The Right Pipe.
sandy mcpadden
If you give a zookeeper a PVC pipe they will BLOW YOUR MIND with what they can create. Serious Talk. The toys, the feeders, olfactory stimulators, hides, swings. The next time you go to an awesome zoo (only AZA accredited facilities, people) start looking for PVC. You'de be wasted-face if it were a drinking game.
PVC doesn't need to stay in zoos, though. Let's liberate the pipe!
I showed the herd of Nigerian Dwarf Goats over at Omas Haus some fun with a PVC sweet feed foraging toy. In the wild, Nigerian Dwarf Goats spend the majority of daylight foraging. Animals built for snacking throughout the day don't thrive in environments where meals can be consumed in 20 minutes, leaving them mentally and physiologically stressed. I don't blame them, I get Hangry too.
This project is super simple. Heres what you'll need:
- 2 pvc pipes, one fitting inside of the other.
- 2 pvc caps that fit the smaller pipe.
- a drill
- a saw of your choosing
Take the smaller pipe and cut to the length you want. This one was a tad more than a foot.
Then you take the larger pipe and cut a few small pieces. The less you have, the easier it is. Before you slip those on and cap the end, go crazy and drill some holes in the smaller pipe. The size of your holes are going to vary depending on what your wanting to fall out. Sweet feed is pretty small, so the holes are just big enough for the bits and pieces to fall through. You feel me?
This project should take about 20 minutes, but I had company.
When B helps everything takes about 78 times longer, but who am I to say no to a home made maraca?
When they goats finally got their snack, everyone was in on it. I saw the ladies using muzzles, horns and hooves to manipulate the feeder, so I'de consider this a win.