hay holders

patches2593 · Jun 29, 2012

so i need a new hay holder. the cage is made of nic cubes by the way.

he destroyed the last one and the holders at the store are to small and make a mess.

please give me ideas, this is stressing me out because every new holder i make he just ruins it and makes a mess out of the hay and it becomes trash cuz he usually puts it in his litter box or etc

thanks !!!!!!!

mdith4him · Jun 29, 2012

For Nibbles, we just use a paper bag. He likes it better than any of the store-bought holders we've tried. We've used anything from large grocery paper bags to slightly smaller ones that have come with orders from Starbucks or Panera. For Junie, we have a shoe box with holes cut in it. We attached it to the NIC cage wall with zip ties. I'll see if I can post a picture here in a few minutes.

Both of these are slightly messy, but I think anything you try will be messy. Rabbits just seem to love spreading their hay everywhere

mdith4him · Jun 29, 2012

OK, here are the pictures:

Junie's hay holder (top with holes):

(Back. We secured the lid with zip ties, too.)

(Top)

I literally JUST cleaned out her pen area, so that's why it's fairly neat! It won't look like that by tomorrow

Here's Nibbles' bag (that hasn't been cleaned out today!):

Korr_and_Sophie · Jun 29, 2012

I use CD racks as hay racks. They are kind of V shaped, so work well to hold hay. I either use S hooks or zip ties (depends on the bunnies) to attach it to the cage. I do put some cardboard or coroplast behind it to help keep the hay more contained.

I know some people use under shelf racks, this would make it a bit harder for them to pull out all the hay and make a big mess, but still make it easy enough to eat the hay.

You could also bend an NIC grid into a U shape or a circle and then attach it to the cage.

Cardboard boxes can work too and are easy enough to replace when they get chewed up.

slavetoabunny · Jun 29, 2012

I have grates in all of my litterboxes and just serve the hay in there. The grates prevent the hay from getting mixed up with the litter.

Blue eyes · Jun 30, 2012

A few rabbits ago, I did away with hay racks. I put the hay directly in the litter box. Here's a photo of mine at its worst.

And this is what the cage looks like from a distance.

Paddy Ohara · Jun 30, 2012

We use an empty pizza box. She doesn't drag the hay out like she did in everything else I tried and she can close the lid when she wants which seems fun to her.

Sweetie · Jun 30, 2012

This is what I use to give Sweetie and Pudden their hay: Sweetie has a blue one and Pudden has a purple one:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753304

They come in three colors I believe, blue, purple, and green.

Blue eyes · Jun 30, 2012

I'm not crazy about those hay wheels -- at least not as a primary way to feed hay. It is just too much work for bunny to get it out. It's fine as a toy, similar to stuffing a paper towel tube with hay (which mine love). But if that was the only way for them to get hay, they'd barely eat any.

The more hay bunny eats, the better. Mine can eat the equivalent of 2 of their body-size-amounts every day.

Apebull · Jul 1, 2012

I simple took an empty gallon jug and cut it in half. We just stick the hay in it and he pretty much leaves it in there. If it gets too low he tips it over to its side and keeps eating.

mdith4him · Jul 1, 2012

Yeah, Junie will dig out the hay at the bottom of her shoe box to get it. Or just dig for fun. Either way it ends up in a pile in front of the box

With the gallon jug, are the edges sharp? Or is there something you do to sand them down somehow?

Sweetie · Jul 6, 2012

Blue eyes: my rabbits love the hay wheels that they have. They eat all the hay that is in it and I refill it. They don't have a hard time getting the hay out. They both eat all the hay and there is very little left over. If I just gave them hay in the cage, most of it would be uneatten and wasted. I love the hay wheels for my rabbits and they love them too. Yes I have it as a primary way to feed hay.

Blue eyes · Jul 6, 2012

Sweetie, I'm glad your bunnies are happy. If I used those hay wheels, I'd have to refill it a minimum of 8 times per day for all the hay mine eat.I just don't see how they can get enough hay.

I'm ok with a certain amount of "wasted" hay if I know they are getting plenty of it. I buy it by the bale anyway. My $24 bale I've been using for almost 4 months and it will probably last me the whole year (it so compressed!)

ukcarolm · Jul 6, 2012

I've made a 'net' out of untreated sisal for the hay and I also put hay in Winnie and Doris' litter box for them. I'll try and take a photo tomorrow for you, at the moment its late and pouring with heavy rain!

theliia · Jul 6, 2012

Hey, so I am new to this hole thing so this really has nothing to do with hay holders sorry! I'm just not sure how to post a question.
So, my bunny is 6 and a half weeks old and I need to know when I should first take Thumper to the vets? And approximately how much it will cost, not that it matters but it would be nice to know.
PLEASE HELP ME!:?

SweetPeasMom · Jul 6, 2012

theliia wrote:

Hey, so I am new to this hole thing so this really has nothing to do with hay holders sorry! I'm just not sure how to post a question.
So, my bunny is 6 and a half weeks old and I need to know when I should first take Thumper to the vets? And approximately how much it will cost, not that it matters but it would be nice to know.
PLEASE HELP ME!:?

Hi and welcome!!

Depending on his/her genetic makeup, a rabbit will reach sexual maturity somewhere between the age of 3 to 8 months.

Now the price..depends it could be from $60 to $475, so look around.

:anotherbun

kagerod · Jul 9, 2012

Regarding hay holders and the hay wheels - I think my buns like their hay wheels, but generally I just stick a bunch of hay where their food is (less pee/poop on it), or for a while there it was in a cereal box with a hole cut into it until it was ripped to shreds.

Definitely should try the shoe box idea though! It looks great, and that way they (shouldn't be able to anyways) pee in it.

patches2593 · Jul 9, 2012

"You could also bend an NIC grid into a U shape or a circle and then attach it to the cage." said Korr_and_sophie

(i didnt want the whole quote so i ha dto fix it)

i was trying to figure out some way to bend the nic grid. but how!!!!?????? this woud be the best holder ever if i could bend it. :?

MyBabyHasPaws · Jul 9, 2012

I went to the dollar store yesterday and bought these metal bins. They were like wire bins, pretty cool $1 each.. with some zip ties they were up in no time. I really like them because Oreo loves to lay down and eat hay.. she can rest right under this and just lift her head for some hay since they are wire and not solid.

MiniLopHop · Jul 9, 2012

I use wire containers that are made to hold kitchen stuff, like the boxes of aluminum foil etc. They have little hooks that I just put right on the NIC fence over the litter box. Any hay they drop goes into the litter box but this keeps most of it clean and dry.

I also have a hay wheel that I put alfalfa in, so they get a little of it but have to work at it. Timothy and orchard grass goes into their litter box holders and that is what they eat mostly.

hay holders

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