What kind of hay holder you guys use?

[Evelyn]

The one I have for my boy is the ball hay holder. He always knock it down and waste so much hay have so much cleaning required. What kind of hay holder you guys use? And where can I buy it?

 

[kimbt622]

I don't suggest the hay balls. They're crappy quality and the chins can get paws, toes, tail, head and any other part stuck in there. I use a hay bag for my little boys made out of fleece which they love. For my big boys, I just use a bowl like i use for their food, but they always make a mess so I'm going to make them a hay bag soon. However, you're always going to have a mess with hay because they like to rummage through it. I would suggest a hay bag for safety, but don't expect everything to be neat. That never happens with chinnies.

 

[cremellomare]

I made a hay bag out of fleece. I took a 4" x 8" piece of fleece, folded it in half and sewed the edges. Even doing it by hand it took maybe 15 minutes. I then cut two strips near the top and use that to tie it on side of the cage. It is very safe and all I have to do is take it out and stuff a couple of handfuls of hay in. They do pull it out all over the shelf but then eat it too. Cuts down on the mess but doesn't get rid of it.

 

[Tagna]

http://www.bunnybale.com/MetalBunnyBaleFeederkit.html

I have one of the bunny bale holders and love it. I need to get some more of them.

 

[ticklechin]

I use the ones Riven built, they worked the best of all the ones I ever used. Plus they had a cute chinchilla stencil on them!

 

[Isabella Whateva]

I just bought a horizontal hay box from Chincessories (http://forchinatechins.com/chincessories.htm)

It works well, but it was a little smaller than I expected. That might actually be a good thing, since refilling it more often means the hay is fresher.

 

[Carol~Anne]

I've got a couple of wooden hay boxes here but lately we've been doing the tin can thing. Gotta make sure the edges are really smooth though.

 

[fanofdmb84]

This may sound odd, but I use corner hammocks as my hay holders. I started with a cheap hay rack from the store, which was awful. So I made some little fleece hay bags, which were OK, but the chins made a HUGE mess with them, and still left a lot of hay in the bottoms. They never used their hammocks so I started putting hay in them instead and the chins sit on the shelf below the hammock and pick the hay out nicely. Since then they are eating almost all of the hay I put in and I actually find less of it on the cage floor. It might just be a coincidence, but I'm ok with it!

 

[LongTimeLover]

I just use a toilet paper roll that's been cut in half and had all the glue/paper pulled off.

 

[Pleiades]

The corner hammock thing might be a great idea!

Any chance one of you guys can attach a photo of one of the fleece haybags? I'm thinking of sewing some and a picture would really help out!

Currently I'm using giant pine boxes that I specially constructed. They have an attached ledge and a 1-inch slit vertically down the middle, so they can poke their noses in to grab hay. It works, except one of my boys thinks it's a game to pull it all out onto the floor. :hair:

 

[StevieP]

I use clay flower pots. Some chins can make a mess by pulling out all of the hay then picking through it but they work. As long as they can't knock them off of a shelf.

 

[Peep_erz]

I've done the hammock thing to lure my boys into the hammock. Now that they sleep in there I use a couple different hay holders. I have a box from chincessories, a couple flower pots, and some coconut shells.

 

[Dewdrop]

We made our shelves, and they have edging on three sides, I took some of the left over wood and boxed in one of the corners....works pretty well.

 

[Siylvat]

Ya know, i've tried putting the hay in a hammok, but that didn't work for us. I had one chin that would pull it into his eyes, and he kept getting watery eyes from it. The problem with him, is you cannot use a bowl, because he will pee in it. The other chins are all fine with a bowl, and we use that. For him, I have a cheap hay hanger on the outside of the cage, he seems to do fine pulling it through the bars.

 

[mishellyshel]

i have used hay boxes, my boys pee in them. i have used hay holders, they cant get to the bottom and basically waste most of it.
i use either toilet paper rolls but mostly i cut the tops and use the bottoms of every type of food box i use. ie: fruit snacks, hamburger helper (yuk), pasta, etc.... i just cut the tops off an make them about 2 inches deep and fill with hay. i also use the boxes from ziplock sandwich bags, those are my favs. also the bottom half of tall tissue boxes OR for big hay eaters or 2 in a cage i use the whole box.

 

[QTKirls]

I have tried a lot of things...the balls, the kind you hang from the wall, anything they have to pull through becomes a came. I got one of those chinchilla dust bath houses from the petstore...the kind that's in the shape of a chinchilla,not the plastic house one, and put hay in it. They can sit and pick what they want through the opening. Its really cut down on the mess. One of them has to check every piece and sometimes he gets a pile going on though. I really like that system and there isn't nearly as much hay on the floor as before. I also have fleece liners so every night I shake them out. Super easy clean up!