As you can see by my last few posts I’ve been on a bit of a PVC fix lately, just really playing around with different enrichment variations and goals that can be achieved with PVC. This week I’ve built a fun take on the PVC teeter-totter I built a few weeks ago and made a PVC teeter feeder out of small diameter PVC and a wooden base. This feeder will force the animal using it to tip one end down in order to get the food that is inside. I see this being a hit with small carnivores such as foxes and weasels.
Building Materials
- 2-3″ diameter PVC pipe
- A large nail, bolt or
dowling to act as the middle pin - A small length of 4×4″
- A square piece of 3/4″ Plywood
- Screws
- Drill with Drill bits
- PVC Cap or Small piece of Fire hose
Building Instructions
- The first step to making the PVC Teeter feeder is to cut a PVC pipe to the length you want it and cut a 4×4″ to the height you want the feeder to be. Make sure you’re taking into account the extra weight that comes along with a larger pipe and the height relative to the animal that is going to be using it.
- Next, you want to find where you want the pin to sit on the pipe, keep in mind that if you have it dead centre it will be very easy to tip. I put my hole about 4″ from the centre due to the fact that it will be mainly used for foxes and they will be able to deal with the weight. You can also pre-drill a hole on the post so that the pin can be put through it. Once you have marked the holes, pre-drill with a bit that is large enough for the pin.
- Once your holes are drilled you can either attach the PVC cap to the end of the pipe or make one as I did. To make mine I simply took a piece of fire hose about a foot long and then slid it over the pipe and folded it back over itself, I then took some small screws and put them through the fire hose and the pipe, securing it in place.
- You can now hammer your large nail or whatever you are using for a pin through the pipe and about halfway through the 4×4″ or until it is secure with no chance of coming loose.
- Cut or find a rectangular piece of plywood that is around 2 feet by 3 feet and screw it to the bottom of your 4×4″.
- Your teeter feeder is now ready to be used!
Starting PVC Pipe 
4×4″ post 
Drilling a hole in the PVC 
The end cap made of fire hose 
Putting the nail into the centre Finished Feeder
Tips/ Comments
I would recommend only placing dry food items inside the PVC tube as wet food items may become stuck and require a lot more cleaning. You may also want to weigh down the base by placing a rock or another heavy object on top to stop the whole device from tipping over as the animal uses it.