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[Leslie]

I ordered a big huge bag of hay online (why not when you have to pay so much for shipping?) and I am wondering how to store it and still be able to access it daily.  It's 9 pounds of Oxbow Timothy hay and it's compacted into a big square....once I open it it's going to expand.  Does anyone have any suggestions?

Also....how does everyone feed loose hay?  I have a hay rack and I HATE IT  , it looks so unsafe but I don't know what else to do.  They climb on top of the hay rack and sit there, chewing and pooping into the hay, not to mention the chance of getting a foot stuck in the bars.  I need to keep it off the floor of the cage cause they always pee in it if it's on the floor.  Help!

[Sweetnessheart]

Hi Leslie,
I put my loose hay in coffee cups.  Over the years the cups seem to multiply around my house....so I use the old ones I don't want any more.  I stuff the hay in them and set them in the cage.  My chinchillas just eat the hay right from the cups.   

[chinclub]

I buy big squares of hay like you would for horses.  I bought a huge plastic tupperware type container from Wal-mart and used my husband's drill to poke small holes on all 4 sides and the lid.  This is because hay needs to breath.  I stuff my hay into that large container and then pull out 2 pats at a time and keep those in a large cardboard box.  I push the cardboard box down the room pulling hay from it for the cages.

[Jo Ann]

Hi Leslie,
     Your hay needs to be stored in a cool dry place.  You will need to check it for freshness constantly.  If it begins to mold or gets a yucky smell, it is no longer any good ... feeding it to your chin might cost you lots more in vet bills than the shipping of the hay.
      You may want to check a feed store or anywhere they sell supplies for horses or small animals.  They should carry hay.  
      I would check around and see if someone fairly close to you is feeding one of their animals hay ... check out the size and cost for the hay where they get it from.
      Have you seen the hay rack that you hang on the outside of the cage?  It is similar to a "J" feeder ... it is solid on the outside, but allows the chins to get their hay on the inside.  It's up off the floor and works wonders!  
      I would only put in enough hay to last for one day ... more than that, it will most likely get ruined.

 
Jo Ann

[Debbie.nl.ca]

I use old mugs and things as well, I have even tied a string around some and hung it from the cage door. Gives them something to play with as well.
I buy mine from the feed store, and get about 6-8, 60 pound bales of first cut, and store them up on pallets in the shed. I turn them every month or so, and keep one in a large cardboard box in our attached garage. From there I fill a feed bag and keep that in the chins room. Using a pair of kitchen shares I cut it off the width of my hand and fill their cups every day.
Yes I think everyone feeds loose hay, or they should. You can use cubes as well, but they won't get the same chew from it, I don't think.

[Leslie]

Thanks everyone!  I think I'll try the coffee cup.  I have a beastly little guy that loves to play with the hay more than eat it though....so I know it will be emptied by the next morning.  I have learned to only put one small handful in...that way he gets fresh stuff everyday.

Jo Ann - I don't know what a J-feeder is.  I have a cage from Martin's Cages though, the bars are very close together.  I can't imagine how a feeder on the outside of the cage would work.  Too bad, cause that would be the perfect solution.  If they could pull the hay through the cage bars strand by strand, my hay would last about 10 times as long.

[Jo Ann]

Hi Leslie,
   I have the "J" feeder in the same picture with Jamie trying to escape ... it is just to the right of her.
   I have the Hay Holder pictured also.
Just click on my name on the side and it will take you to my profile, check out my album at the bottom.   

 
Jo Ann

[Leslie]

Hmmm I like the looks of that hay feeder on the outside of the cage.  They can get their little hands through the bars far enough to get all the hay they want?  This would totally solve the wasted hay problems.

[Jo Ann]

Since the inside part of the hay holder is open, the hay is pushed right up against the cage wire, they will pull out the hay through the wire as they want it.

 
Jo Ann

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Well they can get anything else into their cage that gets handy
Yes those are awesome.

[Jo Ann]

Yep, any thing with in 3 " of the cage can usually be pulled into the cage ... curtins, plastic bags, blinds, clothes, shoe laces, etc.     They will even "walk the wires" upside down on the top of the cage, to get to something sitting on the center top part of the cage.
  And then there is the problem when you accidentally push a cage flush up against the wall ... they stick their little mouths through the wire and eat the wall board!    (makes an intresting pattern on the wall)  Of course the wall board has to be replaced and the wall repainted ... hopefully you were smart enough to save some of the paint for touch-ups ... if not, you re-paint the whole wall. 
  In addition to the wall, you fear that the chins will get sick from the plaster in the wall board!      
  We can laugh about it now, but not at the time it happened.

 
Jo Ann