If you have somewhere under cover, horse haylage nets are cheap, quick and easy (note, not hay nets, they have big holes, haylage nets have small holes).
I've made some barrel feeders before - take a plastic barrel shaped object (a barrel or bin, or wheelie bin etc) that already has a lid. Get yourself a hole cutter doobry for your drill (or a big knife or whatever
), and cut some round holes out around the bottom of said barrel shaped object. Don't make the holes too big as they will just yank out loads and drop it on the floor. Fill with hay. Tie it to something or stake down as the little critters will no doubt want it as a rubbing post too. (this is the general idea:
http://www.hay-hutch.com/, but you can do it on the cheap cheap
)
I'd never feed hay on the ground as they will tread on so much of it and waste it (unless they are starving).