Rabbit feeders: sizes and drawings 10 best types, how to do it yourself

Depending on the design, there are several types of feeders for rabbits. The differences between these products mainly come down to the features of serving food for animals. However, each feeder must meet a number of requirements, without which it is impossible to provide suitable living conditions for rabbits. But, despite this, you can make such designs with your own hands.

Feeder requirements

Regardless of the type of design, each rabbit feeder must meet the following requirements:

Convenient design that simplifies both feeding and adding feed;
size should correspond to the daily feed intake;
Feeders should be made of durable material as rabbits tend to chew on things;
feeder must be fixed to a solid surface;
no sharp corners.

The material for rabbit feeders should be neutral. That is, if ingested, the particles should not cause intoxication or other consequences.

You should also consider how many animals the product is designed for. If the feeder is made for several rabbits, then it is important that such a device provides access to all pets, but at the same time withstands increased loads and does not tip over.

Main types of structures

Rabbit feeders are divided into several types depending on the type of construction and material of manufacture.

Nurseries

This type of rabbit feeder is better known as a hay barn. The latter is mainly used for feeding hay or grass. These devices are attached directly to the cage, thereby providing constant access to food. In some cases, senniks are attached directly to the door. This option makes it easier to clean the feeder. However, if the cage is being used for rearing young animals, this type of attachment cannot be used.

Gutter-shaped

Groove designs are used when several rabbits are kept in one cage. Such devices are universal, as they allow you to serve various types of food: grass, hay, compound feed and root crops. These designs are easy to maintain.

Bunker

Bunker structures are used to supply grain and granular feed. The name of this device comes from the fact that a container is attached on top into which food is poured. This design is also convenient to use, as it allows you to put as much food at a time as rabbits consume over several days. Galvanized steel is often used to make feed bins.

Cup-shaped

The least common option. Cups are convenient for serving root crops.But due to the design features, such feeders are not used for continuous feeding. Cups must be constantly removed from the cage for washing. And rabbits often overturn these feeders, scattering food.

What tools and materials do you need to make your own

Materials and tools are selected taking into account the selected type of construction. Depending on this, you may need:

galvanized steel sheets or plywood;
wooden planks;
plexiglass;
slate;
plastic or other materials.

In addition to these materials, it is recommended to prepare iron rods and wire. Additionally, you will need tools such as a hacksaw (for metal or wood), a hammer, nails (self-tapping screws), and so on.

Dimensions and drawings

The sizes of cages and feeders are selected taking into account the characteristics of rabbits. That is, you need to take into account the size and rate of food intake in a particular breed. Also, when choosing sizes, it is necessary to determine the number of animals that will have access to the feeder.

Before starting work, it is recommended to draw a diagram of the future device. This will simplify the production of the product and help to avoid mistakes.

Step by step

As mentioned above, there are several types of feeder designs. Therefore, the manufacturing order of the food serving device changes according to this parameter.

From pipes

Sewage pipes are often used to make do-it-yourself feeders. To create such a design, you will need:

Cut off a 30 cm piece from the pipe.
Draw 2 lines on this part at a distance of 13 centimeters.
Starting from the edge, cut off 14 centimeters on each side, leaving 2 centimeters in the center.
Cut off the remaining pieces of pipe. This will create a gutter with a 2 cm lintel in the middle.
Heat with a building hair dryer and straighten the cut pieces.
From the resulting plastic sheets, use scissors to cut parts that can close the pipe on the sides.

At the end of the work, the plastic must be sanded with sandpaper. Next, using a glue gun, you need to attach the cut pieces to the ends and make holes in the gutter for the wire, through which the structure will be attached to the cage.

From the construction profile

To make a rabbit feeder you will need:

Make 2 oblique cuts in a construction profile with a section of 100x40 millimeters and a length of 1.2 meters at a distance of 30 centimeters from the edges.
Bend one part of the profile and fasten the "driven" parts with rivets.
At a distance of 40 centimeters from the bent part, make 2 perpendicular cuts.
Fold the workpiece on the other side, also securing the sides with rivets.

From the second profile you need to make a bunker. To do this, it is necessary to fix (weld) several segments so that the side walls are directed downwards. The end result should be a box. This hopper needs to be fixed at an angle to the prepared feeder.

From a plastic bottle

This feeder is only suitable for grain. To make such a device, it is enough to take one 5-liter bottle and cut it into 2 parts. The bottom piece then needs to be fixed to the cage wall. You can also cut the bottle lengthwise to create a trough feeder.

From plywood

Homemade bunker-type feeders are made from plywood. To create a similar design you need:

Cut several pieces of plywood.
Connect these parts so that you get a small trough with low sides.
Fix long pieces of cut plywood on the sides.
Cut out the front and back walls of the feeder and attach to the rest of the structure.
Hinge the hinged door on top.

At the end, it is recommended to sand all sharp corners with sandpaper. Similarly, you can make a sennik at home.

But in this case, you do not need to make a trough, but instead of the front wall, you need to install a wooden grate that will hold the grass.

From the canister

This option is suitable for beginners. In this case, you do not need to build a feeder, but cut such a device from a plastic canister. For this you will need:

Cut a hole on the top for feed supply and on the side for access to food.
Fix a bar in the bottom of the hole to hold the feed.
Inside, fix smaller bars on the side walls.
Attach a sheet of plywood to the side bars at an angle, which will allow dosed feeding.

It is recommended to sheathe the lower bar with a sheet of tin so that rabbits do not gnaw this limiter.

Recommended by professionals

When making feeders, it is recommended to give preference to those models that are easy to clean and do not create problems when filling food. It should also be borne in mind that each rabbit is given a tank of food with a length of at least 40 millimeters. It is necessary to place such structures in a place convenient for animals.