# Feeders: What do you like/dislike about each kind?



## Guest (Aug 4, 2009)

Years ago, when I raised rabbits, I used crock-locks(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00063KH54/ref=asc_df_B00063KH54869399?tag=the004-20&creative=380333&creativeASIN=B00063KH54&linkCode=asn) for all my rabbits. I disliked J-Feeders. While I loved that you could feed from outside the cage, I just don't think it's comfortable for the rabbit to eat out of. My NZs have big heads, even the does, and must turn their heads sideways AND then smash their faces into the bottom of the feed to reach the feed when it gets at a low level. I've witnessed time and again when they raise their heads out of the feeder, their heads "catch" for a brief moment, before they jerk their heads out, shaking the feeder and the cage as well.

When I had a litter just getting started on feed (about 2 weeks of age), I would place large ceramic crocks in the cage and place the bunnies inside. Until they grew big enough to reach their heads in and eat while standing outside the bowl, they ate from inside the bowl, thus wasting much feed by urinating and defacating in the bowl. I had no way around it until they grew some. I always thought once they were able to eat out of a bowl w/o climbing inside, that jfeeders would be a better way to go. With my way of using large crocks and filling with large amounts of feed for weaned bunnies, much was wasted. With the jfeeders much can be put in the feeder, with only a small portion accessible at a time, taking up less space and reducing waste. Smaller bunnies heads easily fit in the jfeeder. 

When I got back into rabbits and purchased used hutches, they already came equipped with j-feeders in each hole. So I use them. But if they weren't already there, I wouldn't. We will be building a new grow-out pen this month, and I'm contemplating feeders. I HATE having to commit to cutting the wire to fit a j-feeder in, but have considered putting them on the inside of the door instead so I don't have to cut wire, and can open the door to easily access the feeder. 

I was looking at a Bass Equipment catalog and saw two items of interest (actually a LOT of items of interest, but I'm talking feeders here, LOL). They have a feeder similar to the J-feeder called the Pro-B Feedsaver. It is entirely outside the cage, taking up less space (no space!) in the cage, and looks to be wider and easier to access feed. I don't think it has a lid though. I NEED a lid. The other thing was the creep feeder. Looks like this could solve my wasted feed problem with the baby bunnies starting on feed. Both can be seen at http://www.bassequipment.com/Feeders/Feeding+Equipment+/default.aspx. Has anyone used either of these two?

Other suggestions? Mainly looking for ways to cut feed waste, especially with the bunnies, saving cage space, and something easily accessible to large-heads and a bunch of buns.


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

I feed my adult rabbits from crocks. However, when the kits get a couple of weeks old and start eating, I pull the crock and put a J-feeder inside the pen. I still was getting some of them paw out the pellets, so I ran a couple of wires across the mouth of the 7" J feeders I use, which has seemed to stop this. 

The adult rabbits do great with crocks (except I have to put a loop of wire around the bucks, because they like to play with them, since I use water crocks also, they can smash them together and crack them) Kits always seem to sit on top the crocks and ruin a lot of feed.

When I use to raise a lot of rabbits, I used baby pig feeders for the grow out pen. They are basicly a J-feeder but about 2 or three time the size of the ones for rabbits. The pen was 4'x8'.


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## vikav (Mar 30, 2009)

Lyndseyrk said:


> I was looking at a Bass Equipment catalog and saw two items of interest (actually a LOT of items of interest, but I'm talking feeders here, LOL). They have a feeder similar to the J-feeder called the Pro-B Feedsaver. It is entirely outside the cage, taking up less space (no space!) in the cage, and looks to be wider and easier to access feed. I don't think it has a lid though. I NEED a lid. The other thing was the creep feeder. Looks like this could solve my wasted feed problem with the baby bunnies starting on feed. Both can be seen at http://www.bassequipment.com/Feeders/Feeding+Equipment+/default.aspx. Has anyone used either of these two?
> 
> Other suggestions? Mainly looking for ways to cut feed waste, especially with the bunnies, saving cage space, and something easily accessible to large-heads and a bunch of buns.


