How much hay a day?

[sheilaandroses]

So I was looking at some shops that some nice people recommended to me, and I noticed that hay is sold in smaller portions than I expected. My friend got a giant cage for her rat, and it came with a big hay feeder she didn't need. I put the hay feeder in his cage stuffed with alfalfa hay (which I've learned is wrong, because he's on Mazuri so he should be having timothy), and it would take him about three days to finish it off. The hay feeder is six inches tall and seven inches wide. I have a feeling that I've been making a terrible mistake by giving him so much hay, let alone alfalfa with Mazuri. How much do they need a day?

 

[ticklechin]

They can have as much hay as they want, I mix timothy with alfalfa.

 

[Gabby88]

Chins can have as much Timothy hay as they want. You can't overfeed hay.

I usually give them new hay every day since my chins enjoy peeing all over their hay (even though it's in a hay box), so if I left it in for days, they'd stop eating it.

 

[Marie5656]

Yep..I agree hay can be fed freely. Trixie loves to nibble every now and then.

 

[Idgie]

Idgie eats about a handful a day, though I never limit her. I give her fresh hay every day, so there's no point to put too much in if you are throwing most of it away. After awhile, you'll get the hang of how much hay your chin will eat.

 

[fbodgrl]

I agree...never too much. I offer 3 different kinds of hay. 2 loose and 1 hay cube.

 

[Siany]

I top my chinnies up with Timothy Hay daily, i usually find it scattered but mostly eaten. I also have a hay cookie and an Alfalfa cube so they get what they want Hay is always on demand so its always well stocked

 

[Snickers]

I free feed hay. I throw the old hay from that day and replace with new.

 

[ChinnyMom]

one of Rhino's hay containers doesn't allow him to sit on the hay at all, so i don't worry about him peeing on it, and that hay container gets fresh hay every second day. his other hay container gets dumped and refilled every day because it is open topped and although i never smell pee on the hay, i change it out anyway. i probably put a good bit more hay than he'll eat in a 24 hour period, but more is better than not enough!

 

[danilinn]

When it comes to alfalfa, what about giving them the fresh stuff, provided it's from a Whole Foods or something and organic?

 

[ticklechin]

I would not feed fresh alfalfa. Only fresh thing I feed is wheat grass, a big treat here.

 

[Chinmandan]

Fresh hay of any kind shouldn't be fed, right? Doesn't it cause problems with gas?

 

[Chinantics]

I have been using a suet feeder hung inside the cage filled with hay.
Literally all the hay is eaten, NONE on the floor.

 

[pants567]

I never thought of using a suet feeder, what a great idea!

 

[danilinn]

i have to rave about Tanya's hay--i hope that's okay. Jonesy's package from Fuzzies Kingdom came yesterday, and she's gobbling that stinky, dank (kidding) organic hay at almost twice the rate she was with her regular timothy hay. it doesn't even look the same, and it's great to see her so enthusiastic about something so healthy!

 

[3CsMommy]

How much do they need a day?

As much as they eat.