Hay/litter logistics!!

Forgive me if this isn't quite the right area, I wasn't too sure.

I am wondering if my boyfriend and I are doing the "right" thing regarding hay and litter trays. When I say "right" I just mean sensible, I know there are no rules :lol:

I'll quickly describe their living situation so you get a picture: They currently free range in a decent sized bedroom, and they still have their old "cage" which is two of the largest ferplast cages joined together. They aren't confined to this cage anymore so they just use it for relaxing and eating/pooping.

So one half of this makeshift cage is MOSTLY filled with bedding and hay (I'd say 2/3 of it), and they also have hay racks for extra hay that they like to pull at. They get fresh hay around 3 times a day, which just gets added on top of whatever is currently there. The whole thing is then completely cleaned out every couple days or so.

The problem we are finding is that on cleaning days the amount of hay is sooooo huge it is taking such a long time to do!

So what I wanted to ask was:
1) is this normal to have such a flippin massive mound of hay to clean out? :lol: I suspect even if we went to cleaning every day there would still be loads
2) are we potentially giving them waaaaaaay more hay than they can actually eat?? (is this possible?) The only problem here is that they get "bored" of whatever's left and beg for new stuff :roll:

i personally give mine smaller amounts so that they eat it. mine are the same - if it gets too old they just poop on it :lol:

Lol yeah! I do wonder if we are giving too much. We were always so worried about them not having ENOUGH that we potentially over-feed now :?

As a "reference point", the amount of hay/bedding from this morning's cleanout was a whole black bin bag full. The bedding is fitch so it is quite bulky, but there is a loooot of hay in there :lol: I think this is 3 days though, not 2.

smudgiebun said:

As a "reference point", the amount of hay/bedding from this morning's cleanout was a whole black bin bag full. The bedding is fitch so it is quite bulky, but there is a loooot of hay in there :lol: I think this is 3 days though, not 2.

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I'd say that's an awful lot of hay! It's not going to do them any harm but probably not necessary either. Giving them fresh stuff three times a day is good, they always prefer it fresh. If you want to reduce wastage I'd try cutting it down. As long as you give them enough so that they've always got some, that's fine.

I think I read somewhere that daily you're supposed to give them as much hay as size of their body, or something? We probably give them a lot more than that :?

Ok this has kinda turned into a "am I feeding too much hay" question :lol: but here is a pic of what their "bed" looks like after cleaning. Note they are not actually in it at the moment :lol: cos they're underneath sleeping.

I like giving them fresh hay because they get excited and actually eat it. Otherwise they will leave a full bed like that and not eat it because it's "old" :roll: They will eventually pick at it though.

Am I giving in to their begging too much?!

ETA: Might help if I added the pic!!

smudgiebun said:

Ok this has kinda turned into a "am I feeding too much hay" question :lol: but here is a pic of what their "bed" looks like after cleaning. Note they are not actually in it at the moment :lol: cos they're underneath sleeping.

I like giving them fresh hay because they get excited and actually eat it. Otherwise they will leave a full bed like that and not eat it because it's "old" :roll: They will eventually pick at it though.

Am I giving in to their begging too much?!

ETA: Might help if I added the pic!!

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You can't give them 'too much' hay, but you can reduce how much you throw away. Just top their hay up more often, with less hay. As long as they always have a pile to go at, that's fine. Mine just have huge piles in their litter trays which I top up whenever I go out to them - none on the floor or anywhere else.

You can't give too much hay. You should give enough so that they always have some to eat. But it looks like you are giving them way more than they can eat, which isn't going to do any harm, it's just more wastage for you. So, if you can afford to waste lots of hay then by all means keep giving the amount you are giving. If you want to waste less, give less (but enough so that they've always got some there).

I had this exact same issue. Well have really. I top them up two or three times a day but they dont eat anything like all of it. I have recently cut down on the amount I give them (they never run out).

Eight of them have a farm bale and a 9.5kg hay for pets bale per month.

rabbits can never eat to much hay. but to save you cleaning out that much hay and wasting hay... i would either reduce or completely get rid of the hay on the floor and just fill up the hay racks when they are low

Neve said:

i would either reduce or completely get rid of the hay on the floor and just fill up the hay racks when they are low

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We actually did used to do that!

We stopped because I worried they were having to work too hard to get their hay. Now I'm not so sure! Is it good to make them "work" a little?

definitely!!! they need to work off those hay calories :lol:

I don't think rabbits can have too much hay - should be the majority of their diet (80 - 90 per cent). I wonder whether you are feeding too many pellets, so they are not hungry for their hay?

I wouldn't abandon the hay on the base - mine won't touch hay from a hay rack (goes for the majority of rabbits I think) and you don't want to do anything that discourages hay eating.

sir

I don't know what you have on the floor of their cage, but it does not look as if it is comfortable. My rabbit has plastic floor which he keeps clear of any hay, He prefers to lay on the smooth plastic. I do nor use hay feeders, as they are not really suitable for rabbits, as rabbits mouths are under their faces to make it easy to eat while looking around for danger. Feeders slope out towards the top. Meaning that a rabbit has to almost lie on its back to eat from them. Much better to lay hay on the floor as they should be eating in comfort because they should spend a long time eating hay to wear down their teeth. I don't use any bedding hay, or poo tray hay. Instead I use feed hay, which they can eat as well as the extra hay close by, As it is all cleaned out every second day, I have adjusted the amount of hay, to ensure I don't need to throw away too much, apart from the toilet hay. I have, on the floor under the hay where he does his business, a sheet of plastic, which comes up high around the back and sides. so I can lift it out easily, and throw away, to remove that really dirty part of the hay, thus making it easier to clean the floor. I use the thickest refuse bags and cut them into two sheets. Now he did at first chew at the plastic, but I don't think he ate any. he only now drags it up, when he want to attract my attention to the fact that he wants more hay. or I have forgotten to clean the cage out. in the same way as he picks up and throws down his fresh veg plastic container when he want more fresh veg.