hay mess!

[manda]

My bunnies have always made messes with their hay. But it seems it is getting worse! I hate a messy house and stuff on the floor. I am tired of vacuming every day, not to mention I have to sweep up the hay off the carpet to vacum so it will not clog the vacum up!

My two bunnies and a nic pen. its two cubes tall, six cubes wide, and six cubes deep. So its a pretty darn big cage. It just sets on the floor with a blanket over it. Ryo gets her hay in her litter box, and Alex gets his in a big bowl.

I have a wire hay rack but it is pretty messy too. I am online now looking for some hay racks to order. what do you use to put your hay in?

 

[bunnydude]

I take the lazy route and put the hay in a tupperware bin (I find them easier to refill). You could try making a coroplast bin to put on the bottom that should contain the hay (see http://www.guineapigcages.com/cubes.htm).

I'm going to coroplast my NIC cages soon, but right now I just resort to daily seeping and vacuuming.

--Edited to add a more specific link--

 

[hummer]

When Miffy was alive, I bought a plastic bag storage thing from IKEA (can not think of the name) that we never hung up, so instead I hung it in her cage with zip ties and put cardboard in the bottom holes. Then I just shoved the hay in there, worked great. There was some messiness but it was by far less then the old tissue box I used first!

 

[manda]

thanks for the replies.

right now i am using a very oversided feeder i made from a nic cube. i know it will still be messy, but not as bad.

 

[Spring]

I bought a plastic little organizer dishas a little 'hay bin'. I keep it in the middle of her pen, so not much gets out the sides. Although the little rascal often tips it over because she likes to dig in it. Thankfully, the rabbitroom is tile and is easy to just sweep up with the dustpan and broom.

Try putting the hay in the middle of the pen, then less escapes .

 

[Bunman]

I've mostly fed KayTee Timothy cubes. Very little to clean up. Even with shipping it's cheaper by mail than at the supermarket. I split it up a little, some smaller buns find it hard to get into.

 

[aeposten]

Using the plastic bag holder from IKEA is a great idea! I'll have to pick one up next time I'm there.

Thanks for the tip!

-Amy

 

[BunnyFofo]

I would not leave a huge thing of hay in their cage to begin with. Because, when they are done eating it, they are going to sit there and play with it, pulling it all over. Just give them as much as they will eat in the morning and at night. That is what I do...plus, no hay gets waisted.

 

[naturestee]

I'm also using large hay racks made from NIC cubes. They're a good size for two bunnies at once. Mine aren't too messy because I zip tied cardboard to the back and they hang into the litterboxes. Really the only hay that gets on the floor is when Loki has the occasional "hay party" in the middle of the night. He pulls out a big wad of hay onto the floor and he and Mocha chow down on it. But Mocha poops all over it too so when it gets too messy they ignore it. Fey and Sprite are very clean with their hay if it's in a rack.

BunnyFofo, rabbits should have access to hay all day. It's good for their digestion and their teeth. In fact, I'm on strict vet orders to make sure Loki has hay all day, every day, and to make sure he eats lots of it due to potential molar problems. If they play with it, well it makes a good cheap healthy toy doesn't it? I actually stuff some toys with hay. It's a little more messy, but very entertaining for them and it makes them more interested in their same-old toys.

 

[Bunman]

Yes, "all hay, every day!" The last thing i do wit Daisy at night is make sure she as a KT Tim Cube to tide her over til morning (she gets her veggies too, after a long evening of romping.)

 

[Snuggys Mom]

I've just resigned myself to the fact that I will be cleaning up hay for the rest of my life!

I have coroplast in all my cages and it still gets everywhere. Ithought about strappingtaller pieces of coroplast to the outside of the cages to keep more of it in, but then it would just get trapped between the grids and the coroplast. Oh, well.

I know that hay consumption is VITAL for my buns' health, especially Toby's, so I'll just deal with it.

I pulled all the cages out yesterday to clean and the amount of hay I found was unbelievable.

I wish someone would design a vacuum with a wider hose that would suck up all the spilled hay!

 

[Spring]

I have Pebbles' hay in three places- in her litter box, her old cage (Great because I can put a huge handful in a corner and it stays put, whether she plays in it or eats it) and in that plastic rectangle dish. The Litterbox hay usually gets flattens 10 minutes after I put it in, so it usually stays put.

I guess part of being a bunny slave is picking up the hay mess! I still don't know how Pebbles can kick out little stray droppings and they end up a foot outside her cage!