Feeder and watering choices

We're getting our first rabbits in a couple weeks, so I'm trying to get everything ready in advance. Cages are ready, hutch is almost finished, and I'm trying to get the feeders and water bottles (or crocks) settled.

Problem is, who knew there were so many choices?! Large or small feeder? Automatic feeding, or measured amount every day? Solid or mesh on bottom? Bottles or crocks for water? What size? And on it goes.

We'll be feeding our rabbits pellets to start with, hopefully adding hay and grass over the summer as we get used to things. We would like to be able to leave for a weekend or so and know the rabbits will be OK in our absence, so some sort of automatic feeding/watering sounds great for that. On the other hand, we know excess feed can cause problems, so we're concerned about the automatic feeders on that basis.

And do we need/want mesh or solid bottoms?

Any comments will be most thankfully received.

Get the largest size feeders you can, except for maybe your buck cages. Does with litters in the 5-6 week range will clean out even a big feeder.

Of course though if you're just getting the one as a pet with no intentions of breeding, any feeder that can be secured (not dumped by the bunny) and yet can hold just the days ration is a good way to go (though you will need a way to offer hay all the time). This will keep your bunny from getting too fat and developing health issues that way. Waterers are personal preference. I can't stand crocks and until I move and can get a grumpy-style automatic watering system going I use water bottles that can hold just a bit over the amount of water my rabbits need in a day (which is a lot for NZW's) Food and water absolutely should be a daily chore. Any mold or mildew can seriously hurt or kill a bunny in no time so nothing should be left out for more than a day.

Waterers are definitely personal preference... I much prefer crocks to bottles. I used water bottles the first year of keeping rabbits and dreaded that part of the rabbit chores. It took the majority of the time to do it as well. I switched to plastic bowls for temporary crocks and it cut my time by 3/4! I enjoy spending time with the rabbits, but there are those times when I really need to get them fed and get going (like before church)... They chewed up and otherwise destroyed the plastic bowls so I switched to 2 qt. rubber bowls and haven't looked back! I have some that like to flip them over, so I just secured them to the cage floor with some wire (but can still squeeze the bowl to get it out if I need to dump it or clean it).

I like the J feeders, pretty simple, no fuss. Depending on how you have them set up will determine if you want tops on them or not. I didn't realize there was an option and had wet feed a lot when they were outside the hutches, but now that I have them in different hutches and they are inside the open top makes feeding that much easier (no having to open the lid, or wasting food when a child is helping and can't see that it's shut, thus dumping the whole scoop on the ground :roll: ).

Definitely personal preference. I use crocks for both feed and water, except for one crock dumping buck that has a j-feeder.

For me, it's easier to deal with a frozen crock than a bottle, they are easier for me to clean, and when I have someone tending to the rabbits for me it's just "fill one with water and one with pellets". When I have weanlings, I have dog dishes for feeding. I also have the TSC hay racks.

Whatever you decide on, a piece of advice. Get two of everything. Makes it easier in cold weather to just replace it and bring the other inside for thawing/cleaning.

See, area has a huge effect too. I'm in Florida so open containers are far more likely to evaporate (or become completely full of bugs) in no time than bottles are to freeze even in the dead of winter.

When I tried crocks they were always nasty or bone dry by the time I got home. They don't make them big enough to last a meat breed an 8 hr work day in my parts.

The mesh-bottom J-feeders are nice for pellets because they automatically sift out the "fines," which is feed dust that the rabbits do not like and shouldn't have.

I use heated water bottles where I am with a brass spring nipple. That's the type of nipple used for large capacity "automatic" watering systems that I plan to use later so I want the rabbits used to it.

Good luck! If you have little idea what you're doing and want rabbits anyway, I can personally attest that you are in the right place.

I hate both crocks AND water bottles but LOVE the automatic water system that has half/three quarter pvc pipe that the nipples screw into. Hooked up to a large enough container to supply ALL the rabbits for three days and a tap for emptying it for cleaning.

Florida will grow frogs and mosquitoes in a heart beat if water is left for more than three days.

There is also the little water nipples that push into thin flexible hose. They work best for me if I use a length of hose about two ft long, drill a ONE gallon bucket just a little smaller than the hose is, soften the hose and shove it into the hole. It will swell a little bit as it cools so makes a tight seal. The water nipple hooks to the cage as normal. It gives me LOTS of water for the grow outs while leaving me not too much hose to clean. Algae builds up fast in clear pipes.

If rats are a problem, lidded J Feeders. If snakes are a problem, LIDDED J Feeders kept CLOSED!!! Had a beautiful 7 ft rat snake get into a rabbit cage via a LIDDED J Feeder left open by kids feeding up. Only lost a couple of babies to it but was rather annoyed as if it had been closed the snake would have gone on to eat RATS instead of popples.

