how often to feed hay

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

I am getting very very very frustrated at the waste of hay. I cleaned today and i got a large heaping wagon full of hay . To go to the compost. This is not a wheel barrol. This is a large wagon . There has to be another way. I have hay catchers. I have complain about this before.... So i cut back some. Still not enough. I dont feed pellets. So they should have hay. But i wonder how often. I wonder if i can get away with only every seoncd day . Most of them are just waiting for that hay. They love it. They prefer it over the grains. But i had enough of the waste. I have only been giving a handful to a single rabbit. If there is a litter than i give more.

 

[-HRanchito]

You could try horse hay cubes? Mamasheepdog is still keeping her better hay rack to herself. :gettowork:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Mamasheepdog is still keeping her better hay rack to herself. :gettowork:

I am deeply frustrated... I am a terrible procrastinator, and my New Year's Resolution was to get this project going. I dropped the drawings off at an associate's machine shop on January 3rd, to have a prototype made, and expected to be in full production by now. Due to a myriad of personal and business issues (sick mother, employee's wife died, another had an extended illness, etc., etc., etc.), he hasn't been able to get to it.

We are going to town tomorrow and will stop by the shop- I am going to get the drawings back and have him refer me to a sheet metal shop... it is kind of an uncomfortable situation, because he is a fellow we met in our firearms classes, and a really nice guy. I think he intended to make it as a favor to me, and he even ordered a new tool of some sort to make it with.

But I really can't wait forever- I am wasting a lot of hay as well, and at $18 for a 100 lb. bale, the waste is ridiculous. Plus I'd like to actually be making some money!

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

You could try horse hay cubes?

Yup. Have that. they dont like it and the smaller babies cant chew it.<br /><br />__________ Thu Jul 05, 2012 12:25 pm __________<br /><br />

Mamasheepdog is still keeping her better hay rack to herself. :gettowork:

I am deeply frustrated... I am a terrible procrastinator, and my New Year's Resolution was to get this project going. I dropped the drawings off at an associate's machine shop on January 3rd, to have a prototype made, and expected to be in full production by now. Due to a myriad of personal and business issues (sick mother, employee's wife died, another had an extended illness, etc., etc., etc.), he hasn't been able to get to it.

We are going to town tomorrow and will stop by the shop- I am going to get the drawings back and have him refer me to a sheet metal shop... it is kind of an uncomfortable situation, because he is a fellow we met in our firearms classes, and a really nice guy. I think he intended to make it as a favor to me, and he even ordered a new tool of some sort to make it with.

But I really can't wait forever- I am wasting a lot of hay as well, and at $18 for a 100 lb. bale, the waste is ridiculous. Plus I'd like to actually be making some money!

Do you still have the drawing of it. ?I am looking for another solution. There has to be another way. I am getting to the point that i will not feed hay anymore. But i know that isnt good.

 

[-HRanchito]

Sorry if I jabbed a sore spot! I'm just bitter because all of my new years resolutions were dismal failures! Put me down for like 20 of them when they are ready!!

 

[Random Rabbit]

I feed hay on a Daily basis. :bunnyhop:

The rabbits waste hay on the same daily basis. ancake:

DH gripes about it on the same daily basis. ( !!!!!) :evil:

I buy the hay.... sweep the floor ( daily i might add ) and figure... this is simply a Fact of rabbit raising... so i deal with it.

About the only way i could see one might not have so much waste... is in a colony... but who is going to say the buns wouldn't use it for a potty corner anyway ? !


We did try the cubes... EXPENSIVE !!! and certain buns that love to munch on hay.... would Not so much as touch the cubes. I figure they Need the hay more that i desire Less mess....


( and ever find a cube that has soaked in the water crock for a while....yucky !!!)

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Sorry if I jabbed a sore spot! I'm just bitter because all of my new years resolutions were dismal failures! Put me down for like 20 of them when they are ready!!

Yeah, I'm a little irritated- it is like my cosmic punishment for procrastinating in the past! :x :lol: Every time I see a post about hay racks, it's like getting stuck with a pin! <Sigh!> I have ideas for other rabbit items, and am looking at the hay racks as my "gateway product", hoping that if I make some money with them, I can then expand my line. It sure would be nice if I could do my part to help the economy in some small way.

