the hay. But as I said, I probably wouldn’t chance it with them, nonetheless. They’re really great though and for $8 are definitely worth having around for when the bunny is of age to use it. I definitely wouldn’t give an empty haybag to a baby though, especially with their tendency to squirm and panic if caught. Thanks for raising this point. We want our bunnies to use their haybags in good health and sans tragique.

[lashkay]

Sorry, RabbitPam, I didn’t answer your question fully – I measured with a tape measure and the holes are 2″x 2″ of the so-called MINI-horse hay bag nets I got. Made for miniature horses, ponies, and goats – and now, rabbits!

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