What kind of dish do you feed pellets in?

[bunnnnnnie!]

So right now Zeus gets his pellets just in a pile on his cage floor, because whenever I feed them in a dish attached to the cage, he digs and digs at the dish until the pellets go flying everywhere.  Some end up outside of his cage, so he obviously can’t eat them.

The pile on the floor works fine for his normal pellets, but I also give him ad lib timothy hay pellets.  With his new enclosure, I’m thinking of trying to feed these in a better way.  I was feeding them in a dish attached to the cage, but as said previously, he always ends up digging at the dish and tossing them everywhere.

The digging habit actually makes complete sense, as when I got him he was fed in a metal feeder like this:

Where I soon discovered he could not actually fit his head into the feeder to eat the pellets.. and thus he was pretty much forced to dig the pellets out of the feeder to eat at all.    So it’s a pretty ingrained habit.

Ideas?  How can I offer pellets, and hay pellets, in a way where they’re easily accessible, but ideally not just on the floor? 

[lashkay]

Hi Zeus! Each of my two bunnies, Petie and Dustor used to dig at their pellets too, when I was briefly feeding them in a metal feeder like the one you pictured. Neither digs any more, or pees or poops in, the Marshall J feeder I have for each of them. I just keep topping off the bowl as the pellets go down. But, for their x-pens i attach the feeder to the sides with a bungee cord. I also drilled larger holes where the hole is in the bottom of the bowl to keep the bottom pellets from turning to dust in the bowl. With these modifications, I find it’s the perfect feeder for pellets. Best of all, with this feeder, neither bunny has to dig the pellets out, as long as I keep the bowl topped up, or poops or pees in the bowl anymore. Buddie used to use one too and loved it. No sharp metal edges but the bunny doesn’t chew the plastic either. I got mine at ferretdepot.com:

http://www.ferretdepot.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=fd&Product_Code=FP029&Category_Code=

Just a thought! Let me know what you decide on, after hearing others’ ideas, too.

[lashkay]

PS: And I realize Zeus is a large bunny with a wide head, but as long as you keep the bowl filled to the top so he can pick the pieces off the top, like Dustor and Petie do, I think it would be wide enough for him to put his snout down in.

[Monkeybun]

Hay pellets? I am unsure what those are. Does he not get regular hay?

All my 3 just get their pellets sprinkled around the pen I gave up on the dishes after Monkey started flinging the bowls around for fun.

[LittlePuffyTail]

My buns get pellets in their crocks with their greens. I like the real heavy ceramic crocks because they can’t flip them over. Bindi pushes his all over the place though. Plus they are really easy to clean and last forever.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By Monkeybun on 02/14/2011 08:51 PM

Hay pellets? I am unsure what those are. Does he not get regular hay?

All my 3 just get their pellets sprinkled around the pen I gave up on the dishes after Monkey started flinging the bowls around for fun.

He gets regular pellets (Kaytee Timothy Complete), hay, and timothy hay pellets (Standlee brand).  They’re just pure hay, to supplement the long stem hay he eats.  He’s not a very big hay eater, but likes the hay pellets, so it helps get more roughage into him. .
 

 

[AbbyGirl]

Hugo was the same way with his pellets. I tried putting them on the floor but since he was in our kitchen we’d be stepping on his food. I used a ceramic crock that he easily flipped over. Then I bought a larger ceramic crock and put the smaller one in that. He never flipped it again. It’s so hard to find things for the big bunnies. =)

[longhairmike]

Posted By LittlePuffyTail on 02/15/2011 05:38 AM
I like the real heavy ceramic crocks because they can’t flip them over

thats what i thought until Usako started working out daily until she WAS strong enough to dump her dish onto Rini on the floor below. now they have the kind that are bolted to the cage wall

 

[cactuspancake]

Ceramic crocks. Also I only put the pellets in when he stands on his mat patiently and keeps his paws down lol! I say to him “where are your manners Franz?” lol he knows to stand on his mat “patiently!”

[Samus]

i went simple and cheap. i built my rabbit condo so i had no extra cash so i just took a square plastic Chinese food container, cut two holes in the side and ziptied it to the side of the cage, he loves it, i fill it up and he sits in it when theres none left, if i dont see that or i dont fill it quickly after he just tilts it up, but thankfull there is nothing left so theres no mess 8D (and unlike cats he hasnt gotten acne from his plastic bowl!)

[peppypoo]

lol, cactuspancake, that’s great! I wish Peppy had manners like that…the moment I pull out the bag of food, she’s honking and stomping and running circles around me trying to jump into the bag until I give her pellets!

I use a modified doggy diner with removable bowls for food/water, because when Peppy got bored she would always find ways to flip things over (ceramic crocks included). It was a constant arms race until I found the doggy bowl..hah, I win! lol

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