We are sooooo humid that closed bottoms on J Feeders suit us best.

Good luck, too many choices are worse than not enough! :lol:

GBov":ot0vtvgi said:

We are sooooo humid that closed bottoms on J Feeders suit us best.

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Humid here too, but the mesh bottoms keep things dry for me (lets the pellets breathe). My solid bottoms rusted horribly from the conditions at my place, along with feed swelling and caking up into a nasty yeasty paste.

I laughed so hard at the snake comment, so true, but most yellow rat snakes can squeeze right through wire openings. I only stopped a catastrophe with one because I use the floor nests and between the small gaps on floor nest mesh and baby saver wire the snake became confused long enough for me to notice and grab it off the cage. (2 more inches of snake exploration and popples were about to be popcorn)

Several of my cages are built of half by one inch mesh and that was the type cage the snake had gotten into DH, and it was actually too big around to have gotten into most of the other cages as well. She was a very big snake indeed! :shock:

I snatched all the buns out of the cage and locked the snake in and left her there for a few days to digest her meal and then left the door open while making sure ALL the jfeeders were closed.

That was a snaky place indeed, one day there were three rat snakes on the cages.

Have only seen a black snake at the new place, and boy didnt the Guineas tell me about it! :lol:

The best thing about rabbits MM is that any choice you make as to feeders and waterers you can CHANGE later on. Oh, and if you go with crocks I found flat bottomed heart shaped glass containers at Dollar Tree that have been a life saver many times. With no lip and being heavy the rabbits can push them around but NOT flip them.

Thank you for all the ideas. It's been helpful toward making up our minds what to buy for starters.

Snakes should not be a problem where we are (in town in the middle of Illinois.) I've never seen a snake any bigger around than a pencil in our yard. I'm more concerned about raccoons and stray cats coming around than anything else. I'm doing what I can to keep them out, but it seems animals, like hackers, always manage to find a weak spot somewhere.

It'd be great in the future if you add "middle of Illinois" to your profile so people can give more area specific answers to your questions. A lot depends on where you live.

MidwestMatthew":2foxkrlx said:

Thank you for all the ideas. It's been helpful toward making up our minds what to buy for starters.

Snakes should not be a problem where we are (in town in the middle of Illinois.) I've never seen a snake any bigger around than a pencil in our yard. I'm more concerned about raccoons and stray cats coming around than anything else. I'm doing what I can to keep them out, but it seems animals, like hackers, always manage to find a weak spot somewhere.

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If you can afford it get a coyote trap as an adult raccoon will actually FIT in a trap that size.

Raccoon is VERY good eating by the way. :twisted:

MidwestMatthew":3vbc58vm said:

We're getting our first rabbits in a couple weeks, so I'm trying to get everything ready in advance. Cages are ready, hutch is almost finished, and I'm trying to get the feeders and water bottles (or crocks) settled.

Problem is, who knew there were so many choices?! Large or small feeder? Automatic feeding, or measured amount every day? Solid or mesh on bottom? Bottles or crocks for water? What size? And on it goes.

We'll be feeding our rabbits pellets to start with, hopefully adding hay and grass over the summer as we get used to things. We would like to be able to leave for a weekend or so and know the rabbits will be OK in our absence, so some sort of automatic feeding/watering sounds great for that. On the other hand, we know excess feed can cause problems, so we're concerned about the automatic feeders on that basis.

And do we need/want mesh or solid bottoms?

Any comments will be most thankfully received.

Click to expand...

Here is the waterer that I use.

http://www.amazon.com/Petmate-Pet-Cafe- ... ge_o03_s00

Here is the feeder I use.

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Giant5-Gal ... ge_o07_s00

I just started with Rabbits, but I like both of these. The waterer has only had one issue and that was after a storm. I found little bits in it. I do wonder how it will do in the summer, but only time will tell.

Good luck!

My rabbits would SHRED your waterer! :lol: Yours must be more polite than mine.

MidwestMatthew":381b39x0 said:

Thank you for all the ideas. It's been helpful toward making up our minds what to buy for starters.

Snakes should not be a problem where we are (in town in the middle of Illinois.) I've never seen a snake any bigger around than a pencil in our yard. I'm more concerned about raccoons and stray cats coming around than anything else. I'm doing what I can to keep them out, but it seems animals, like hackers, always manage to find a weak spot somewhere.

Click to expand...

make sure the cage bottom is at least 3 feet off the ground, and the coons have nothing to stand on to reach the cage bottom, coons will chew rabbit feet through the wire bottom if they can reach it.- if they have something to stand on, they will also reach through side wire and pull rabbits apart. If the cages are outdoors under a roofed area, cover the cage top anyway- if there is any way the coons can get on top of the cage, [they will also reach down into the cage from the top.] and I agree with an above post-- coons are edible...