Rabbit keeps flipping his food bowl over, why? and what can I use?

Question

his food is everywhere and gets mixed in with his hay and pee.

I had a china proppa rabbit bowl and he smashed it.

someone said to get a plastic bowl and nail it down into his hutch so I did,... he only went and ripped the bowl off the floor and now the nails are gone

ok, no hes not doing it for space he has a large hutch with a huge run, he just fights everything thats in there, but I need some advice what to do with his food

Answer 1

We have rabbits do the same thing. And I can say for sure, its not because they are hungry, its not because they are bored, and its not because they don't like the food. Its some sort of instinct with some rabbits.

The best thing to do in this case is get a food "cup" that attaches firmly to the side of the cage. Jeffers Livestock has a couple of types, but you can get them at many places:
http://www.jefferslivestock.com/ssc/products.asp?CID=2&area=rabbit&dept_id=106

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

There are several types of feeders created to combat this.

Some people use heavy earthenware crocks to combat the problem. That can work to an extent, but you really almost need a crock that is way too big for the amount of feed and basically can allow the rabbit to hop in the bowl and poop in it.

There are some that clamp onto the cage wire, making it impossible for the rabbit to turn it's food over. These can be a very good option. Many rabbit breeders that show rabbits will use these kind of feeders in rabbit show cages, although most people don't use these type of feeders as commonly at home.

My favorite type of feeder to combat the problem is called a J-feeder. It's a feeder made out of sheet metal, usually with a wire mesh in the bottom of it that attaches to the cage wire. The only disadvantage is that you have to cut a hole in the cage wire for the feeder to go through for most of these types of feeders. The screen in the bottom sifts out the fines in the feed and since the feeder attaches to the cage wire it is hard for the rabbit to move it. Sometimes the rabbit can undo the wire latch, but by wrapping the wire latch around with some plyers or by replacing the wire latch with metal wire about the size of electric fencing wire, the wire can be wrapped around so that there is no chance of the rabbit undoing the feeder.

The extra nice thing about a J-feeder is that you don't even have to open the cage door to pour the feed in the feeder. This works great if you have a lot of rabbits.

Rabbit product websites:

http://www.bassequipment.com
http://www.kwcages.com
http://www.klubertanz.com

Answer 3

Rabbits are fairly heavy, have strong, kicking back legs and do a lot of jumping about etc. A metal bowl, with a rubber bottom, with sides that slope outwards might help. When the rabbit stands or jumps on the edge of it his feet will slip off it instead of flipping it. The rubber stops it sliding as well. It's also pretty hard (and unpleasant) to bite and pick up.

Answer 4

when I have this problem I like to pop two holes in the bottom of a clean tuna can and wire it to the cage floor. that is, if his floor is wire. he should be able to spill that. but it's quite possible he needs something to do! my rabbits like the cat toys with the bell inside. make sure that whatever you give him is hard enough so that he can't chew and swallow it, or if it's edible that's even better! the cardboard inside a toilet paper roll is quite popular with my rabbits. or an apple branch. there are all sorts of natural toys you can find! good luck, email me if you have any more rabbit questions, I'd love to be of use! :D -Julia

ps, are you sure your food is good? sometimes it spoils. also, are you feeding it to much? try slimming down the ration until he's happy to see his pellets in the morning!

Answer 5

Your rabbit obviously doesn't want a bowl. My suggestion would be to take food out completely. Two or three times a day take him out and handfeed him, or place the food in a dry area in his cage (just enough for him to eat, not enough for him to leave around). When he gets used to a routine, say two or three weeks, start introducing the bowl again, but ONLY for meals. Take it out right after he's done. This will trigger to him that it is a food receptical rather than a chew toy. Speaking of which, make sure he has plenty of chew toys around. It will keep him from getting aggitated and keep his teeth healthy.

Answer 6

My rabbit does that =|

I think you just either have to deal with it
OR ;;
Buy a big heavy DOG food bowl the heavier the better =D
It works abit better!
Or buy a red weight lifting plastic rabbit toy (sound stupid but thhey throw that around instead!)

You could also put breadsticks on top i dont know why that works but it does abit #

Hope that helps you!!

Answer 7

Rabbits do this because they are bored and frustrated. I'd say get a heavy earthen pottery bowl, get rabbit toys he can throw around, more outside time in a large area so he can run full pelt up and down to drive away pent up boredom and get him neutered as frustration could be caused by being hormonal (it also stops any aggression, spreying and general sexual frustration as there are so many rabbits being pts in the world it would be wrong to let him mate all the time and won't solve it) and you could then get him a neutered female friend to be with and he won't be so bored.

Answer 8

Apparently, it's a sign of boredom. Make sure he has plenty of toys, and comes out for excercise during the day. Hopefully, that will tire him out! Depending on how big your bunny is, you could get a really heavy erthanware bowl from the pet store, or a heavy dish from a garden centre, (the kind used to stand a plant pot in). But if he's managing to rip out nails he must be pretty tough. Try the 'other pets' section at http://hamsterific.com/BBS/ - it's a brilliant site and everyone's really helpful.

Answer 9

It's just what rabbits do. I always used to use the heavy brown bowls from the pet shop, but if your rabbit is an all in wrestler, he would probably even pick that up and launch it. They are rather untidy little creatures!

Answer 10

hi my sister has a rabbit and it does the exact same thing. As long as the food is in the hutch we dont worry cos he'll eat it later. they might just not like bowls!