DIY rabbit feeder step by step

Quite a few people have shown an interest in our coffee can rabbit feeders. I love recycling and I also love saving money so this project is doubly awesome.

Start with a large metal can

Cut down the length of the can, down to the bottom ridge before the metal stops having ridges. Use that bottom ridge line to cut horizontally.  Make your final vertical cut so that you are cutting away the front half of the can.

Front half, cut off

Use pliers or a metal crimper to fold in the rough edges

Take your time and really make sure all the edges are smooth

Flatten out the front half of the can you previously removed

Drill holes in the bottom of the can. Lots of holes.

Crimp the rough, horizontal edge. Hold your flat panel up to the remaining can and
eyeball-measure where to bed your metal

Attach the flat panel

We used screws but rivets work as well

Attach to the cage.
You can add wire to the can and affix it to a cage like a normal j-feeder

DIY rabbit feeders

 

Because we keep the kits in with the does and encourage the kits to start eating grass and pellets as early as possible, we need large capacity feeders.  For a small rabbitry with half a dozen does, it's not such a financial burden to run out and purchase six to ten feeders for $12 each.  We're trying to increase rabbit production to a much larger scale than where we are now so we have to look at every expense and determine the best ways to spend our dollars.  If we can recycle a product and use some sweat equity to save money, we'll gladly do it.  I'd rather not spend a few hundred dollars on feeders!

A local caterer who is certified Virginia Green and does a lot of recycling gave us a couple empty, tin coffee cans.  Greg cut out the front, bent the rough edges, then screwed the panel to the sides.  Using a drill press, he poked holes throughout the bottom of the feeder, then secured it to the hutch wall with screws.

Now I'm on a mission to collect large tin cans to be repurposed into rabbit feeders.  Thanks, Panache Catering, for the empty coffee tins!