So pleased with this DIY! With a trip to the dollar store + 10 minutes + zip ties, this hack could be yours too. Your wallet and your rabbits will thank you.
Different rabbits have different relationships to hay. I have one who treats it only as a foe to kick around. But most of my rabbits like hay and I live in the land of hay producers so I may as well find a way to live with it.
One of my beloved bunnies is in a snippy teenager phase. Although he's really a very nice boy, he's mouthy right now and prone to nipping. I let him out to play, catch him with my patented technique, and then we can have our bonding time (and grooming time - he's a mini-angora). But I don't want to put my arms in his cage right now. At all.
I wanted a hay feeder that:
I was willing to spend some money for the perfect thing, but I couldn't find it. How hard can this be? I just want four sides against a wire frame. So I looked around, and thought -- I have this shoe-box-sized storage box from the dollar store. If I try cutting it and it shatters all over the place, I'm out $1.25.
To cut to the tutorial, yes, you can cut these boxes. In fact, I'd recommend the ones from a dollar store because the plastic is thin and relatively easy to cut. It's even thin enough that you can use a hole punch on it! I did that to add two holes at the top and two at the bottom corners for zip ties. Since they are on the outside of the cage, they won't get kicked. They just need to be strong enough to hold up hay.
If you have a long clear run, you could run it horizontally. I chose vertically and it seems stable and gives plenty of access to the hay. Sopho might be able to chew through the zip ties, but I think he'll be distracted by the much tastier hay. And I have ~200 spares.
Let me know if you try this!
Different rabbits have different relationships to hay. I have one who treats it only as a foe to kick around. But most of my rabbits like hay and I live in the land of hay producers so I may as well find a way to live with it.
One of my beloved bunnies is in a snippy teenager phase. Although he's really a very nice boy, he's mouthy right now and prone to nipping. I let him out to play, catch him with my patented technique, and then we can have our bonding time (and grooming time - he's a mini-angora). But I don't want to put my arms in his cage right now. At all.
I wanted a hay feeder that:
- Would minimize waste
- Hold a meaningful amount of hay for my hungry four-pound teenager
- NOT be kick-offable. Anything that can be kicked, will be.
- Not look too twee. I don't mind a DIY look. But I don't like it to look like toys.
- Sit on the outside of the cage and be easy to refill from the top
- That's partly so I don't get nipped while refilling hay
- And also to give him maximum space inside his cage
I was willing to spend some money for the perfect thing, but I couldn't find it. How hard can this be? I just want four sides against a wire frame. So I looked around, and thought -- I have this shoe-box-sized storage box from the dollar store. If I try cutting it and it shatters all over the place, I'm out $1.25.
To cut to the tutorial, yes, you can cut these boxes. In fact, I'd recommend the ones from a dollar store because the plastic is thin and relatively easy to cut. It's even thin enough that you can use a hole punch on it! I did that to add two holes at the top and two at the bottom corners for zip ties. Since they are on the outside of the cage, they won't get kicked. They just need to be strong enough to hold up hay.
If you have a long clear run, you could run it horizontally. I chose vertically and it seems stable and gives plenty of access to the hay. Sopho might be able to chew through the zip ties, but I think he'll be distracted by the much tastier hay. And I have ~200 spares.
Let me know if you try this!