I don't like any crocks or bowls as all the dust from the pellets gets collected on the bottom, and a lot of food does not get eaten, as at least my rabbits don't like digging in the dust. My buns also like to toss the crocks around the cage, or yank the bowls off the wall and play with them, resulting in way too much wasted feed. Or they'll toss poop pellets into the bowls 
I have one of the Pro B Feedsavers, and liked it for my NZW buck. There are several issues with it, at least for me. It does have a bigger opening for the head, but it goes really low in the back, and the rabbit has to really lean into it to get the feed. It does not have a lid, and (at least for me it's a problem) all the dust ends up on the floor and not in the droppings pan. This last thing was the reason I replaced it with a regular j-feeder. I had to clean the floor there daily, since the cages are indoors. Also, if you install one of these, it requires a bigger hole than the regular j-feeder and if you ever want to replace it with something else, you won't be able to use the same hole. I have all my small feeders installed in the doors, so when I decided to replace this one with a regular one, I had to replace the whole door.
All mine are FINE-X II now. They are j-feeders, and the screen is only on the bottom, so the dust mostly falls into the droppings pans. They are quite narrow in the head opening, but I've had them for a while and none of my NZs ever got hurt on one of the feeders, and it doesn't seem to bother them that they are not too wide. If you want something wider, I bet you'll really like the Fine-X Wide Mouth. You can buy a lid for it. I'd have a problem with those, as they drop the dust on the floor as well, but you may find them to be just fine, depending on your setup.


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## ladysown (May 3, 2008)

i have j feeders, crocks (with wire locks) and pro-b feeders. pros and cons with all.

crocks - for my big head does without litters LOVELY!!!! with feeders...I"m going to build long low wooden feeders that will work well for crowding youngsters and will hopefully reduce feed waste. I"ll leave crock in for mom but limit the amount of feed I put in it. Will hopefully look like a chicken feeder when I"m done.

J-feeders. Have placed them inside as well as the conventional hanging outside the cage. Love the ease of feeding, works well for small breed rabbits, kits will sit inside and poop and pee in them though, regardless of how I hang them.

pro-b feeders. I love them for my BUCKS. I do NOT like them for my does. my bucks regardless of size use them well. does will knock them off the bottom. I can't seem to secure them well against the actions of my does (from dwarf to meat). I cannot get a cover big enough for them but covers are easy enough to make with a thin piece of wood/laminate tile/corroplast etc and a piece of wire.


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## katduck (Jul 10, 2008)

Lyndseyrk said:


> I was looking at a Bass Equipment catalog and saw two items of interest (actually a LOT of items of interest, but I'm talking feeders here, LOL). They have a feeder similar to the J-feeder called the Pro-B Feedsaver. It is entirely outside the cage, taking up less space (no space!) in the cage, and looks to be wider and easier to access feed. I don't think it has a lid though. I NEED a lid. The other thing was the creep feeder. Looks like this could solve my wasted feed problem with the baby bunnies starting on feed. Both can be seen at http://www.bassequipment.com/Feeders/Feeding+Equipment+/default.aspx. Has anyone used either of these two?


I've used both! I really like the Pro-B Feeders. I love the fact that they don't stick out into the cage. My bucks are in smaller cages and when you put a doe in there and they start circling each other, injuries can happen with the feeder sticking out into the cage. I used to take the feeders out when breeding. Also I don't have the problem of kits sitting in the feeder. Well, I did have one little guy kind of lay over the edge and eat, but it wasn't a long term problem. They do hold a lot of food and have a big opening. 

I couldn't figure out how to attach them to them cage the way it shows in the catalog, so DH put them on they way he thought they should go. My Angora doe kept knocking hers off so he "fixed" it so she couldn't do that anymore and now it's attached like it the catalog!

I bought the Creep feeder because when I first started I bought a bag of baby food thinking I would need it. It's smaller sized and a little different formula. I put it in a small bowl for the kits and the doe would scarf it up! She really liked it. So I bought the creep feeder and put the kit food in that and it works great. I didn't want to cut a hole in my cage to be able to just slide it out, so taking it out to fill it is a little bit of a pain, but the kit love to eat out of it and it stopped at lot of wasted food. I haven't tried it with regular food since I'm out of the baby food and I don't think I'll buy more. The Pro B solves most of the wasted food and feeder sitting, so it's not really necessary, but maybe next time I have a large litter, I might use it just so the kits have better access to the food.

There is my experience. Hope it helps. Oh, the Pro B does not have lids that I know of. You can ask Bass to find out for sure. I wish I had them, but they are not critical for me.










