# What do you guys use for a hay feeder?



## HeatherMarie (Mar 4, 2009)

I was just wondering what you guys use for hay feeders. I have two little mini milk-crate looking things that I stuff with in the morning and evenings, but they pull it out and put it in their litter boxes and potty on it or throw it over the cage and it's just so messy! I've looked at the commercial hay feeders, but they don't come nearly big enough. Like i said I have to fill up the two milk crates twice a day. Anyone have any ingenius ideas?


----------



## naturestee (Mar 4, 2009)

My pens are made with NIC cubes, and to make the hay racks I just fold one in half, zip-tie cardboard to the back to prevent hay from falling out that way, and zip-tie it to the pen wall where it will hang into the litter box.

I haven't found any good way to prevent rabbits from playing with the hay while they eat it. But at least they're entertained!


----------



## slavetoabunny (Mar 4, 2009)

I just serve it in their litterboxes. I have grates in all of them, so it doesn't get mixed in with the litter. Much neater!


----------



## Mrs. PBJ (Mar 4, 2009)

*naturestee wrote: *


> My pens are made with NIC cubes, and to make the hay racks I just fold one in half, zip-tie cardboard to the back to prevent hay from falling out that way, and zip-tie it to the pen wall where it will hang into the litter box.
> 
> I haven't found any good way to prevent rabbits from playing with the hay while they eat it. But at least they're entertained!


Could you post a picture


----------



## mouse_chalk (Mar 4, 2009)

I use these, which were about Â£2 ($3ish?) from Ikea:











With hay in:











And sometimes (well, quite often actually lol) the bunnies like to sleep in it:








It's pretty popular- holds LOADS of hay, which they can get out very easily and it attaches to the cage very easily with zip ties. And, as you can see, if the bunny is small enough, it also makes a very cosy bed!


----------



## Luvmyzoocrew (Mar 4, 2009)

i to throw it in thier litter boxes


----------



## PepnFluff (Mar 4, 2009)

I have a hanging flower basket, obviously not hanging though, but on the ground, and that holds alot. I think with what ever you use you will get "dregs" droping everywhere.


----------



## 12354somebunny (Mar 4, 2009)

*slavetoabunny wrote: *


> I just serve it in their litterboxes. I have grates in all of them, so it doesn't get mixed in with the litter. Much neater!


Ditto! That's what I do too


----------



## jcottonl02 (Mar 5, 2009)

Mine aren't ingenious ideas lol. I just have a hay rack which I stuff with hay. Just one you can get from pets at home or something- which you attack to the hutch.


----------



## swanlake (Mar 5, 2009)

this is what I use. It is a hanging rack thingie that you are supposed to put plastic bags you get from stores in. I got it at bed, bath, and beyond. 

Another idea I got from the lady who rulns the rescue I work for is to get an under-the-shelf basket thingie and simply turn it on its side.

hope this helps!


----------



## jcottonl02 (Mar 5, 2009)

This is the kind I use- obviously a smaller one because this is for a horse. But I stuff it completely full every day (Pippin's I sometimes stuff morning and night cos he eats loads of hay) and it seems to hold the perfect amount. And it doesn't drop any at all.


----------



## Bo B Bunny (Mar 5, 2009)

OMG look at Chalk LOL! She's so silly!
Mine have the outside hanging hay racks and I HATE THEM!!! I have hay all over the floor..... I have to clean it up each day or hubby gets mad.... which I understand.

I need to find a good solution.... *sigh*


----------



## Flick (Mar 5, 2009)

I use empty tissue (Kleenix or Posh Puffs) boxes. They're cardboard, so the buns can chew on them. Come in different sizes. Some are pretty. And, I can put hole in the back and zip tie them to the cage, so they're not thrown around. The openings are large enough for the buns to get the hay, but not so large that they'll be mistaken for litter boxes. No sharp edges to them. I've found that they're surprisingly study, too, unless somebun pees on them.


----------



## kherrmann3 (Mar 5, 2009)

I have a cheap, plastic hay rack made by SuperPet. It sits on the outside of the cage and is solid, so very few scraps fall on the floor. I have box underneath it that picks up any stray bits, though. I also throw handfuls of hay in their litter boxes.


----------



## BlueCamasRabbitry (Mar 5, 2009)

Nothing so genious for hay here. 
Some of the buns have hay racks, and for the rest, we just put the hay on the ground next to their litter boxes, or right inside the door (for Minnie & Sippi) in clean spaces. 

I love that hay rack you have Swanlake! That's really cool!

I'm going to have to find something good to use for Magic, because he hates the hay racks from the feed stores; just drags his hay all over the place, and throws a fit about the rack. Absolutely hates them! Lol. 

Emily


----------



## HeatherMarie (Mar 5, 2009)

wow! so many ideas! thank you all so much! i'll be playing around probably mixing and matching to get the right one for my crazy rabbits  thanks again!


----------



## MikeScone (Mar 6, 2009)

In addition to a wire rack like those discussed here, and an old ziplock bag box (sandwich size), I also stuff hay into toilet paper tubes. Scone loves to nibble the hay down flush with the ends, then he can tear his way into the tube to get at more hay. A good tube will last a week or too before it gets nibbled down to a napkin ring and the hay won't stay inside anymore.


----------



## irishbunny (Mar 6, 2009)

There was a hay feeder with Princess' cage but it was a cheap one and the little things to attach it to the cage broke, while it wasn't broken it was really handy and kept the hay really neat. Now I just put the hay in a corner of their cages but they spread more of it around then eat it and alot of it goes to waste, I must hunt down some more hay racks


----------



## Sabine (Mar 6, 2009)

hay rack inside the cage above litter tray works best for me. I find my buns prefer their hay served in their litter trays.


