Continuing on with my PVC enrichment projects, here is an extremely easy to build Hanging PVC Tube Feeder. This is potentially the easiest item to build I have ever posted and really only requires less then 20 minutes to assemble from start to finish so this is a great project if your looking for a new enrichment item and don’t have a lot of time to build it. This hanging PVC feeder design allows for a variety of feeding methods from putting browse through the holes, to putting food directly in the tube, and hanging it as high as you want. Building enrichment doesn’t always have to be challenging, sometimes simple is better.
Building Materials
- PVC Pipe
- Eye Hooks with bolt
- Drill and Drill bits
- Rope, Chain or fire hose strips
Building Instructions
- First of all, you want to find a pipe with an opening that is large enough that the animal you are giving it to will not get their head or legs caught in it, it should also be small enough that the food is still hard to remove from the inside.
- Once you have a suitable pipe you can then drill holes around the pipe, they can be various sizes or all the same size.
- You can now line up two holes for the eye hooks at the top of the pipe and drill a hole that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the eye hook. After your holes are drilled you can then screw in your eye hooks and secure them with a bolt.
- Next, you can measure a length of chain, rope or
another material that can be used to hang the PVC pipe from. I used strips of fire hose as an experiment so you can do that too if you want. Since this is lightweight you can secure the ends of the rope around the eye hooks with zip-ties as well as making a loop in the top with zip ties. - Your Hanging PVC Feeder is ready to go! Simply attach a carabiner on the loop and you are ready to hang!
Eye Hooks screwed in 
Strips of Fire hose secured with zip ties Completed Hanging PVC Feeder
Tips/ Comments
This feeder can be used by filling browse or with chopped vegetables or other food items allowing the animal to forage for their food. The rope at the top allows you to hang it from a multitude of angles and height to increase variability.
Check out some more of my PVC creations, like this PVC Teeter totter or this Teeter Feeder!
Hello,
Is it also safe to use CPVC for this project? There is a different chemical composition between the two and wanted to make sure the CPVC is still safe for the animals. My husband is a plumber and I easy access to the CPVC rather than the PVC, so that is why I am asking. But if PVC is the better material to use than I am sure it is inexpensive to purchase. Please respond at your earliest convenience and I will get under way at making these for the Yellow River Game Ranch animals.
Thank you for all you do and have a great rest of your day.
Kind Regards,
Shannon A. Doyle
Hi there! Unfortunately I am not very familiar with the toxicity levels of various PVC’s so I would recommend talking with a vet or doing some more research. I generally only use PVC in projects where the animals will not have any risk of ingestion and therefor no risk of investing something that may be toxic. Please let me know if you have any more questions. Good luck with enrichment building!