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Make your own feeders for your rabbits. It is not hard and it is cheaper then buying a new feeder. We have made several of our own feeders. When we first got our rabbits we also got nice feed dishes and water bottles for each of their cages. But as our rabbitry grew we needed more feeders and bigger feeders (for the different groups) and larger water bottles or water dishes. We still have some in separate cages that can use the smaller feed dishes but for the colony and the movable outside pens they needed larger feeding dishes. If you have read any of our other blogs you probably know that we do not like spending money when we can make the thing we need out of stuff we already have. Also, some rabbits will dig in their food dishes and make a mess and therefore we had to try different dishes with different rabbits to get them to stop. Some still digs no matter what we do so we just put old metal pie pan or something similar under their food dish which helps reduce the waste.
This first design that we will share is made out of a plastic paint can. The really nice thing about this design is that it can also be used for water with a few altercations and a large water bottle. The handle on the paint can is great because you can easily hang it and adjust the height of it.
Rabbit feeder
Here is a list of the things you will need:
1 Plastic one gallon paint can
1 Large zip tie 18-20"
1 Smaller sip tie
Knife or box cutter knife
Pencil or white crayon
Tin snips or metal shears
The first thing that you will want to do is wash the paint can thoroughly and let it dry. You can buy empty paint cans then they would not need washed but then you might as well just go buy a rabbit feeder. We just used empty paint cans that we had used when painting the interior of our house or other projects.
2. We do not use the paint can lid so you can get rid of that. Next cut the top metal edge off of the paint can. Use your knife to completely cut the top metal edge off as close as you can to the metal ring.
3. Now it is time to mark the paint can so that you can cut with confidence and not mistakenly cut too far. Start right beside the handle on the one side and draw a straight line down to the bottom of the paint can. Do the same thing on the other side. You will only cut the one line and it will not be all the way down so don't start cutting yet!
4. Starting at your one vertical line make a horizontal line to connect your two vertical lines. Do this line two and a half to three inches from the bottom of the paint can. This will be the depth of the dish. We like to do closer to three inches because the rabbits will chew some on it and make it shorter.
5. Now it is time to cut. Start at your one vertical line and cut down to your horizontal line and cut over to the other vertical line. Do not cut the other vertical line! Now you have a 'door' in the paint can. This 'door' will be closed tight making a spot for your rabbits to feed on one side and a taller portion on the other side for you to put their food into.
6. The next thing you need to do is draw a straight three inch horizontal line from the cut vertical line right in line with the paint can handle. Draw a one inch box at the end of the three inch horizontal line (see pictures). Then cut the line and the box you just drew.
7. Close the 'door' of the paint can. As you close the 'door' you will have to maneuver the handle through horizontal line and box you just cut. The box should fit perfectly around where the handle connects to the paint can. You may need to shape it better to make it fit correctly.
8. Secure the large zip tie around the lower part of the feeder to hold the 'door' closed.
9. On the top edge of the 'door' make a small hole through the 'door' and through the plastic behind the 'door'. This is where the small zip tie goes through to hold the top of the 'door' closed.
10. Now here is where you must decide if this will be used for water or food. If it will be used for water you are done. All you need is a water bottle placed in the top of it. You can also place some small rocks in the bottom of it to keep the water bottle from sitting directly on the bottom of the paint can and not letting any water out. Or just make sure the water bottle is not sitting flat on the bottom. Use the handle and a clip or just tie the paint can into place so your rabbits do not knock it over.
11. If you decide to use it for food you will need to find another tall dish that will fit into the taller side of the feeder. A cottage cheese dish or similar size dish will work. Fill your dish up with food and then place the paint can feeder upside-down over top the dish. Flip right side up and hang in your rabbit pen. If your pen is outside like ours is it will need a little more protection from the rain so we cut a large size piece of a feed bag and secure it over the top of the feeder. We used a stretchy piece of string to tie it around the top for easy access for refilling the feeder.
Hay Feeder
We also feed our rabbits hay. We like them to have hay all the time to eat. Just placing hay in their cages is messy and wasteful so we have created a hay feeder out of a old flower pot and some wire. This is a larger feeder so we do not use this type in our individual rabbit pens. We use it in the larger outside pens where groups of rabbits are.
You will need:
A ten inch hanging basket pot (could do smaller if you wanted it for a smaller pen).
Enough wire to cove the top of the pot. We used 2x4" fencing.
String to hang the pot.
This design is quite simple. Cut your wire to fit over the top of the basket pot and bend the wire around the lip of the basket pot. Once the wire is bent into place it is time to fill it up with hay. Pop the wire off the basket pot by bending the basket pot slightly, fill it with hay and replace the wire. Hang from the top of the pen. You might have to adjust the height to the size of rabbits you have in the pen to make sure they can reach it.
Leave a comment if you made these for your rabbits! Or show us any of your homemade rabbit feeder ideas. You can also sign up to get email notification when we post a new blog!
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