Not new, but returning!

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I know it may be an expense but I have had luck keeping algae down by using colored water lines. Mine are blue, and the reservoir is a series of 55gallon blue drums. I was lucky to get the box of blue tubing for free from someone...Maybe there is a way you can block light to the system without having to replace everything? Tape on the lines, and paint the reservoir if needed?

Idk how or why, but water sometimes stops flowing in random places and I can't find it if I can't see the water in them. Triggering the nip or cup to let air through doesn't work. Have to detach it and then detach filled line further up and blow it through, then reattach and see if it's working again.
But could probably paint most of the lines, leaving gaps around attachment points.

Oh! I bought heavier duty 3 day connectors, they're all starting to crack and leak. So, if the cups work out, I'll be buying the expensive metal connectors next.

 

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I know it may be an expense but I have had luck keeping algae down by using colored water lines. Mine are blue, and the reservoir is a series of 55gallon blue drums. I was lucky to get the box of blue tubing for free from someone...Maybe there is a way you can block light to the system without having to replace everything? Tape on the lines, and paint the reservoir if needed?

55gal? Do you use nips or cups?
If nips, does the water not shoot out when activated? That's why I'm switching to cups. Nips start leaking slow, then nonstop, but all gush tons of water out when the buns bite on them! Most ends up on them, the pan and down the cage walls...
I've bought little inline regulators, but they don't seem to help. I bend the tubing and that sort of helps, but easy to get overbent, blocking all flow.

 

[RABBITGIRLFORTHEWIN]

So gross. So many are leaking until pans are overflowing! Such a disgusting mess.
View attachment 41274
Completely full to the edge and over!
View attachment 41278
New cup leaking...
View attachment 41279

Moved some over, but not without bloodshed, cursing and getting covered in crap.
Got them on the little blue bin for water.
Ebony seems big, she better kit or she's getting culled. I need to get rid of more adults! 23 is way too many!
View attachment 41275
Jessi working in her nest in shifts, too hot to get it done in one go!
View attachment 41276
Baymax eating his cup.....
View attachment 41277
Sugar kits gendered. Hopefully a better doe is among them than the 2 older ones!
View attachment 41280

It's a struggle for sure.

 

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Oh, the anger....
Truck didn't arrive. 2 other stores have nothing. Drove 1.5hrs away because the lady said 28 bags of 18% were there.
I get there and she calls to the back, 30 bags. Cool.
Buy them and...16%! Wtf!?
Loaders say they've never had 18%. So everyone there is a liar.

$277 in the green. 678 in feed.....

Currently $401 in the red.

 

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I think I have to kill off the tort project.
Listed the blue buck I held back and listed Jasper. Have too many bucks.
Have too many mutts and Rex. Unity will go after this litter. Ella has a litter due week of 22nd, will list her afterwards.
Do I keep the Rusty black doe? She feels like she's full of lard, not meat. Do I keep the broken Freckles doe?? Ugh.
Listed the 3 rex doe grow outs and keeping Quincy for the broken pattern.
Baymax is still listed, but no luck.

If I keep all, it's 30ish rabbits. No good.

26 below. 21 without the last 5. Still too many!
Bucks
Zippy, Goliath, Rivian, Baymax.

Does
Widy, Ella sisters, NewSF, 14, Rusty's doe, Freckles' doe, lynx, yynx, Jessi, tipsy, Quincy, 11's sisters, sugar, Sugar's doe, ebony. Unity, Fog, Haze, Ella, Jasper.

this is so hard!

 

[dlynn]

They're not leaking from the screw thing, they're wrapped in plumbers tape and a clamp on. The inner rubber stopper doesn't seem to be sealing.

Are you talking about chicken waterers or?
I've been thinking of changing to bowls, but I'd need to eliminate all shake n wobble of floors. They spill a lot that way and need to be at the rear of cages, as they stand in them, flicking water out.

Yes, but I use group housing. Those big waterers may be too big in separate cages. You could try the wide mouth jugs upended in bowl. Would keep them from standing in it. Drill some holes just below cap. Water level in bowl needs to be deep enough to cover holes and stop flow. A small bungee cord can anchor jug in corner of cage so they can't knock it over

 

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Yes, but I use group housing. Those big waterers may be too big in separate cages. You could try the wide mouth jugs upended in bowl. Would keep them from standing in it. Drill some holes just below cap. Water level in bowl needs to be deep enough to cover holes and stop flow. A small bungee cord can anchor jug in corner of cage so they can't knock it over

I've been looking at these for years, but they have their issues.

