Automatic feeders?

[WallTenters]

A friend and I were discussing how hard it is leaving home for a weekend or so with your rabbits waiting by to be fed, as finding responsible and available caretakers can sometimes be a hassle in a small community.

Anyone have any thoughts? I had seen an alarm clock converted to a chicken coop door opener - could the same idea be used to make an automatic feeder, with the door being "opened" for only a few moments at a time (programmed via use of different springs until the correct feed amount was being distributed).

The other option I was thinking of was sort of like one of those multi day pet feeders
(see http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=multi+day+automatic+pet+feeder&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=17931836809366383568&ei=GTqpS6qgB5OkswPD1eB8&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCEQ8wIwAw#ps-sellers ),
but it would need to be home built, I think, to be strong enough to hold up to a rabbit.

Any advice?

 

[a7736100]

If you're just going to be gone 2 or 3 days you can probably just use something like

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753272

So they might pig out a couple days but probably won't be able to finish the whole bin. Have extra hay and make sure there's enough water.

I'm going to have to experiment to see how much a rabbit will each given unlimited pellets.

 

[CrimsonRose]

I just get the big 5lb feeders at tractor supply And fill them up... They are metal but are similar to the one a7736100 posted above but much larger... The big 5lb ones I use hold enough food for 3 days for my Flemish giants... I use the 2liter water bottles and they seem to last for about 3 days...

 

[chinbunny1]

The problem with feeders though is that some rabbits will kick out all the extra feed. Its also not wise to self feed because it makes them fat. i have no idea about the timers but it sounds like a good idea.

 

[CrimsonRose]

I've raised rabbits since I was about 7 off and on and we have always self fed the rabbits and they were all a healthy weight... Of course I've always raised BIG rabbits to begin with so maybe that's a problem with dwarf rabbits or something? My flemish have food in front of them 24-7 but usually only eat about what is recommended to feed them... The only time they pig out is if it's a nursing doe... Or if they do run out of food and it's a few hours before I refill their bins... They act like I've starved them and attack the food... LOL But if it's full they only eat if they are hungry... But of course I'm no expert either this is just how I do it and haven't ever had a problem... We used to have Cal and NZ and they did fine with free feeding too...

Yes some dumb buns do kick out the food but they usually leave it alone after the first few times... I typically have blocks to chew on and such to occupy them so they don't get board... I've only had this problem with little ones the adults usually know better... Plus my buns are so large they barley fit their heads into the feeders so maybe they are too big to dig in their food?

 

[Beekissed]

We always used the continuous feeders built for rabbits with our NZ market rabbits. They never really overate and one of the larger ones up could last for 3-4 days or more.

We used the continuous watering system that attached to a 5 gal. bucket, also. These are nice if you have many rabbits to tend.

Hay feeders were made from chicken wire and stuffed full, so there was little waste. They had to pull the hay out through the wire.