Kat


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## Guest (Aug 4, 2009)

vikav said:


> It does have a bigger opening for the head, but it goes really low in the back, and the rabbit has to really lean into it to get the feed. It does not have a lid, and (at least for me it's a problem) all the dust ends up on the floor and not in the droppings pan. This last thing was the reason I replaced it with a regular j-feeder. I had to clean the floor there daily, since the cages are indoors. Also, if you install one of these, it requires a bigger hole than the regular j-feeder and if you ever want to replace it with something else, you won't be able to use the same hole. I have all my small feeders installed in the doors, so when I decided to replace this one with a regular one, I had to replace the whole door.
> All mine are FINE-X II now. They are j-feeders, and the screen is only on the bottom, so the dust mostly falls into the droppings pans. They are quite narrow in the head opening, but I've had them for a while and none of my NZs ever got hurt on one of the feeders, and it doesn't seem to bother them that they are not too wide. If you want something wider, I bet you'll really like the Fine-X Wide Mouth. You can buy a lid for it. I'd have a problem with those, as they drop the dust on the floor as well, but you may find them to be just fine, depending on your setup.


Thank you so much! I like the fact that the pro-b feeder is wider, but I did think it looked like they would have to really reach for the feed in the back of it. As for the dust falling on the floor, that's not an issue for me, as I have outside hutches, and dust would just go to the ground. BUT since they are outside, I MUST have a lid. 

I did see the wide mouth j-feeders, and I think this would be a good option for my breeding bucks and does and use the regular j-feeders for the fryers. Does anyone know if you have to cut a hole bigger for the wide-mouth j-feeders? Wondering if I could replace a couple of my standard j-feeders with a couple wide-mouth ones (would I need to cut more cage or would the cut hole be too big?) and put the standard ones in my grow-out pen.

Thanks for your help.


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## Guest (Aug 4, 2009)

ladysown said:


> i have j feeders, crocks (with wire locks) and pro-b feeders. pros and cons with all.
> 
> crocks - for my big head does without litters LOVELY!!!! with feeders...I"m going to build long low wooden feeders that will work well for crowding youngsters and will hopefully reduce feed waste. I"ll leave crock in for mom but limit the amount of feed I put in it. Will hopefully look like a chicken feeder when I"m done.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your input. I, too, was wondering about how they would attach to the cage. It's hard to tell from the picture in the catalog.


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## Guest (Aug 4, 2009)

katduck said:


> I've used both! I really like the Pro-B Feeders. I love the fact that they don't stick out into the cage. My bucks are in smaller cages and when you put a doe in there and they start circling each other, injuries can happen with the feeder sticking out into the cage. I used to take the feeders out when breeding. Also I don't have the problem of kits sitting in the feeder. Well, I did have one little guy kind of lay over the edge and eat, but it wasn't a long term problem. They do hold a lot of food and have a big opening.
> 
> I couldn't figure out how to attach them to them cage the way it shows in the catalog, so DH put them on they way he thought they should go. My Angora doe kept knocking hers off so he "fixed" it so she couldn't do that anymore and now it's attached like it the catalog!
> 
> ...


Kat, thanks so much! Especially for the picture! The picture alone answered some of my questions about the creep feeder. I don't intend to feed the kits a different food, but primarily want to keep them OUT of the feeders, to prevent waste. I had no clue these things were this big. It's so hard to tell by the picture in the catalog, while there's no point of reference. Seeing your buns eat out of it, makes me like it a whole lot more. You said you didn't want to cut the wire to make it slide out of the cage. The way I understood the info with it was the tray that slides out is supposed to fit through the space in the wiring so that the try comes out of the cage, you fill it, then slide it back into place. At least that's what I thought. In my head, I thought this was for really tiny babies just starting on food. I couldn't find measurements of the size of the holes in it, so I had pictured in my head the size of a golf ball. Am I way off there? A couple questions about it:
a) How much feed will it hold at a time?
b) For a NZ litter, at what age will they no longer be able to get into the feed?
c) Do I need a hole for each bunny or can they share? If I have 8 buns and 6 holes, do I need a second creep feeder?
d) Can/do they get in the feeder?
d) Is there a divider between each compartment? In other words, if they go in through one hole can they come out another?

I'm really liking the idea of getting one of these. Depending on how long a litter can use it before they outgrow it will be my main concern. If it would feed them long enough to get them past that "I need to climb in my food before I can eat it" phase, I will be HAPPY.


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## smilesnsunshine (Jun 14, 2009)

For what it's worth, I've been pleased with the Bass Fine-X, for my NZWs from weanlings to seniors. 

The only other type I've tried was a "pretty" plastic one of similar design from a pet store. Rabbit scooped and wasted feed in no time, and chewed the thing to pieces.