----------



## snap (Mar 6, 2009)

My inside bun has a little plastic ball, this thing.

The outside buns have temporary hay racks, since we don't have the time to go find anything else. I cut the bottom off of a plastic milk jug((the edges of mine weren't sharp, believe me I tried!! but some might be)), then cut out the sticker. I punched holes in the sides with a screwdriver and put wire across like a grid. One has four wires across, the other has three, but when it needs hay I just take a handful of timothy, bend it in half and stick it between the wires up near where I cut the sticker out. They're wired to the cages at a tilt, and the bunnies like to push on them and morph them into different shapes. XD


----------



## Baby Juliet (Mar 6, 2009)

*snap wrote: *


> My inside bun has a little plastic ball, this thing.


I also use them outdoors too because they can only get a little at a time so they eat most of the hay. They can't play with the hay but can play with the ball. 

Some of my indoor cages are low enough where the rabbit standing up can reach the hay I put on top of the cage. Works much better than a rack.


----------



## Elf Mommy (Mar 7, 2009)

Inside her litter box and in cold weather I usually stuff hay in her Pet Taxi, too.


----------



## SOOOSKA (Mar 7, 2009)

Elf Mommy, what's a Pet taxi?:?

Susan


----------



## Evey (Mar 7, 2009)

This is an idea that I got from Amy, and it's also from Ikea. I love how much hay they hold, but I have to admit, they are still just as messy as anything else I've tried. 








Kathy


----------



## jcottonl02 (Mar 8, 2009)

Oh that picture is so cute! It's like his little bed! A hammock


----------



## Elf Mommy (Mar 8, 2009)

*SOOOSKA wrote: *


> Elf Mommy, what's a Pet taxi?:?
> 
> Susan


Elf's Pet Taxi is the carrier that I use whenever I take her somewhere. She uses it as a sort of bed in her cage. That way, she's already comfortable in it, and I can just take it out, put the door on, and off we go!


----------



## irishlops (Mar 8, 2009)

i like the pic of the dog ears.


----------



## Luv-bunniz (Mar 8, 2009)

The floor, thats where they are supposed to eat from, no?


----------



## Mrs. PBJ (Mar 8, 2009)

I bought this from petsmart and it works great for storm if I had more then one bun I would have to add another bin somewhere on his cage. But I will anyway.

I have to fill this up 2 times a day. But that means storm hay is always fresh.

I also put a old tide box under it for collections Of hay I spill. Storm really does not make a mess. Cause he cant get it outside of the cage.






One of it full






One of it empty right after I brought it home


----------



## BethM (Mar 10, 2009)

I went out and got some of the hay racks like Mrs. PBJ uses for Storm. My bunnies have recently decided they like pulling the hay out of the top of the hay rack they had before, and they would waste a lot of it, making a HUGE mess in the process.

The new racks have been up for about a day now, but I don't think they like them. They haven't eaten half the hay they normally would eat in that time. I have seen them eating from them, they know how to use them and don't have problems. I just think they don't like them. Also, they are a little narrower at the top than the old hay rack, and Jason is making an enormous mess (outside the pen this time) putting hay in. (We carry the hay from the storage container to the pens with a plastic dustpan.)

*sigh*

I think I will leave the one up for Tobi for now, and hope she takes to it. I will leave one new hay rack up for Nick and Amelia, and also replace their old hay rack. That way they will have access to extra hay, since they normally run out of hay a few times during the day. (I sometimes have to fill the old hay rack 3 or 4 times, just in the evening after work.:shock

I will keep looking for a good way to feed their hay. (Sadly, no Ikea here.) Those two just eat SO MUCH hay! And they love to make a mess doing it!

(I clogged my new vacuum last week, cleaning around their cage, there was so much hay!)


----------



## anneq (Mar 10, 2009)

Awww, great ideas ..I just wish I wasn't so darned allergic to the hay, haha - have to have my 13yr.old daughter put it out for the buns in their pen - but it's worth it to see them munching away happily..sigh


----------



## jamesedwardwaller (Mar 12, 2009)

yes,i had the same experience,even though i buy my orchard grass by the bale,i use it in their poop boxes and an ingeinius grass/hay bin,..what is it ,well i went to lowes hardware store and saw a nice white metal fence about 12 in.high in a roll-20 ft.long,..cut off about 16in. or so and wired it tothe stahl/fence/now -i had a place to store their grasses,..then one day a smart bunny said,.ha,ha,i can still pull all of it out, so i wired his tighter to the stahl/fence and -no -more problems,the bunny said thank you now let me show you a binky,..sincerely james wallerray:


----------



## hartleybun (Mar 12, 2009)

everything ive tried for mine ends up being used as a toy. the hay is pulled out and strewn over the floor. bunnies! i guess it's the same for most of us. we buy them lovely feeding bowls, veg racks and hay racks and they repay us by throwing it everywhere! dont even get me started about the bunny boutique in pets at home. daughter would buy the lot for them:rollseyes


----------



## mouse_chalk (Mar 12, 2009)

*hartleybun wrote: *


> everything ive tried for mine ends up being used as a toy. the hay is pulled out and strewn over the floor. bunnies! i guess it's the same for most of us. we buy them lovely feeding bowls, veg racks and hay racks and they repay us by throwing it everywhere! dont even get me started about the bunny boutique in pets at home. daughter would buy the lot for them:rollseyes


Aaah I love the bunny boutique stuff! I'm always looking at it, and Steve is always dragging me away! 

I love the dog boutique stuff as well. The pink and black range? I REALLY wanted to get the big black bed with pink polka dots on it for our Giant Papillon, Dotty. It was even called 'spotty dotty' as well! But it is very expensive.....


----------

