DIY 4 day Hay feeder

Hello, I am not the "inventor" type, however I am the "how can this be done easier" type. I need to go away for a few days and although I do have someone who can check on my rabbits I want to make it easy for them.

My hutch sits on the ground and the doors are low.  It would not be easy for my brother-in-law to get down and reach in to fetch the feeding pan. So I wanted to try to set up a feeding system that could last several days. I looked on line but very few hay feeders are for more than 1 rabbit and only for a day or two. Rabbits are social and they dont reccomend leaving them alone.  My 3 rabbits being together that is not a concern.

I needed something big so I went to the dollar store looking for a plastic type basket/pan that I thought would work.  I purchased 2 dish pans. I figured only a $1 each might as well have a back up it if made a mistake in my plan.

Next I drew approximately two inch circles where the rabbits would eat from. Then with a small paring knife I cut the holes and a smaller hole in the bottom .

Once it was cut I took a corrigated plastic sheet, they can be found at most hardware stores. Cut it the width and about 8 inches longer than my pan.  I had to trim the handle of the pan off to make it set flush. 

Next I used that handy ol' duct tape!

I taped around the bottom and up 2/3 's of each side. Then I bent the cardboard back to leave a hole to fill the pan.

With wire I put through the top hole on each side and bent it back so I could attach to the cage

Under I placed a wooden fruit container that I wired to the cage so the bunnies would not drag it around,or spill it.

I stuffed the pan with Timothy hay and then  sprinkle 3/4 cup pellets about 1/4 way up then repeated till it was stuffed tight. Then I folded the card board back up.  Now I left enough extra cardboard incase I needed to extend the pan. I then filled the box underneath. I have 3 rabbits in my hutch and I continued to give them about 2 cups of fresh grass or clover each day.  The feeder did not need refilled for 4 days !! I filled it on a Thursday morning and on Monday morning there was still a little hay in the box under the feeder.  I filled it again and had the same outcome. 

When I leave for my trip I will feel confident that my bunnies will not run out of food. I also have 2 large water bottles and a small drip pan under that last several days. 

I hope this helps you to either ease the time spent on daily chores or like me be able to leave with less worries! If you have any tips for leaving your outside rabbits please leave them in the comments below. Have a great day!