The content of the article:
Beginning rabbit breeders before breeding eared pets should take care primarily about the cells and feeders. What are the feeders for rabbits that meet the requirements of maximum convenience when consuming food by animals and are minimal at their own costs?
Basic types of feeding troughs
Feeders themselves are a special device that helps to reduce the time and save the forces necessary for proper care and adjustment of the animal nutrition regime. In addition, properly installed feeders will keep the purity in the cage as long as possible.
There are a huge number of different feeders for rabbits, which are divided into the following main types:
- Bowls made of ceramics. Very beautiful factory products, look in cages at the highest level. Convenient for falling asleep feed, but rabbits often overturn them, which leads to trampling of the food and contamination of the cell.
- Nursery feeding troughs - used for feeding hay. Are very practical adaptations. Requires constant control over the amount of remaining hay in the trough and its replenishment.
- Feeders for rabbits in the form of a gutter. They have a number of advantages: convenient feeding, it is possible to have several individuals at once to one feeder. They are used for concentrated fodder and root crops.
- Bunker feeders for rabbits are used for loose, or concentrated feed. The main advantage of this type of feeders is that the food is poured into it every few days, especially for those livestock keepers who have very limited time. In addition, such a feeder will not allow rabbits to scatter and trample feed throughout the cage, which will save the budget.
- Feeders in the form of cups. Usually, empty cans are used, which can serve as feeders and drinking bowls for rabbits, that is, they can pour granulated food, or pour water.
Drinkers for rabbits can be varied:
- automatic;
- vacuum;
- nipple;
- cups (any bowls, cups, trays that do not mind);
- from bottles (most often used in rabbit breeding).
What are the feeders made from?
For the production of feeders for feeding their pets, the following materials are recommended:
- tin thin;
- metallic profile;
- wood (this can be a thin board, or a sheet of plywood);
- plastic;
- plexiglas;
- direct slate.
As auxiliary materials, thin wire or rod is most often used.
If during installation of the feeder, sharp edges or burrs were formed, they must be smoothed and sanded in order to avoid cuts of rabbit skins.
Rules for the construction of a bunker
Before beginning the construction of feeders for rabbits at home, you must first compare the cell sizes and drawings of the future feeder. If the choice is based on the production of a bunker-type feed hopper, it is recommended to consider the most profitable and simple options for its construction.
The fastest and most expensive option for making a bunker will be its construction from a 3 liter tin can.
How to make a feeder for rabbits, instructions step by step:
- Initially, it is recommended to draw a line across the can at a height, from the bottom of the can.
- Then cut half of the can along the line, without going behind it.
- After that, a large number of holes must be drilled with a drill in the bottom.
- It is necessary to make a smooth sheet (similar to the wall) from the cut half of the jar and attach it to the feeder.
- The ready bunker feeder should be screwed to the door of the rabbit's cage.
Such a feeder, although it does not look very aesthetic, but it is very simple to manufacture, economical (since it can be built from a jar in which there was, for example, tomato paste) and is convenient in use.
Krolikovody, who know how to work with galvanized sheet, can build a zinc bunker without special effort. Even without tin-work experience, rabbit breeders will be able to make such an inventory for their pets, while observing exact instructions and schemes for making them.
Instructions for the manufacture of a bunker feeder made of galvanized iron
The first thing to do is cut out all the necessary details according to the scheme. Then, with the help of a combination of pliers, bend the tin along the dotted lines indicated on the diagram.
In order for the tin to be easier to bend, it is recommended to make small incisions on the floor thickness of the galvanized sheet, using a knife and ruler.
After manufacturing all the details, according to the scheme, you can start collecting the feeder. Sharp corners and edges should be smoothened, or ground.
The finished product will look like the picture.
Valuable recommendations for the construction of feeders at home
Before starting the production of bunker feeders for rabbits, according to the drawings, the following recommendations should be taken into account:
- all components of the arrangement of cells, including feeders should be as convenient as possible in maintaining cleanliness and hygiene;
- if the feeder is made of thin materials that rabbits can gnaw, then it is necessary to embed the edge of the feeder with a tinplate, for the longest service life;
- it is recommended to arrange feeding troughs so that the food is as polluted as possible (drill holes at the bottom of the trough, or lining the bottom with a fine grate);
- the volume of feeders should not be less than the daily amount of feeding rabbits, otherwise the animals will climb into them and foul;
- the fastening of the feeders to the cells should be as strong as possible, in order to prevent their turning.
The approach to breeding domestic eared pets from the creative side will ensure rabbit breeding is very interesting activity. If you build cells and feeders for rabbits with your own hands from improvised materials, then you can save an impressive amount, before the start of rabbit breeding.
