The hay situation

[nobunnynoclue]

So I'd like to know how you guys do the hay thing. When I empty out the litter pan, I toss everything. including whatever hay is left on the top. (does anyone here save it?)

Then I clean the pan, cover the bottom with about 1" or 2" of litter, and put a mountain of hay on top. (Well, not a mountain. Maybe a small hill)

The process of taking the hay out of the plastic bag it was sold in, and putting it on the litter pan is a messy thing. The hay does not come out top first all the time. Sometimes it's stacked sideways and I have to pull out a huge chunk of it, just to get the amount I want. I always end up with hay going all over the floor and then I have to stuff some hay back into the bag because I've taken more out than I really needed (because it won't come out in smaller quantities).

There's gotta be a better way !!!

 

[ZRabbits]

Hay is messy, but essential to your bunny's healthy diet.

When I clean litter boxes, all hay goes out. Don't save any of it. Actually it all goes into my compost so I'm not really wasting it.

Have the same experience with bags of hay. Maybe getting a container to store it in. Make it easier for you to divide out in portions.

I'm used to cleaning up hay. Especially when my Lion Head gets running around, hay sticks to him always and can follow his path wherever he goes. Like bread crumbs.

K

 

[nobunnynoclue]

moving all the hay to another container is not a bad idea... but doesn't it need to be air tight ?

 

[wendymac]

It doesn't have to be air tight. But it does need to be kept dry. And if you keep it in the sun, it will bleach out (and lose nutrients).

 

[candykittten]

I bought a large baking tray with raised sides and use that as a trough for Anthony's hay. He has a two level cage so all his food/water/sleeping areas are on the top and his litter/most of his toys are on the bottom. Plastic isn't good for storage cause it lacks ventilation. One method of storage is to put your hay into a cardboard box with holes in the side. I buy large bales of horse hay and keep it in a wicker trunk

 

[nobunnynoclue]

OK, I think I know what I can do then... I'll get one of those big rubbermaid bins and dump the hay in there to store it. This way I can take exactly what I need without causing a hay explosion on my floor...

 

[candykittten]

nobunnynoclue wrote:

moving all the hay to another container is not a bad idea... but doesn't it need to be air tight ?

It's better to have ventilation. If you are interested in a good book about rabbits, check out Rabbits for Dummies. I read the entire thing cover to cover and it's awesome. It's really comprehensive

 

[nobunnynoclue]

ventilated, eh? plastic bin isn't going to be so good then. Thanks for the book recommendation. I tend to learn all my pet care online, but books are good too. It will give me an excuse to use my kindle!

 

[MarisaAndToby]

Could just cut some holes into the plastic bin

 

[JimD]

nobunnynoclue wrote:

ventilated, eh? plastic bin isn't going to be so good then. Thanks for the book recommendation. I tend to learn all my pet care online, but books are good too. It will give me an excuse to use my kindle!

I usebig plastic bins to store hay for the ginky pigs.
The piggies have they own separate room upstairs that we like to keep presenatable (for what it's worth).

Their not Rubbermaid...can't remember where I got them either.

However, they are ventilated. There's vents, where the hand holds are formed, that allow for some air flow.

For the rabbits I keep the hay in a big cardboard box.
With 7 rabbit throwing hay around, you'd never know if I spilled some anyway.

 

[JimD]

MarisaAndToby wrote:

Could just cut some holes into the plastic bin

Yep....I did that, too.:biggrin2:

I drilled about six 1/2" holes, 2" down from the top edge of the bin.
(Gave me a chance to use my cordless drill!!)

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I buy hay bales, so it is a bit different than buying bags.
I put a full bale into a giant plastic bin. I leave the top off the bin. I have another smaller bin that I put a flake in for daily use. There is still some mess when it comes to taking the hay out and giving it to the rabbits, but hay is just messy. The bin does make it easier to get the amount of hay I need, so if I need less that what easily comes off, it is easy to take some out.

As far as cleaning out all the hay, it depends on the rabbit. Korr and Amelia get the hay rack emptied each time as Amelia likes to sit in the hay and pees and poops all over it. Lillian on the other hand I just add more hay and will only totally empty it if the hay is really fine bits or only a tiny bit left. Tesla I just add more as needed. Kraken doesn't eat much hay, so I don't throw any of his out as he will eat some eventually.

 

[qtipthebun]

When Q is at her other mommy's in her NIC cage, she's got her little litter box that has litter, and I put that litter box inside a bigger one. I then put hay in the bigger one so it doesn't get in the litter but she can still sit and eat. Then when I clean the litterbox, I just take out the small one and leave the big one with the hay.

As for hay on the floor...that's what the bunny is for. She's my little vacuum.

 

[Dulmit]

Keep the hay in a vented plastic bin. Also I just chuck hay out from the litter box. I would suggest trying to find a local supplier of hay. Hay can be VERY cheap when you buy bales.

 

[nobunnynoclue]

I feel as tho I have evolved from hay noob to hay savant with the solution I have come up with. With all your help, of course.

I bought a huge 45 gallon centrex plastic tub with wheels and latches from lowe's.

And a hole saw which you attach to an electric drill.

And also screening material and hot glue gun.


I took this bin, drilled several holes on either side front and back.
I needed someone to hold this as hard as possible. You need a normal drill bit in the middle to anchor while cutting or you might break a wrist doing this.

After the wholes were cut, I scraped off excess material from the edges of the cuts with the edge of scissors or knife.

I cut square prices of screening to cover the holes and used the hot glue gun to glue these in place from the inside of this tub. Once all is done, I needed to clean the inside to get all the little bits of plastic and dried glue.

And now it is ready to pack with hay. All the hay I ordered from sweet meadow fit perfectly. It is about 15 lbs of it and I could still pack more in there If I pushed down on all of it.