Hay eating habits

[Rayen]

So I have a system of where to put their hay that seems to work out fairly well, for about a day. I made a hay rack out of a few spare NIC cubes by their litter box and have one that hangs outside the cage up on their second level. They eat out of both of them, but they will dig and rip out all of what they prefer to eat.

So for a day or two everything is fine, the hay racks will empty, I'll fill them back up. But eventually, the pile that they don't want becomes a bit noticeable at the bottom and even if I put fresh hay on top of the stuff they don't want, they won't eat it. I can leave it there for days and they won't eat it. So I empty them out again, and they go back to eating their weight in hay again.

It just seems weird to me. Is there any particular reason they won't eat hay, even if it's fresh, if there's a bit of older hay beneath it? There are days I'm throwing away tons of perfectly good hay because it's 'old'. Is there anyway I can maybe trick them and make a baggy of hay they've discarded and add it to the cage later for them to eat, or will it still be 'old'? It isn't resting on the ground, they're not stepping or peeing/pooing in it. It's just touched the hay that was there, sometimes the hay that's been there only for a few hours. They will rush to a hay rack I freshly clean out and eat from it like they're starving, the 'new' hay isn't really any fresher. It was in an open bag I keep in a storage bin. It wasn't sealed, it got just as much air exposure, it's usually always the same mixture of hay I always give them so it's not a new kind either.

So picky!

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

how about the poop box,,use the uneaten hay for a poop box,then refill half of the bin,,,,it is also possible there are undesirablepockets in the bale.ie.noxious weeds,taste,dirt...sincerely james waller

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

james waller wrote:

how about the poop box,,use the uneaten hay for a poop box,then refill half of the bin,,,,it is also possible there are undesirablepockets in the bale.ie.noxious weeds,taste,dirt...sincerely james waller

mine are finicky,some kinda wierd cycle.//,they like orchard hay-then change-won,t eat it--so i switch to timothy--and then they will eat-enjoy--then quit eating,,,in a years time i am switching back and forth 3 times,,just thought i wou;ld add this tid-bit,,,sincerely james waller

 

[Flashy]

I think its to do with what smells good and what smells fresh and edible to them. So the longer it's been there, the less its going to smell like fresh, yummy hay.

 

[Rayen]

I don't really get how it's any different from their other hay though. I mean, the bags are left open in a storage bin together. The hay in their hay racks would be getting the same air exposure, and sure they may not like certain parts of it and leave it, but even if I add new hay on top of it, wouldn't they smell the difference in it? It's not really like it's even that old either, maybe a day or two.

I used to put hay in their litter box, but one too many times they dragged a large pile out onto the floor and used that spot as their new litter box. They wasted so much more when I had it in the box as well, 80-90% of it was stomped all over and peed on. The hay rack is easily accessible from their litter box, they can even eat out of it from one of their steps. It's just two NIC cubes, one used to hold their step up and one at an angle that leans over their box.

 

[Flashy]

The hay in their hay racks will start to smell of them, like their smell will rub off on it, and because it won't be surrounded by loads, then the freshness of it was be blown away as the air moves around it.

There will be good bits of hay to eat and bad bits (like if we have a pack of nuts, we won't eat the bits we deem 'bad'.

With mine, whenever I give them fresh they chow down on it straight away like its some sort of glorious treat (although they get fresh hay twice a day). It's just a bunny thing; they prefer fresh hay.