Can rabbit live without hay? Plan to stop buying hay altogether

denla said:

PS: Help. My rabbit keeps circling my feet and nipping me lightly.

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:lol: my Pebbles does that...sometimes harder than he means to! It is usually because I am in his way and he can't be bothered to go around me..maybe yours is saying "feed me!"

I also buy bales of meadow hay in the summer for about £4 from the local horse feed shop. I've seen people with horses store bales outside with a tarpauline over them, but I'm not sure how effective that would be keeping it dry with the amount of rain we've had.

I also have storage issues due to my shed being so damp...I use tough crates and store them in my loft. One or two tough crates in the bun's room. I would have them under my bed if I wasn't allergic to hay :lol:

Well i Have EXACTLY that problem. Bought a bale 3 weeks ago and am inl half way through.

The bale was stored in the shed, wrapped in a tarpaulin and the rest in storage containers.

I dont know how or when, but I went to use one of the containers today and have found that this one and the other storage And the wrapped bale are all mouldy.. It smells rank. I now have the problem of getting Unmouldy hay overnight...

I intend in future to buy smaller half bales in bags and if poss store them in the dining room. well camouflaged so hubby cant see....

My bales cost 4.50 and £4.00 delivery

Fee xx

I stack bales of hay inside my bunny supply shed...just stack them in the corner (no tarp or boxes or anything) and they are fine :thumb: All my bunnies and piggies love farm meadow hay and I pay £4.50 per bale and the farmer delivers it for me too

Grass and hay are interchangeable, it's just the quantity that could be tricky. I can't tell the size of the trays but I'm not convinced 10 would keep you going for long. If you do want to try it, I'd get some big seed trays and buy grass seed - it will work out cheaper. You'll need to reseed regularly to keep it thick and also add fertilizer as that gets used up.

Oxbow Timothy is a VERY expensive hay. Bales of meadow from hay for pets is cheaper or even a local farm, they might also sell you just a half bale which would be easier to store

Fee said:

Well i Have EXACTLY that problem. Bought a bale 3 weeks ago and am inl half way through.

The bale was stored in the shed, wrapped in a tarpaulin and the rest in storage containers.

I dont know how or when, but I went to use one of the containers today and have found that this one and the other storage And the wrapped bale are all mouldy.. It smells rank. I now have the problem of getting Unmouldy hay overnight...

I intend in future to buy smaller half bales in bags and if poss store them in the dining room. well camouflaged so hubby cant see....

My bales cost 4.50 and £4.00 delivery

Fee xx

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Your problem is almost certainly the fluctuations in temp causing condensation under the tarpaulin/plastic boxes.
Sun dried hay - baled - always has a higher residual moisture content too. So it should be stored either in the open or under a sheet which can let water through eg old bed sheet, dust sheet without a plastic backing.

If you can't store much hay at once, then you could buy some normal meadow hay (pet shops about £4) and you could find a field somewhere and picks LOADS of grass. I would send you a big bag of grass :lol: but the grass in the field next to my house isn't too green at the moment and my buns don't really eat it :?

I'm guessing most grassland is flooded at the moment! I can see rice fields taking over!