Protective spray for trays

R Buns · Aug 12, 2024

Hey all!
For those who use trays under their cages is there anything that can be sprayed on them to keep them from rusting away? Since the rabbits don't have access to them I'd think some sort of rustolium paint or something would work? I have shavings in the trays and they still get "standing" moisture (urine and water) in them. I'd like to protect them if possible and keep them fairly easy to clean up. I'm assuming they will eventually rust out if left raw.
Thanks in advance!

ladysown · Aug 12, 2024

from experience.... painting fresh trays doesn't hold the paint well if you do it yourself with rustoleum.

Cleaning trays as best you can once they are well used.... WILL extend their life exponentially. It was quite shocking to me how much longer they last once sprayed down really well.

I have heard of people doing the spraying where it bonds to the steel (powder coating?)

Hubs suggested I do the the plastic painting if I tried again. plasticmer (not sure of the spelling). He thinks that would work well with new trays.

Alaska Satin · Aug 12, 2024

R Buns said:
Hey all!
For those who use trays under their cages is there anything that can be sprayed on them to keep them from rusting away? Since the rabbits don't have access to them I'd think some sort of rustolium paint or something would work? I have shavings in the trays and they still get "standing" moisture (urine and water) in them. I'd like to protect them if possible and keep them fairly easy to clean up. I'm assuming they will eventually rust out if left raw.
Thanks in advance!

Honestly, I've never found anything that can help metal withstand rabbit urine! But if I was willing to deal with trays, I might try using a spray-on truck bed liner. That would probably be cheaper than ordering replacement trays made of plastic, which would be my second option.

R Buns · Aug 13, 2024

Alaska Satin said:
Honestly, I've never found anything that can help metal withstand rabbit urine! But if I was willing to deal with trays, I might try using a spray-on truck bed liner. That would probably be cheaper than ordering replacement trays made of plastic, which would be my second option.

I didn't know plastic trays were available. Will look into those.

R Buns · Aug 13, 2024

ladysown said:
from experience.... painting fresh trays doesn't hold the paint well if you do it yourself with rustoleum.

Cleaning trays as best you can once they are well used.... WILL extend their life exponentially. It was quite shocking to me how much longer they last once sprayed down really well.

I have heard of people doing the spraying where it bonds to the steel (powder coating?)

Hubs suggested I do the the plastic painting if I tried again. plasticmer (not sure of the spelling). He thinks that would work well with new trays.

All sound like possible options. These trays are well used but are cleaned regularly. They are in good shape and I'd like to keep them that way. Can't imagine what shipping costs on trays like that.

MsTemeraire · Aug 13, 2024

You might be able to find plastic garden trays, depending on size. I have some made by Garland (I'm in the UK) which I use as litter trays inside the hutches. But they could be used under a wire floor. They are made of tough plastic designed to withstand chemicals.

Bekah-n-Tennessee · Aug 13, 2024

R Buns said:
I didn't know plastic trays were available. Will look into those.

I have the Bass stackers (30x36) and upgraded to their plastic trays when I ordered the racks. I wanted to avoid the rust issue and figured they'd be lighter and less likely to scratch me when handling. I didn't think to order another set of trays to swap out for when my trays need to be pulled for really good scrub downs.

However, I saw that Tractor Supply has plastic trays and plan on getting just one when I go later this week to test fit. If it fits well, I'll get a bunch more.

A pro of those trays over the Bass - far, FAR less expensive and free shipping to store if they don't have what you need in stock locally which is a second big money saver.

A con of those trays that I noticed is that they are not totally flat bottomed, they put some ridges in which makes for a bit of a pain if you scrape out like I do. I also have a feeling they're not as solid as the Bass trays but hey, if not used as often, just in place for a day when doing deep cleans on the better trays, I can deal with that.

olhippityhop · Aug 13, 2024

I've got the tractor supply plastic trays and they seem pretty good. I just blast them with a hose and haven't had to scrape them. I use the TSC pelletized bedding in the trays, which I'm a huge fan of.

Bekah-n-Tennessee · Aug 13, 2024

olhippityhop said:
I've got the tractor supply plastic trays and they seem pretty good. I just blast them with a hose and haven't had to scrape them. I use the TSC pelletized bedding in the trays, which I'm a huge fan of.

Good to know! I do the palletized bedding as well plus a sprinkle of sweet PDZ to help kill the ammonia.

R Buns · Aug 14, 2024

Wow! I'll check out TS. I don't usually shop there so didn't know they had options like that. Going to look on their website. Thanks everyone for the information. I'd love to get away from these flimsy trays that rust.
I wanted to use pelleted bedding but I use it in my garden and the one offered locally has aluminum in it which I don't want to put in my garden. I'm still trying to work out the best bedding I can get around here to use.
Thanks again everyone for all the advice!

kusanar314 · Sep 5, 2024

R Buns said:
Wow! I'll check out TS. I don't usually shop there so didn't know they had options like that. Going to look on their website. Thanks everyone for the information. I'd love to get away from these flimsy trays that rust.
I wanted to use pelleted bedding but I use it in my garden and the one offered locally has aluminum in it which I don't want to put in my garden. I'm still trying to work out the best bedding I can get around here to use.
Thanks again everyone for all the advice!

Again, tractor supply. Buy the horse pellet bedding in 40 pound bags.

R Buns · Sep 5, 2024

kusanar314 said:
Again, tractor supply. Buy the horse pellet bedding in 40 pound bags.

I'll check there. That's what I bought from our local feed store was horse pellet bedding. It was supposed to be just pelleted shavings. Then found out it has aluminum in it. Of course it wasn't up front on the bag I had to look at what the one ingredient was in it.

olhippityhop · Sep 5, 2024

R Buns said:
I'll check there. That's what I bought from our local feed store was horse pellet bedding. It was supposed to be just pelleted shavings. Then found out it has aluminum in it. Of course it wasn't up front on the bag I had to look at what the one ingredient was in it.

I just checked the bag from TSC. There was no ingredient list, but it says there are no additives. It seems like it's just pine. I've been using it in my compost so hopefully nothing toxic is in there.

R Buns · Sep 6, 2024

olhippityhop said:
I just checked the bag from TSC. There was no ingredient list, but it says there are no additives. It seems like it's just pine. I've been using it in my compost so hopefully nothing toxic is in there.

That's great. I'll have to pick some up. I looked it up on their website and it says they have it locally. Thanks!

olhippityhop · Sep 6, 2024

It only takes a few handfuls of the bedding in a tray. The first time I used it, I used way too much and it expanded into the cage

Protective spray for trays

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