Where to place Hay for Feed

[Jusma]

I feed my rabbits Bermuda Grass as Hay is not available at my location. Where should I lay the grass meant for the rabbits to eat.

Originally, I used to place them on the cage floor with a litter box next to it. While my rabbits urinate mostly in the litter box, they also used to climb on top of the grass bundle and I’d find urine in that corner the next day.

I can’t find a hay rack around my location either, so I made a DIY hay rack from cardboard and placed the grass in that. If I put some vegetables in that box, the rabbits eat it, but the grass seems to be untouched.

My rabbits poop mostly brown coloured droppings, so I know they are getting enough fibre, but the hay rack seems to not be a hit.

Shall I place the grass inside the litter box then? Is it OK for them to urinate on their food?

[StachesMommy]

I place my bunny’s hay in various different locations throughout her enclosure. I used to put a bulk of it in her litter box but it turned out that she would urinate on it and not eat the soiled hay but eat the unsoiled hay she could find. I realized I was wasting a lot of hay by doing that so now I only place a handful of it in the corner of her litter box where she doesn’t urinate and the rest in a shallow bowl. The bowl is large enough to place a lot of hay but not large enough for her to go into. The bowl also comes in handy because it can hold the little grassy pieces she really like. It’s also low so she can eat comfortably. I did try a hack rack and multiple different ones but she doesn’t like hay racks. I think it’s too much work for her and she can only really grab 1 or 2 pieces of hay at a time. I also tried the diy box method but for me the shallow big bowl was a big hit. She eats the most hay out of that bowl. In our living room she has a HUGE cat litter box and for that box I do put hay on 1 side and she seems to never soil that hay but she doesn’t have free range all day/night only when I am home and she can have my undivided attention. Oh yea, she also likes toilet paper rolls stuffed with orchard grass hanging from the sides of her xpen. It’s the only way I can get her to eat the orchard grass.

[Jusma]

Makes sense, thanks for that. Anyone have any other preferences?

[Gina.Jenny]

We have several of the clear boxes that are designed to go under beds, in various corners.

I put a sheet of newspaper in the bottom, then half a puppy training pad, then a few big handfuls of cheaper hay, topped with a sprinkling of better hay, and all three of our bunnies love this.

[cinnybun2015]

I put lots of hay in Chomondeley’s litterbox, and he always moves the hay out of the way with his paws before he sits down to poop/pee. It’s fine for them to have hay in their litterbox, they won’t eat soiled food.

[BB & Tiny]

I used to only put hay in the litter box, until Josephine became sick. Since I was trying to promote more hay eating I put some on a piece of cardboard also, on the other side of the room. I’m rather shocked at the fact they eat easily twice as much hay once I did this.

[Bam]

I put hay here and there around their rooms in small cardboard boxes. I want to encourage their hay-eating all I can. It’s good to let them “forage” for their hay, it gives them sth to do and slows down their eating and makes their lives more “rabbit-like”.

[Jusma]

Interesting inputs from everyone. Regarding putting hay on the other side or all around, I have a cage with my bunnies and during day time, I let them roam around a 15×6 feet area. I prefer to put food only inside the cage to avoid them littering all around. Will try to put some grass on the corner opposite to the litter box (or middle) and will see what happens.

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