Another silly hay question

[miyumiyu]

So I posted a few weeks ago asking if "horse quality hay" was what I should get for my bun, and got a lot of great responses. I bought a big 40 lb bale of hay from my local tractor supply store, and while it's not nearly as vibrantly green as the oxbow stuff, my rabbits actually seem to be eating more of it. Which I count as a win.

My silly question...is there an easy way to un-bale this big thing? I've been going out to my garage with a big bag and manually pulling handfuls of hay out for the past week, and each time I come back with dry and sometimes ragged palms. I cut the pieces of plastic that were holding the bale together, but it's still packed so tightly that I have a really hard time pulling anything out.

This is obviously my first time dealing with a hay bale, so I was wondering if I'm going about this the wrong way? Is there an easier way for me to get the hay I need for my rabbits? Perhaps a hidden button that I can push that will make the friggin thing just fall apart according to my will?

Thanks for any and all replies.

 

[JBun]

I have compressed bales that are packed really tight as well. What I do is pull a flake off, put it in an 18 gal. rubbermaid bin, then pull the hay in the flake apart so that it is loose and easy to feed each day. Then just store the bin in the house to feed the buns. This makes it so I only have to loosen hay from a flake every few days instead of every day. Bit of a pain, but I like this hay and it's just something you have to do when dealing with these tightly packed compressed bales. Another tip is to pull the flake apart out in the garage as it can sometimes be a bit of a dusty process. The only other way around having to do this is to buy bales that aren't packed tight. Most farm bales aren't packed tight like this and are much easier to pull apart.

I wouldn't worry about the hay not being as green as the pet store stuff. As long as the hay seems good, clean, and not moldy, is fairly green, and your buns like it, then it should be just fine. I've bought lovely looking green hay that I thought my rabbits would love. Nope. Picked through it and would hardly eat it. They like the brownish green bales that I had been getting before that. So I went back to the old stuff. As long as they're happy

 

[Watermelons]

What jenny said.
Hay is usually easiest to break apart in flakes. A rectangular bale is typically comprised of numerous slices or "flakes" that are compressed together. Think of a loaf of bread. You should be able to see the flakes when you take that baling twine off it. Then just deal with 1 flake at a time in a large bin or a really large garbage bag, stick 1 arm and the flake in and shake it apart like crazy. It shouldn't hurt your hands.

FYI this is alfalfa so its likely way greener then your hay but same idea

 

[miyumiyu]

Thanks guys, I'll definitely try that!

I've currently got the bale standing up vertically and I've been trying to pull from it that way, so that's probably part of my issue. I'll buy a big bin tonight and put it in there!

Would you recommend that I poke holes in the top of the bin, or something similar? I think I read somewhere that it wasn't good to store hay in tight containers, but maybe I'm thinking of something else.

 

[Watermelons]

You may not even need to bother putting the lid on it. The last bale I bought that's stored at my poor mothers house.... was simply wrapped in an old bedsheet and tucked in an under bed storage bin in the basement for ease of access so 90% of the hay was above the top of the bin. No lid. And the bedsheet was to just contain the hay so she didn't kill me. The last hay I bought where I live now for this demon rabbit was just some floor sweepings as they call it. 50lbs of loose hay crammed in a clear garbage bag. I just left it in the bag with the top of the bag open in the garage. As long as its dry. When my boyfriend wanted the hay outside, I could see moisture forming on the inside of the bag. even though it was under cover and not getting rained on, this was just bad. So now the hays in the garage and way better. I keep small amounts at a time in a closed Rubbermaid bin in the house next to bunnys cage for easy assess. But that gets opened daily to feed her since her pellets are in a bucket in the same bin.