I need almost 40 of them myself, and they will be available in different lengths eventually- I think I was planning on 10", 14", and 18". After I test a couple out, I figure the first run I'll have them make at least a hundred of them, if not more. They will be the 18" size.

Sorry about your failed resolutions! I only had the one, and I'm not doing so hot with it either! :roll:

 

[michabo3000]

Mamasheepdog,

Your machine shop guy may have had to buy a sheet metal brake bender to make them. I would guess that is the tool he may needed. Maybe you could buy the tool from him and what ever other tools you might need to do them yourself. Ebay prices can be very good.

Dont let anyone steal your design , be sure its properly patented. You might even find that sheet metal can be easy to work with having a few simple tools and manufacture them yourself. I think a good hayrack design would definitly sell.


I myself am trying to figure out some simple hay rack design for my outdoor hutches.

 

[skysthelimit]

Every day, waste everyday, lots of hay in the trays especially the alfalfa mix. I waste alot just pulling apart the bale to feed

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Thanks, Michabo. I would actually like to buy the equipment so I can make them myself- I enjoyed working with metal in shop class at school.

We have patented an item before- ever seen the LitterMaid Automatic Catbox? We leased our patent to the company that makes it, so we only had to pay capital gains tax.

That patent was a lot more complex since it was mechanical- hopefully this one wont cost quite as much!

 

[LindseysWoolies]

I have 3 pet rabbits with free run on the floor of my rabbitry they clean up some of through excess but there is still a lot of waste but with wool breeds i would rather have waste then wool block! the extra hay becomes bedding in their trays though so it works out. Hay at 4$ a bale is better than the price of bedding.

 

[Secuono]

I don't feed hay when they are in pens on grass. Just too much money wasted on nothing.

 

[Piper]

wasted hay is a big problem here, too!

 

[MaggieJ]

Yeah, the rabbits sure do waste hay. Fortunately, hay is cheap here - $3.50 a square bale for alfalfa with some grass content. I feed them less in the summer when they are getting so many greens, but they always have some. I think hay is very important, especially for rabbits that are not getting pellets.

The waste is not a total waste. When it first gets tossed out into the yard, the chickens and geese pick through it. Then it goes as mulch on the garden. Really, when you consider the larger picture, there is little absolute waste.

 

[WildWolf]

So would it be OK to feed hay every other day, if you are feeding greens and grain every day?

Has anyone tried just a wire basket filled with hay? Or has anyone tried converting a pellet feeder into a hay feeder? I was thinking about doing that...

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Thanks, Michabo. I would actually like to buy the equipment so I can make them myself- I enjoyed working with metal in shop class at school.

We have patented an item before- ever seen the LitterMaid Automatic Catbox? We leased our patent to the company that makes it, so we only had to pay capital gains tax.

That patent was a lot more complex since it was mechanical- hopefully this one wont cost quite as much!

Wow, srsly? How cool is that?<br /><br />__________ Wed Jul 18, 2012 10:03 am __________<br /><br />

So would it be OK to feed hay every other day, if you are feeding greens and grain every day?

Has anyone tried just a wire basket filled with hay? Or has anyone tried converting a pellet feeder into a hay feeder? I was thinking about doing that...

I would still feed hay every day....they need the fiber...

What I do is tie the hay into knots and I keep a bucket filled with them in the shed. I make a few each time I go out there....I know there has to be a better way but, in the mean time, this seems to cut down on the waste.

 

[MaggieJ]

I agree with OneAcre... feed some every day. If they are wasting a lot, then feed a bit less at a time or maybe get a hay rack of some sort.

 

[skysthelimit]

What I do is tie the hay into knots and I keep a bucket filled with them in the shed. I make a few each time I go out there....I know there has to be a better way but, in the mean time, this seems to cut down on the waste.

Cool idea. I could do that with my grass hay.

 

[WildWolf]

I'll probably just make a wire basket and suspend it in their hutch. tying it in balls is a good idea though.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I'll probably just make a wire basket and suspend it in their hutch. tying it in balls is a good idea though.

It is pretty easy, just twist and make a knot! They eat most of it that way....