A creep feeder furnishes a blow molded container with an inner chamber, a top port and a bottom port. The top port provides passage for feed into the inner chamber and is closed by a snap fit cap. The bottom part provides a throat, narrowing valve seat and narrower delivery tube. A blow molded, hollow valve is enclosed in the bottom part and operates with the valve seat to dispense feed upon demand of an animal. The valve has a bulbous head with a gradually narrowing under surface that engages with the valve seat to close the bottom port. A narrower valve stem hangs in the delivery tube, and the delivery tube keeps the valve substantially aligned in the bottom port to insure proper sealing between the head and valve seat. The device dispenses feed upon an animal pushing up the bottom end of the stem and spacing the head from the seat. Feed in the chamber then flows down through the bottom port. An umbrella hanging in the chamber reduces the weight of the feed resting on the valve head to reduce the force needed to push up the valve for dispensing feed.

A fish-actuated aquarium feeder is disclosed wherein a valve having a downwardly extending actuator rod is pivotably supported within a housing that is fastened to the wall of the aquarium. The upper surface of the valve is substantially dome-shaped with the periphery thereof including a series of circumferentially spaced-apart radially extending grooves. An inverted cannular container rests on the top of the dome-shaped valve surface to form a substantially closed storage chamber for fish food with the peripheral grooves lying outside the downwardly facing opening of the container when the valve is in its equilibrium position. When the fish deflect the actuator rod in the proper direction, the valve is rotated from the equilibrium position and permits a small portion of the fish food to fall downwardly into the water. Replaceable washer-like discs that form the contact region between the valve and the housing permit the force required to actuate the feeder to be established for properly feeding fish of various species and size.

Apparatus for feeding animals comprising a feed storage hopper with a base plate which is adjusted so as to open a space between the base plate and the walls of the hopper. Feed is dispensed through this space in response to the operation of a motor which is attached to the base plate and which is provided with eccentric weights so as to cause vibrations which are transmitted to the base plate and into the walls of the hopper. The motor can be operated by a timer so as to enable the apparatus to deliver precisely measured quantities of feed at a given rate for a selected period of time at predetermined intervals.