This comes from the meat rabbit board.
A study a fellow did on the use of hay.
http://la.rsmjournals.com/cgi/reprint/13/2/69.pdf
A study a fellow did on the use of hay.
http://la.rsmjournals.com/cgi/reprint/13/2/69.pdf
Hay Article,
- Thread starter ladysown
- Start date
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Thanks for posting this, Ladysown. Interesting study! I've always wondered about the advisability of using overhead racks for hay. The hay hopper in the picture looks like something I could adapt for use in my colony.
There have been studies for decades on overhead hay racks for horses and cattle which found pretty much the same thing. The dust gets into the eyes and nostrils of the animals and causes nasty problems.
If you think about how a particular animal eats when it's in a natural environment, you can see the way nature intends for the animal to eat. With horses and cattle, it's almost pure grazing on the ground. Sheep, too, of course. With rabbits it's grazing on the ground level, with the occasional reach upwards for fruit, as well as gnawing of tree bark at nose level.
I've been using a piece of cage wire bent into a J shape attached on the outside of the cage for a couple of the bunnies. It's attached to the hole that a J-feeder would go into. They pull the hay in quite easily. This is for timothy. The alfalfa I still feed on the floor or in a pan on the floor because I want to give them the ability to snarf up the leaves that fall off if they want them.
If you think about how a particular animal eats when it's in a natural environment, you can see the way nature intends for the animal to eat. With horses and cattle, it's almost pure grazing on the ground. Sheep, too, of course. With rabbits it's grazing on the ground level, with the occasional reach upwards for fruit, as well as gnawing of tree bark at nose level.
I've been using a piece of cage wire bent into a J shape attached on the outside of the cage for a couple of the bunnies. It's attached to the hole that a J-feeder would go into. They pull the hay in quite easily. This is for timothy. The alfalfa I still feed on the floor or in a pan on the floor because I want to give them the ability to snarf up the leaves that fall off if they want them.
HendricksHearth
Well-known member
Interesting article and I can see how the dust could cause problems. I also think having a dusty nestbox contributes to eye issues in kits- I have found that even with a pristine clean box sometimes they get crusty eyes, but when I replace the hay with dust-free filler then it clears up immediately. I usually just put hay on their resting mat in the evening and have never had any major eye running issues since.
Lauren
Lauren
