Emptying hay in to litter tray.

I have two young (unsprayed till next week) female rabbits and they share a room with cage in but the cage is always open and the room is their run.
On the cage is the hay rack and under is the litter tray I fill the hay rack full when ever empty which is usually at night near bed time by the morning the rack is empty and the try under it has a nice think layer of hay on top. I know they are eating some of it of it as it all couldn't fit within the litter tray but does seem a good amount is going in there and them doing their business on it in layers.

My first thoughts to them doing this is they are being very hygienic and just putting a clean layer on top of their mess but I am starting to burn through hay at a fast rate due to this. I can hear them sometime just going at the hay and trying to drag it all out as hear their feet rattling down the bars.

I thinking about raising the rack a little higher so they don't find it as easy to be able to get it all out and hopefully put them off emptying most of it in their tray?


Any thought or suggestions would be grateful.

Thanks

A lot of people don't use hay racks, and just put the hay in the litter trays for them to eat, might be worth trying.

I use racks (well these http://direct.asda.com/george/george-home/asda-under-shelf-storage-basket/001433657,default,pd.html) above the trays,but mine don't pull it out like yours do, they don't eat much if I put it in their trays, but I think mine are just awkward bunnies :lol: My goats like to pull their hay out of the rack, and once it's on the floor they won't eat it, they're even worse than the bunnies :shock::lol:

Thanks for your response, what you linked is like the hay rack that i use on the side of the cage already.
Think i should just fill half the litter box with hay instead of putting it in the rack and see how they get on?
Just worried there wont be enough in there to last them both the day suppose i could just fill the two litter trays that are in the room.

You could put some in the racks and some in the trays too :thumb:

I have a large litter tray with newspaper lining and then hay on top which both my rabbits love to sit in, poo and eat And also a large pot cassorolle (sp?) dish which they cannot sit in, which one rabbit in particular likes to munch from.

I have now filled both the litter trays half full with hay and other half with litter, one in their cage and one in their room/run so is more than enough that was in their rack.

I do have a large haybox with a litter tray hold attached that someone made me but the bars are to wide and they can climb in and sit on top of the hay eat all they like but poo and wee on it and make it soiled so had to take away until they are bigger which is a shame as hold lot of hay and would be nice to just have one thing for them but soon be grown no doubt.

Here is what i've done now and also the haybox I got made.