Rabbits dumping feed out

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TheChad

TheChad

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I use a J feeder and had been free feeding my rabbits that are about 3 months old. One of the does just started throwing all of her feed out. I checked the J feeder and it is fine. I even cleaned it out and put new feed. The next day the same thing. Today I am going to start giving her just 8 ounces each day in the evenings.

Any thoughts or suggestions on this? Is there a way to stop her from doing it? I would prefer to free feed and limit the amount of time I have to spend in care for them.
 
heritage":1jri5tmi said:
Could you raise the feeder up, making eating possible, but digging a bit more difficult?
Click to expand...

Ditto. This is the only thing that has worked for me. After a while, they just quit trying to scratch. I really hate it when my rabbits act like my chickens!
 
heritage":3a1nolto said:
Could you raise the feeder up, making eating possible, but digging a bit more difficult?
Click to expand...

How high? Eventually she will have kits and I want them to be low enough for them to get to it. I would say it is currently one to two inches off the floor of the cage.

I took and only gave her 8 ounces last night. May try that for a week or two and then double the amount and see what she does.
 
Not sure what size rabbit she is so I am not going to suggest a set height - I would get it so she has to stretch a little (with all four feet on the ground) to reach it. She might be digging because of the pregnancy - an ingrained urge maybe? Hopefully once the nest is built and she has the babies it will be out of her system. The kits won't need access to it right away so you can give it a little time.
 
I have a couple of does that dig in feeders when they are bred. After they have kits it stops. It's frustrating though to go out to find a feeder empty and all he feed on the ground.
 
Schipperkesue":1nt9tyay said:
Are they on a wire floor? Install a bin beneath to catch the scratch outs and dump them back in the j feeder.
Click to expand...

I would be afraid of catching pee and poop as well. Don't want to feed anything that has been in contact with that, but I might give it a try.

I cut the feed down to about a cup. I did notice some scraped out, but not as bad. But, it is still frustrating.
 
TheChad":17sgx1bh said:
How high?
Click to expand...

4" to 6." The kits will stand up to eat, and wont have any problem feeding.

Depending on the width of the feeder, try putting one or more golf balls in it to see if that will solve your problem before moving the feeder.
 
TheChad":zz0tn4u1 said:
Schipperkesue":zz0tn4u1 said:
Are they on a wire floor? Install a bin beneath to catch the scratch outs and dump them back in the j feeder.
Click to expand...

I would be afraid of catching pee and poop as well. Don't want to feed anything that has been in contact with that, but I might give it a try.

I cut the feed down to about a cup. I did notice some scraped out, but not as bad. But, it is still frustrating.
Click to expand...

I find they tend to use the corners as their bathroom, usually away from the food. You may have to pick out an odd bunny berry. Give it a try, it works very well for me!
 
MamaSheepdog":15214ahe said:
TheChad":15214ahe said:
How high?
Click to expand...

4" to 6." The kits will stand up to eat, and wont have any problem feeding.

Depending on the width of the feeder, try putting one or more golf balls in it to see if that will solve your problem before moving the feeder.
Click to expand...

Ok now this intrigues me. My feeder is 5 wide. i don't have any golf balls, but I may get some to try this. Do I put them in and then poor the feed?. What is this suppose to do? Do they play with the ball in the feeder or does it just take up room so they can't dig? <br /><br /> -- Fri Apr 22, 2016 12:59 pm -- <br /><br />
TheChad":15214ahe said:
MamaSheepdog":15214ahe said:
TheChad":15214ahe said:
How high?
Click to expand...

4" to 6." The kits will stand up to eat, and wont have any problem feeding.

Depending on the width of the feeder, try putting one or more golf balls in it to see if that will solve your problem before moving the feeder.
Click to expand...

Ok now this intrigues me. My feeder is 5 wide. i don't have any golf balls, but I may get some to try this. Do I put them in and then poor the feed?. What is this suppose to do? Do they play with the ball in the feeder or does it just take up room so they can't dig?
Click to expand...

Has anyone done this before?
 
I bungy corded mine to the side of the cage when my doe started knocking it off, t did get a little moved still but wasn't spilt of knocked off.
 
Well I have tried golf balls, sticks, and limiting food, but they still dump it out.

Now I am moving to a new feed to see if that helps. I am running out of ideas. Anyone else have any? :need-comments:
 
I had kits dumping feed so I put a ceramic tile under the feeder which caught a lot of it (you could do a shallow box/tub as well?). I noticed less on the ground after that...
 
So here is a good update. Well good in that I may have found a solution.

First thing I did was swap to a new more main stream food. Manna Pro (half and half at this point to get them use to it)

I have also stopped adding boss and oats to the feed. This has stopped the kits from dumping the food all together.

The does I also added a hay rack. It is on the outside. I cut a small whole for them to pull it through when they want it. This has kept the waste to a minimum and given them something to do since they are having to pull on it to get it out. I keep it packed in.

I would have given the buck one, but they only had two in the store.

I am also using less pellets, which is good since the hay here is pretty cheap.
 

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