Best Hay Feeders?

[Susie570]

Ok, so baby weanling bunnies are PIGLETS!!!
OMG they are so messy, particularly with their hay. They are going through SO much hay that I literally CANNOT keep them 'in hay' all the time. I've added an extra hanging hay feeder and they just plow through it. It's not JUST them eating it though, although they do eat a lot of it. A lot of hay is wasted, as several of us are lamenting about. I recover as much as I can, but I don't want to try and save hay which might be contaminated by potentially damp hay that has fallen through the wire bottom.

So, I'm looking for a better solution. I've been researching some hay feeder options. Here is a pintrest page with some ideas...

https://www.pinterest.com/noahbowman89/ ... box-ideas/

I like Grumpy's feeder, but he's so BUSY it looks like it will be a while before I can look forward to those :roll:

I like the look of these, but where to find them??

I have a couple of these, but the babies just pull everything out

This looks interesting - but expensive... Yikes!!
http://www.zooplus.com/shop/rodents/acc ... cks/348327

This seems like an interesting idea

I also think this is an interesting idea??

Thoughts?

 

[ottersatin]

I make my hay-racks out of cage wire
that is left over from cutting out doors etc.
I hang it on the outside of the cage .
I suppose you could place cardboard on the inside of the rack
to prevent the hay from falling outside the cage.
The rabbits are quite adept at pulling the hay in to eat.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[Homer]

I get old oven racks from the local appliance stores (usually free) and bend them in half. Wire them on the outside of the hutch and they will hold a pretty good sized flake off the bail that easily will last a week.

 

[Susie570]

That sounds cool, Homer! Can you possibly post a picture so I can better see what you do? I'm all about recycling

 

[ladysown]

I use the wire cutlery drawers you can find at the dollar store. They fasten on with J-clips.

You don't have to keep them in hay ALL the time. Just a handful every day is good, or even every other day. Give them lots of options at this age to help them develop good stomach bacteria, able to handle whatever feed is thrown at them.

It's good to challenge babies a bit to ensure they are the healthiest you can make them.

 

[Susie570]

Thanks, Ladysown! I've been a bit easy on them since they had the mushy poops episode (and one had a little bit of a relapse a few days ago). I'm trying to ease them back to having free feed pellets. They all seem to be doing better with them (crossing fingers!) I gave them a few sprigs of cilantro today too.

 

[Homer]

Here's what I use to keep the hay corralled Syberchick70.

I lay it on top of a piece of 2x4 so I can get a hold of one edge. Place another piece in the middle on top and stand on it so I can get the bend started. (You might need a little help with that) Bend it together as far as you want, fasten to the outside of the hutch and there you go.

I use 2x2 wire for the hutch doors and cut out the horizontal wires on this one but it really isn't necessary.


Here's a shot all set for the week. A piece of plastic helps with the fallout.


Depending on how big your rabbits are you could maybe cut these in half to make them go further. The full size ones I use keep my French Lops and Flemish Giants in hay for about a week.

 

[lereg15]

I really like that, Homer!! I'll have to look around for some racks tomorrow. Thanks for sharing!!

 

[Susie570]

That looks great, Homer! And it does hold a lot of hay! I just bought a couple of large suet holders and those seem to be working really well, but I'll keep my eyes open for discarded oven racks.