Leftover little pieces of hay

[maherwoman]

Hey guys!

I don't know how many of you know how we do our hay...so I'll just give a full explanation.

We get 120lb bales of hay from local tack & feed places...then store it, halved, in two very large rubbermaid tubs. See below picture:

Well, I've come to the bottom of the first half (a month after purchasing it...wow), and all that's left is VERY small pieces of hay (so small that some of it becomes fragmented, and seems like dust (though it's not dust, persay, just very tiny pieces of hay that get "floaty" when I sift through the hay to find bigger pieces).

So, the big question: is there anything I can do with this hay? I don't want to feed it to the girls, because I noticed that today one of them had a bit of irritated nosey (few sneezes from "floaty" hay while grazing in it). Anything else I can do? Or do I have to throw it away?

The amount of floaty hay that's left would only fill, say, a Target bag, so it's not a huge amount...but the conservative side of me says there MUST be some use for it.

Ideas??

P.S. I just did the calculations...this means I give my girls half a lb of hay DAILY. HEHE!! They don't eat all of it (well, most, but not all), but I give them quite a lot each day. Here's a picture of the typical amount I give ONE bun each day:

 

[spoh]

Maybe come up with a recipe for bun safe hay cubes or something like that. Mix it with pureed veggies and freeze it or bake it???? Maybe?

Just an idea, let us know if you come up with something.

Joy

 

[JadeIcing]

I usually use that under the litter.

 

[bat42072]

i dump it outside and let the birds have it for nests or whatever other wild life that might want it

 

[TK Bunnies]

spoh wrote:

Maybe come up with a recipe for bun safe hay cubes or something like that. Mix it with pureed veggies and freeze it or bake it???? Maybe?

Just an idea, let us know if you come up with something.

Joy

Wow that's a great idea!!! Hmmmmm......

you could add...

1. water
2. the hay dust
3. carrots
4. apples
5. rasins

And grind it all up in blender and bake it!!! I wonder if buns would like it.

 

[Starina]

I make bunny cookies, they might be a nice addition to that recipe:

• 1 cup of ground up pellets (that might be where you can use the hay)
• 1 cup of gound up oats
• 1 small carrot puree'd
• 1 smashed banana
• 1 tsp honey

Pre heat the oven to 350. Mix all the ingredients together. Spoon onto a foil lined baking sheet (for easy clean up). Bake for 20 minutes. Turn off oven and let cookies sit in warm oven for 1 hour.

~Star~

 

[NZminilops]

What great ideas . I get those annoying hay shreds at the bottom too. I keep my hay in a huge plastic tub as well, haha! Got the idea from you Rosie .

 

[JimD]

Too funny, Rosie!

I asked the same thing a few months ago. :biggrin2HEY!! Lookit who was one of the first to respond )

I found the thread, but half of it is missing.:? (lost in the "move")

There were other posts with links to companies that made cubes and how they did it.

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=22022&forum_id=1

~Jim

 

[Bo B Bunny]

bat42072 wrote:

i dump it outside and let the birds have it for nests or whatever other wild life that might want it

Me too! I put it and poos from the litterboxes in the flowerbeds, and garden - I feel like I'm feeding and nurishing more animals, plants and recycling a little!

Since I started putting hay out in the gardens and flowerbeds - also behind and under bushes and trees...... I have lots of wild bunnies now!

With all of the natural wildlife areas becoming so thin from construction, etc., I know it's a great thing to do for some of the wild animals. I think every nest in my trees is Oxbow building materials!

 

[maherwoman]

That's so adorable...you should write Oxbow and tell them that.

Bo B Bunny wrote:

bat42072 wrote:

i dump it outside and let the birds have it for nests or whatever other wild life that might want it

I think every nest in my trees is Oxbow building materials!

 

[maherwoman]

GREAT ideas, guys! I'll try those out! Now, to find somewhere to store those little hay pieces...

I might go ahead and dump some of it in a local park, or something (given the fact that I live in an apartment, and don't really have anywhere around here I can dump it).

Thanks so much!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I never thought of this, but we have a park nearby that has a backyard aviary - I bet they wouldn't mind someone bringing a bucket of hay to place outside during the spring months!

