Hay or Straw???

[Oakville Shooter]

Which do you prefer to put in your nest boxes? So far, I have been using hay, but it seems that the girls eat it faster than I can fill the boxes, even though they have plenty on hay in the hay racks. I am wondering if switching to straw or something else will help.

Thanks.
Bob

 

[eco2pia]

Hmmmn, mine don't eat it if they are close to kindling. The babies do, eventually. And when the one doe had a false pregnancy and built a nest, she later ate it. But then built another one right before kindling.

For me, it is just not wanting to store two differnt kinds of bales. Straw here costs about the same as local hay, so we use hay even in the chicken coop.

 

[Pongo]

I use hay exclusively as I can source it from our own farm - therefore it's free - straw is really expensive around these parts

 

[ottersatin]

I use Grass-hay,
as nesting material and feed. I see no reason to purchase Straw
when Grass-hay serves me well.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

Here, One can get good quality hay for about 2 dollars a bale, while CLEAN, bright straw is about 5. No question on the economics there!!!

 

[pastelsummer]

i currently have bales of both. No cost to me for it. so i give hay and line nest boxes with straw

 

[ladysown]

i use straw for nestboxes. If the does choose to break down the straw, it actually makes for softer bedding, and around here....it's cheaper... $1.50-2 / bale as opposed to $5/bale for hay.

 

[Oakville Shooter]

I don't really mind the cost either way. Straw is roughly the same price. I just find it crazy that a doe can eat most all of the hay in a large nest box overnight and not touch the hay in the hay rack.

But that is OK. One of the boxes that I had to fill several times was full of hay, fur, and babies this morning.

 

[avdpas77]

If she eats the hay in the nest box, she may eat the straw also. I have used both, but I prefer hay even though straw is probably a bit more absorbent. The disadvantage to straw, is that it gets slick when it gets wet, and is more expensive in most places than decent (grass) hay. I also like hay due to it being a food source for the kits to nibble on before they start coming out of the nest. I suppose they will eat straw, but I doubt if it has the nutrition of good grass hay.

 

[ChopSuey]

Well, since I am in southern california and everything is waaayyyy expensive here I use staw. First I put about a two inch layer of shavings in the bottom of the nestbox with a sprinkling of the soft broken down bits of straw that accumulate between the bales. Then I throw half a flake og straw in the cage and let the doe build the nest as she sees fit. Most of my rabbits nibble on the straw in their cages despite there being lovely green alfalfa in their hay racks. When kits are older I put bits of alfalfa in the end of the nestbox for them to nibble on.

 

[CritterCatcher]

i use about a inch of shavings in the bottom of the nest box and then add a couple hand fulls of polyfill..i have all my friends keep there old pillows(not feathered one),we wash them,let them dry and cut them open as needed. it really help keep the heat in the nest box this time of year. mom adds her hair she pulls and it just turns into a really nice nest..and the price is right....hay and straw are $2.50-$3 a bale here and i have both but like the polyfill.
CC

 

[DevonW]

Hay only, I have no room to store more then one bale at a time so I stick with hay.

 

[jessiesue]

We use grass hay. The does don't like straw, but neither do the hens.

 

[akane]

Straw insulates a little better because of the empty blades and doesn't mold as easy so if you can get it for the same price or cheaper it should theoretically make better nesting material. They will still eat it though and it provides little useful nutrition but they don't eat near as much as they do hay provided hay is available as well. Over the past 2 months we've probably gone from 3 bales of straw in the colony to 1 or 1 1/2 from the does eating it. The buck cages I pack full when the weather turns bad and it's gone a week or 2 later even with hay in the racks but if that was all hay it would be gone in a few days.

 

[Oakville Shooter]

Hmm, I hadn't thought about putting it in the cages too. That is a good idea.