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## katduck (Jul 10, 2008)

Lyndseyrk said:


> Kat, thanks so much! Especially for the picture! The picture alone answered some of my questions about the creep feeder. I don't intend to feed the kits a different food, but primarily want to keep them OUT of the feeders, to prevent waste. I had no clue these things were this big. It's so hard to tell by the picture in the catalog, while there's no point of reference. Seeing your buns eat out of it, makes me like it a whole lot more. You said you didn't want to cut the wire to make it slide out of the cage. The way I understood the info with it was the tray that slides out is supposed to fit through the space in the wiring so that the try comes out of the cage, you fill it, then slide it back into place. At least that's what I thought. In my head, I thought this was for really tiny babies just starting on food. I couldn't find measurements of the size of the holes in it, so I had pictured in my head the size of a golf ball. Am I way off there? A couple questions about it:
> a) How much feed will it hold at a time?
> b) For a NZ litter, at what age will they no longer be able to get into the feed?
> c) Do I need a hole for each bunny or can they share? If I have 8 buns and 6 holes, do I need a second creep feeder?
> ...


Wow, this thread disappeared on me. Sorry to take so long to reply. It looks and sounds like you can just slide it thru the space it the cage, but you can't. I was pretty bummed about that. It's less than 2" wide, but the tray that slides out is just over 2" high so it won't go thru a 2"x1" opening. Also, I had a doe who was smart enough to pull the tray out and eat the baby food. Since you will be put the same food in you won't have that problem. The holes are 2" across and it does have partitions down to where the tray slides along. I never saw a kit go in, I don't think they could fit. I had a 6 holer in with a litter of 8 and they just traded off. I didn't have any get too big to fit in before they were weaned and put in a cage with a J feeder. I don't know how much it holds, I used to fill it once a day and towards the end it was fully empty and they ran to it when I filled it. I think the rabbits in the picture were about 3 weeks old. It's 16" long and 5 1/2" tall.

Kat


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## Guest (Aug 6, 2009)

Thanks again, Kat. I think I'm going to be getting one of these. It sounds perfect for what I'm trying to accomplish. I also intend to just give them a j-feeder when weaned.


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## moonkitten (Mar 4, 2005)

I finally got my new J-feeders.  They are perforated metal rather than screen. I had some screen ones but does that are about to kindle often dig in them and rip right through the screen. They are also about 3/4" deeper than the regular J-feeder so those big-headed rabbits don't need to sit sideways to eat.

They were a custom order from Grandview Commercial Rabbitry http://www.grandviewrabbitry.com You won't find them in the online catalogue, but you can email Brian and ask for the "wide mouth perforated feeder".


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## smilesnsunshine (Jun 14, 2009)

Impressive!


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## Honorine (Feb 27, 2006)

Creep feeders are great, but do not hold much. I use mostly j feeders, many of them are the special wider ones so that both English Lops and Flemish Giants can eat out of them comfortably. I use them for puppies as well. I do use some crocks, prefer the larger ones with the lip on the inside, keeps food diggers from wasting pellets.


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## Guest (Aug 17, 2009)

Thanks for the pics, moonkitten! I still haven't ordered any new feeders, but plan to do so this week. I decided against the creep feeder, as my experiment with my current litter did extremely well (I just used a j-feeder, something I've never done from the start with baby buns). They do not soil it, and very little is spilled. I LOVE the picture of the wide-mouth feeder next to the standard sized one. It makes for a great comparison. You'd think the catalogs would post pics of them side by side for this reason. 

I'm now just contemplating how many wide-mouths to order and of what sizes. I intend to use the 6 j-feeders I now have for litters and smaller-headed does. Also thinking about getting a smaller breed (my husband is in cage-building mode so I'm taking advantage of it, he's built 3 pens this past week).

Hey, does anyone know of a place that makes stainless steel j-feeders? Is there such a thing?


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## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

I use J- feeders for the french lops and cals. They don't seem to have any issue getting the feed. My grow out cages- I use 2 heavy medium sized ceramic crocks and fill twice a day if need be (with a full litter- it needs to be). They will tip the plastic heavyweight crocks, but not the ceramic. I would use J feeders in the grow out pens, but my current grow outs are the coated wire hutches. I really prefer J feeders when at all possible. I do use the wide mouth J feeders for frenchies who seem to have an issue with the regular J feeders. Never had an issue with anyone tearing out the screen. I need covers on mine as well. I bought extra covers from bass so I would have them on hand when I found extra feeders at sales.


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