 

[maherwoman]

So...I've decided what I'm going to do with it. Our friend (and business partner) lives in an area that has lots of wild bunnies...

So, we're going to give it to him in a bag to be dumped out in an area that he's seen bunnies.

I'm sure they'll feel like they've hit the JACKPOT!!

:inlove: Sweet little bunnies...

 

[girlzilla]

fill up a box with the scraps of hay and some shredded newspaper and let your bun have fun with it

 

[serenz]

This is what I found on the web.. Instead of alfalfa pellets maybe we can use timothy pallets and add in the left over timothy hay we have? :biggrin2:

Bunny Biscuits

1 small carrot, pureed
1/2 banana, mashed until really creamy
1 tbsp honey
1/4 cup rabbit pellets, ground finely in a coffee grinder
1/4 cup ground oats, ground finely in a coffee grinder

Mix pureed carrot, banana and honey in a medium bowl. Add pellet powder and ground oats. Mix until blended. Knead in your hands for 1-2 minutes. Roll out the "dough" in 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick layers between sheets of plastic wrap. Cut into small cookies (about 3/4 inch across). Place cut shapes onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes (check to make sure they are not browning too much). Turn off the heat and let the cookies sit in the warm oven for an hour or so.

Can make changes, like apple, pear, etc inaddition to carrot or instead of carrot

Little Pet Cookies

alfalfa pellets
water
sunflower seeds
Put alfalfa pellets in a small bowl add water and mix till it is thick. Lay
out and shape into what shape you want. Let it dry in the sun or cook in
oven at 97 degrees for as long as it takes. Just keep checking it.

Rabbit Recipe

1/2 carrot
1/4 bread
1/2 cup milk
Squash carrot then tear bread in to peaces . After that add milk and mix
all together.

Veggie Sticks

alfalfa pellets
unsalted sunflower seeds (no shell)
minced apple
minced carrot
shredded lettuce.
Soak alfalfa pellets in water until mushy. Throw away water excess. Mix
apple slices, sunflower seeds, carrots and lettuce slices in the Alfalfa
mush . Roll in a cylinder shape and feed!

Edible Rabbit Bouquet

2 roses (no thorns)
3 daisies
6 lavender (or similar)
12 camellias

 

[Bunnicula]

maherwoman wrote:

Here's a picture of the typical amount I give ONE bun each day:

At first this picture made me chuckle because it looks like you are offering hay to your kitties (some of our cats will actually sit at the hay rack and nibble - I find hay pieces in cat poo all the time when I scoop the boxes).

Then, after my laugh and reading all the great recipe ideas I was looking back and the NIC grids in the upper left corner of this photo caught my eye. And I had the sudden revelation that NIC grids are the answer to keeping Pipkin from going under our sofa!!!!! (One of our cats has torn the fabric at the bottom and he and Pipkin go up there to sleep - I have to turn the entire sofa upside down to get them out :shock:!)

So...while it has nothing to do with the use of hay bits...this thread has been soooooo helpful! Thanks, Rosie!

-Mary Ellen

 

[maherwoman]

Haha! Well, I'm certainly happy to help!

We're actually going to change things pretty soon. We're thinking of buying some of those garden barrier brick-like things...nice and heavy and JUST the right height, and much more comfortable for those sitting on the couch. Either that, or I'll have to sew them to the couch (just a little, like one spot in the center of each tile), so they're more flush with the couch. Heck, I could even buy some fabric to match them, and sew that onto the panels!

Aren't NIC panels versatile?! WONDERFUL THINGS!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Those recipes are great! I could actually make those for both the bunnies and horses for treats! I'd still have enough hay left over for the birdies too! Bo tends to eat only what he likes and gently pushes the part he doesn't out the side of his cage and I swear he watches it fall to the ground and then looks at me. :X

 

[Pet_Bunny]

serenz wrote:

Rabbit Recipe
1/2 carrot
1/4 bread
1/2 cup milk
Squash carrot then tear bread in to peaces . After that add milk and mix
all together.

I don't feed bread to Pebbles, and I wouldn't give milk to her.
I might use carrotsand oats with apple juice, or tea.

 

[Sealy]

Dumb question but, can hay be baked?

I tried to dry out a cig once in the oven and well, let's just say it didn't turn out too well. :headsmack