Hay

[Rayen]

So, the last few days I made a larger cage for my now bonded rabbits. It's an NIC cage, about 4 panels long and 3 panels wide and I decided to give the whole hay rack thing a try again. Problem is, I don't think they're using it. It's one of those plastic ones that hang on the outside of the cage and use the cage wall to keep everything inside. It was the biggest one I could find, I also have a small wire one that hangs inside of the cage that they didn't really use either. The rabbits can stick their noses right through the squares on the NIC panels, so I know they can get the hay out, but they don't appear to even bother with it. They have hay elsewhere, but I would really like to have it contained in a few spots rather than simply everywhere. Is there anyway to get them to eat out of it?

Also, I've been hearing mixed ideas about hay cubes. Some people say they can have one once a week, some say never, some say they can have them as long as they have loose hay available whenever. The only things I've heard against them was the fact they have small amounts of alfalfa to hold their shape, that they don't get enough hay while strictly eating them and that apparently some rabbits chew on the corners causing their teeth to grow unevenly. Is there a certain limit to how many I should be giving them? They absolutely love hay cubes, and if it's a source of hay they'll actually eat reliably, who am I to complain? I just don't want to give too many to them.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

hay,hey,hay,hey,what??--do you have access to timothy,orchard,oat grasses/hay,??.,i use orchard grass in poop boxes,and grass/hay bins-for-24/7 consumption,,fiber is essential and accounts for 70% of their diet,and good quality/low fat pellets,,ie purina rabbit chow(1oz.per# of bun))trhey like chewing on fruit tree branches/twigs,,sincerely james waller

 

[swanlake]

Well, I know a lot of the time it I don't actually see them eating the hay, but somehow I always have to refill it! I use timothy hay, and I put it in a container I got from bed, bath and beyond. It was orginally for storing plastic bags or something. It works GREAT. they can get it in between the bars or from the hole in the front. It has hooks so I just hang it on their pen. Here is a picture:

I know I tried a lot of different ways to give them hay, I like you, prefer it in one place, and everytime I put it down on the ground, I felt like I was wasting hay as they would go to the bathroom in it, and I would have to clean it everyday, wasting a lot of hay. (oops, major run-on sentence!)

I remember there being another thread about what people put their hay in, but I couldn't find it at the moment. Look outside the box for ways to give them hay.

Hope this helps!

 

[Maureen Las]

I place hay in the litter box at one end and then they sit in the box and eat and poop. I have graduated from large size cat litter boxes to plastic storage boxes that are much larger..then they cannot pee over the side whichwas a big issue here

in general haycubes would be Ok a few times a week but unless there was a serious reaon to substitute it does not take the place of long stranded regular hay ; I view it as treat food. .

 

[Flashy]

I do the same as Maureen. Mine get oddles of hay in a underbed storage box and it doubles as their litter tray. they poo in one end and eat from the other.

I would just suggest experimenting with things and seeing what your buns prefer.

 

[Rayen]

They have some in their litter box, but they usually run out before the end of the day and I don't want them to be without it if I'm not around to fill it up again. Plus I usually put whatever is the cheapest hay I happen to have in there so I don't end up wasting the more expensive stuff. (Luckily for me, they tend to like the cheaper hay more than the expensive stuff!) They get some random cheap grass hay mix for their litter box, and mostly timothy/oat/botanical hay for their hay rack. (they would die happy bunnies if all they had to eat was oat hay, but sadly I can only find the rare bag so they get small bits every day)

Before I used to just take a pile and put it in the middle of the cage as well as the one in their box. But they just poo in it, stomp on it, and never end up eating it. It was such a waste. I tried putting a few pieces of dried fruit in their hay rack last night and they seem to at least be pulling things out of it, it was empty when I woke up with a rather large pile of forgotten hay at the bottom.

How many hay cubes would be too many though? Could I get away with giving them one or two a day? Or one or two for the week? They always have loose hay available, it's never going to be their sole source of hay, obviously I don't want to give them a giant handful every day.

Thanks for the information!

 

[Flashy]

What about putting the hay rack so they can reach it whilst sitting in their litter box. Is that an option?

I sometimes put hay in toilet rolls, or in used tissue boxes and that also seems to work quite nicely and is less messy than putting it on the floor.

Hay cube wise I've not used them to supplement hay, just as a treat and they each got a hay cube or two a day. I just found that FAR too expensive to keep up with.

 

[SOOOSKA]

This is what I have to deal with all the time with Wilbur & Jackie but mainly Jackie. It drives me nuts because she pees in the bowl. But I love her anyway.

Susan

 

[ratmom]

SOOOSKA wrote:

This is what I have to deal with all the time with Wilbur & Jackie but mainly Jackie. It drives me nuts because she pees in the bowl. But I love her anyway.

Susan

I'm sorry that is just too cute and funny lol. Our wilbur poops in his bowl & I find him sleeping in it sometimes lol.