Does anybody know of a better hay feeder than the wire ones they sell at Orschelyn's & such? I have a couple of those & the rabbits just pull the hay out & most of it ends up under the cage mixed with droppings, what a waste. If anybody has any better suggestions on how to feed the hay without losing most of it I would love to hear about it.
Better Hay feeder?
- Thread starter Trish44
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secuono
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Eh, the bane of feeding rabbits hay. Do all of them waste a lot of the hay or only a select few? I'm not sure what kind of feeder you have, but I just make my own out of w/e wire I have left over. One of my does digs at the bottom of the feeder to 'dig out' hay, even though the top is open and she can easily grab mouth fulls. Another doe stomps her hay through the floor if too much is in her cage or not in the hay feeder. 1x2 or 2x2 inch hole wire mildly stuffed seems to work best, hay feeder on the inside of the cage, open top but not so large they can hop up and nap in there!
greybeard
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I think this is a problem with every hayfeeder in the world--no matter how large or small of an animal is being fed--rabbits up to cows. They just seem to waste so much of it.
oneacrefarm
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I have all but quit using hay feeders. What I do is take a handful, twist it and tie a knot. It stays together and they enjoy nibbling and tossing it around.
Beekissed
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I've never had that problem with the hay feeders I used...the rabbits ate from them and wasted very little, no hay got soiled and left on the bottom of the cage, etc. I just took a small length of chicken wire and hooked it to the upper, back corner of the cage in a "U" shaped hay bunker...too small for them to jump up into but just right to hold a couple of fistfuls of hay. These pieces of chicken wire usually were approx. 8 in.X 8 in. and held enough hay for an adult meat rabbit for almost a week. I liked to pack the hay in a little snug so that they could only pull out individual pieces at a time.
Cheap, easily installed and removed and efficient.
Cheap, easily installed and removed and efficient.
mama24
Ridin' The Range
That sounds just like what I did for my goats, only I of course made it much bigger and used old square hole livestock fencing instead of chicken wire. I'll have to rig the same with some leftover chicken wire for my rabbits. Right now, I have hay on top of the cages to help keep them warm and my bigger rabbits (mine are all still babies, I'm just getting started) can reach up and snag a few pieces, but my smaller ones can't. I've just been throwing a handful in every day and removing the soiled stuff. Very frustrating to waste so much! Especially since I've been buying it at the feed store for $8 a bale b/c i haven't found a local farmer yet! I need to ask my goat buddy where he gets his when I see him on Sat!Beekissed said:
SowdersHomestead
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I had to go out of town a couple weeks ago and my wife decided to throw in empty toilet paper rolls for the rabbits to play with and chew on. Then she decided to stuff them with hay. They have blast with them and most of the hay ends up in their tummies instead of under the cage.
I rarely feed the rabbits hay, instead opting for the "hay cubes" they sell for horses. Mostly becuase the rabbits don't like the seedheads that are common in hay, and less of it ends up in the litter pan.
Of course some still ends up in the corners to be peed on, but not nearly as much waste as hay.
Plus i cna get a 50lb bag of hay cubes for pretty cheap.
Of course some still ends up in the corners to be peed on, but not nearly as much waste as hay.
Plus i cna get a 50lb bag of hay cubes for pretty cheap.
