Refilling feature for use in an animal feeder

An animal feeder, comprising:

• a housing;
• at least one feeding station carried on said housing via which feed material is accessible by the animal when said feeding station is in a use orientation;
• and
• a reservoir including an opening, said reservoir being receivable to said housing while said reservoir is oriented in a replacement position in which the reservoir is positioned with the opening thereof located above the feed material contained in said reservoir to inhibit outflow of feed when detached from or replaced to the housing in said replacement position, said reservoir being movable to an active position when received to the housing in the replacement position, the use orientation of said feeding station being maintainable when said reservoir is detached or removed from said housing in said replacement position.

A method of refilling an animal feeder, comprising:

• providing a first feeder portion including a hopper for storing a supply of feed material;
• providing a second feeder portion including at least one feeding station via which feed transferred from said hopper is accessible by the animal and a support to which the first feeder portion is removably mountable;
• attaching the second feeder portion to a support such that said second feeder portion is positionally maintained generally in a use orientation while attached;
• removably mounting said first feeder portion to said second feeder portion while maintaining a selective restriction of flow of feed contents from an opening of said hopper;
• and
• bringing said opening of said hopper into communication with said feeding station and at least partially relieving the selective restriction such that at least some of the feed material in said hopper is transferred to the at least one feeding station.