Hay Tossing

[Patiofarmer]

Hi,

I'm having trouble with my two girls, Lola and Wednesday, wasting their hay. We have tried several types of hay holders but they keep pulling it out and throwing it on the ground. I've seen them dig through their hay, knocking several pieces on the ground, just to get to a "perfect" piece of hay. Then they take two bites and throw it down! :hair:

Not only does it make it a lot harder to keep their cage clean (not to mention the floor for about a 3 foot radius around the cage) but it's so wasteful. They eat maybe 10% of their hay and line their cage with the rest of it. I can't afford to waste so much hay and it's driving me crazy to throw out bags of it every time we clean the cage. :banghead:

Has anyone else had this problem? Would it help to switch to hay cubes?

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

This is common behavior for chins. They love to make a mess of their hay because it's so much fun!

 

[BoundNoFtWaL]

I've heard this a lot and experienced it too. Like you said they are looking for the perfect piece. When I switch bags I notice Stitch likes different pieces. I read a thread on hay about the nutritional quality changing as the hay gets older and with the different cuts of hay as well. I imagine it to be kind of like corn, or any other veg for that matter. Some are good when they are younger and not so great when they are older. And, growing conditions can effect taste. Maybe they are looking for "sweet" hay and throwing out the rest. Stitch prefers [if you hand him a piece] the grass pieces over stems and will take a young seed tuft (can't think of what they are called, but if you're feeding hay you probably know what I mean) over a longer more mature one. If it's not a 'good' piece according to him he'll drop it and stick his nose at you looking for something good. If I leave the floor hay [dropped hay] in there for a couple days some times he'll pick up the crunchy stems and eat them.

Maybe try a different brand of hay? What are you feeidng him now? Also what kind of holder are you using? I've been using the hay ball but that does make a big mess. I noticed if I put it somewhere in the middle of the cage it doesn't get thrown out side of the cage as much. I know there are a few people here who don't like the hay balls because someones chin got their leg stuck in one. Now that my surger is fixed I'm going to make a small hay bag and see how that works. I'd think that the stikyness of the hay would kling to the bag a bit and prevent it from being just pulled out as swiftly if another piece is pulled on. There are a few people who make them that would sell you one if you can't sew. Check the classifieds here: http://chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=546&page=6

 

[Tanya]

You can try giving small amounts of hay, but more often.
Rotating a variety of hays and mixing multiple types (timothy, meadow, bluegrass, orchard, brome, oat, some alfalfa) encourage chins to eat more hay and various textures wear teeth differently!

 

[Patiofarmer]

I'm using Kaytee timothy hay. I'm thinking of changing it up but am unsure of what to get or where to get it from. I'm really thinking of trying to find a place that does hay cubes just for the cleanliness/waste issue but they seem to be much more expensive.

You know, it's funny that I had made assumptions about which pieces would be considered the yummy ones but I was completely wrong. I would offer a big sturdy stem and they'd push it away to get to a little spindly brown thread of hay and I just couldn't believe it. I also assumed that the fluffy bits on the ends (seed tufts) would be like extra special treats but even if I hand it to them directly they just don't care about them.

So I guess maybe I should switch to a second or third cutting? Maybe the smaller, softer pieces would be more enticing and less likely to be thrown.

 

[Patiofarmer]

Oh, and as far as hay containers go, we've tried a few. Our first cage came with a hanging hay ball but the hay that wasn't just falling to the ground on its own was still being pulled out and thrown. Also, I saw one of the girls stick her head in the ball and get momentarily stuck and I had a vision of finding one of them hanging one day so I got rid of it immediately.

We tried a hay rack that hangs on the outside of the cage but it was horribly messy and they still throw the hay. We tried one of those balls that you can affix to the inside of the cage and it becomes a toy and a feeder but the door was difficult to keep closed and, again, I didn't want one sticking her head in the ball and the other one giving it a spin. Plus the hay still fell out and they still threw the rest of it.

We got a wire basket in the garden section of our local store that I'm sure was supposed to be for birdseed. We left it open and attached it to the side of the cage and it was working ok for a while (except that they were still throwing the hay) but they were leaving a packed down layer of hay in the bottom that they wouldn't eat and new hay was just going on top of it. While cleaning the cage I discovered that they were using the packed in hay as a toilet and the wire basket was corroding because of their pee. Now I'm just leaving hay on the shelf a little at a time until I can figure out what else to do.

 

[Ippo456]

My chinchillas are picky. They used to toss out a lot of hay in order to find the yummy piece. This was when I used lower quality hay, including Kaytee. My chins also don't like Oxbow. Right now I'm using Zupreem & it's the one the chinchillas like the best.

Maybe you shouldn't give too much hay at one time? Give a little each day so not a lot will go to waste.

 

[kdr13]

We have tried everything as well and honestly I think they just like tossing the hay all over the place! I think that we throw away more hay than they actually eat, because my chins won't eat the hay once they pull it out of their hay bowls. I don't think there is anything u can do to eliminate the problem. We have tried a million hay racks and bowls and everything else and nothing helps. I don't think there is anything you can do!

 

[alli713]

I'd try a different brand of hay. Kaytee isn't exactly known for it's quality. Many people use Oxbow which is also available at pet stores. You could also try orchard grass which is nutritionally similar to timothy.

 

[MegM]

Welcome to the wonderful world of chins. I feed handfuls right on the shavings - I don't use any type of hay holder, either they eat it or they won't.