Anyone put full hay bales out?

I've seen a few enclosures where people have put full hay bales out for their rabbits to jump on and of course eat! I love this idea but I imagine it would just get weed on and would have to be thrown out? Just wondered if anyone does this and how long you can leave the bale out for?

I used to do this. They did love it and would sit on it, burrow in it and chew it. They did poo/wee on it but they also had hay racks elsewhere, so had access to clean hay too if they wanted it, so I felt it was ok to just let them get on with it. I think they just used to borrow to get clean hay anyway.

I stopped doing it in the end though, because by the end of the week the entire bale of hay would be spread all over the kennel and it made cleaning out a bit of a nightmare tbh. Plus there was an awful lot of waste.

midori1999 said:

I used to do this. They did love it and would sit on it, burrow in it and chew it. They did poo/wee on it but they also had hay racks elsewhere, so had access to clean hay too if they wanted it, so I felt it was ok to just let them get on with it. I think they just used to borrow to get clean hay anyway.

I stopped doing it in the end though, because by the end of the week the entire bale of hay would be spread all over the kennel and it made cleaning out a bit of a nightmare tbh. Plus there was an awful lot of waste.

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That's what I suspected! Maybe it's a good idea for a once in a while treat for them! Suppose a bale is only £6odd (well that's what I pay!) so if I think of it as a treat I won't be so upset by the waste :lol: May just have to try it when I get my shed

we do it - sometimes just half a bale - sometimes in cold weather a whole one.

Our hay is only £3.50 a bale though.

You can do it with straw but the bale does not stay together so long - also BEWARE of the high seed content in straw this year as a result of the drought meaning that seedheads formed low down and ended up in the straw 'waste'

I had a hay bale stood on end. One day I couldn't find him and he'd burrowed straight through it in the tiniest tunnel ever and made a cave at the back. I didn't mind but I worried if it collapsed in on him while I was at work he'd be trapped for ages. And he managed to jump on top and climbed over his penned area in the garage. So now there's a puppy pen side in front so he can eat hay but not destroy it.

I've given mine a whole hay bale in the past. They made a burrow right through it!!! I think I left it for a few weeks as they only did the odd wee on it. Once they'd eaten through the twine and spread the hay everywhere I decided to clear it out.

I can't begin to imagine the poop load :shock: My trio make enough as it is without being given completely unlimited access :lol:

I'd love to do that but i'd need extra bins to chuck it away :lol:

silverrabbit said:

I'd love to do that but i'd need extra bins to chuck it away :lol:

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We have done it but had to stop because of this. We have enough trouble getting rid of essential waste so can't do it any more its s shame as they had a great time

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As well as putting entire bales out sometimes our (9ft by 6ft with upper hutches built in) bunny chalets are almost totally hay filled - we just leave some flooring at the fronts without hay -

we do have a nails issue with that in the winter as they do not wear their nails down enough - though not in the summer as they are out in the big grass run more.

We get through 3 bales of hay a week on a normal week and 6 bales if we do a total clear.

We are really lucky in that where we used to live we had HUGE compost heaps on our allotments which were practically next door , and now we have moved to the country we have arranged with the farmer next door to us to add our used hay to his heaps in his cow field - the cows eat some as tbh a lot is still in really good condition - the buns are very wasteful! - then the cows trample the rest around a bit then he adds it to his silage heaps to spread on the fields. . .

Ironic really as we buy our hay off the same guy who grows it in the hay fields that are enriched with the silage . . . and so it goes round!!!

living in the country is great!!!!

i currently have a half bale covering a plastic bunny warren in the bunnies shed.. they havent weed or pood in it as they also have a litter tray. it has to be said though that the dig and dig and dig and it does get soggy with their wet feet running in and out of the run..