This needs a 2×2 inch hole cut out, which I hate. And the outside isn't out of the cage much at all, so it limits how big you can go. Full litters drink a ton!

Idk why the guy cut such a tall hole, must be a whoopsie.


If these were metal and held much more water...


These are super hard to find info and real life pics of. Eventually found some, but I don't understand how they don't leak. I could rubber coat them, but they're already $6 a pop!

 

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Sugar kits


First timer Ebony bred to Zippy & Goliath. Will any have rex fur?? She didn't dig into the hay much, so nest was shallow & 2 kits were lost. Rest fed, warm and happy.
Yesterday, in the nest, contemplating life.

So many otters, like mom. Blacks and blue or lilac?


Unity × Goliath


Widy × Zippy
They're larger than Unity kits, same age! So, she's a better milker.



Bred a day later than Ebony, she seems full of milk and ready for them to be out! Old Pic from the other day. Hopefully she'll have them sometime today or tomorrow. Bred to Goliath.



May 10, nest for black sis(Licorice?) × Zippy.
May 13, nest for Tipsy × Goliath & Gold.
May 22, nest for Ella × Rivian.
Lynx × Goliath.
Newsf × Zippy.
May 31, nest for RM14 × Jasper.


Forgot about dog food.
$401 in the red. 14 in dog food.

Currently $387 in the red.

 

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Jessi had fur all over the cage, just looking chill this morning, so I gathered it and put it in the nest.
Went out 30min ago to top off feed n water for the sheep & she jumped into the nest.
Then started to have them!
Put my phone on to record and it stopped recording while I set it up, so I missed about 2 minutes of it, but caught the rest. 15min and they're all here! Kits move on their own to the pile, fluff the fur and huddle. Mom births, licks, eats placenta and hops out.

You can see legs and full kits occasionally if you look real close.
I've caught a few births, but never managed to record it.

 

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Fresh popples, Jessi × Goliath.


Tipsy does. Black two are culls. Will watch the other two longer.

 

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The other two Tipsy does.
Broken is super flat, blue is pretty decent and heavy. Almost 5wks.

 

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8 kits for Jessi



Ebony 7 kits

 

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I'm done with this !
Ripped them out and put in bowls. Sent them back, hopefully I'll get a refund.

Also, wtf is that?!?
rats! Found rat poop in 2 different places. Putting out new poison. Ugh.

Back to bowls!

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

How often do you dump out the trays?

 

[eco2pia]

55gal? Do you use nips or cups?
If nips, does the water not shoot out when activated? That's why I'm switching to cups. Nips start leaking slow, then nonstop, but all gush tons of water out when the buns bite on them! Most ends up on them, the pan and down the cage walls...
I've bought little inline regulators, but they don't seem to help. I bend the tubing and that sort of helps, but easy to get overbent, blocking all flow.

I have actually 3 55gallon barrels set in line with the roof gutters (about 3.5 feet off the ground) gravity feeding the lines. The lines come off almost exactly horizontally from the bottoms of the barrels, no drop. The line comes out of the first barrel in the series at the bottom thru a standard 5/8" hose fitting, which is immediately stair stepped down to the water line size (probably 1/4"-3/8" internal diameter? whatever fits the back of the crocks) then that line further splits into 2 legs to feed the two rows. Due to the lack of height difference between the bottom of the barrels and where the water is delivered, I believe there is significantly less pressure than there might otherwise be.

I did originally have a little trouble with leaking at the T connectors, so I threw out the cheap plastic ones and got good brass fittings and used hose clamps on them. The crocks I use are sort of a combo of nipple in a crock. As the rabbit drinks, they nose a toggle that opens the water flow, similar to horse automatic waterers. It works well and I have not had trouble with them leaking except for one time when I over tightened a hose clamp and cracked the back of the fitting. The whole system even goes through freeze thaw cycles in the winter without issue. (obviously I have to use alternate hand filled crocks when the system is frozen, but for me that is only a few weeks here and there)

Because the water is supplied by runoff from the roof, I do sometimes get gunk in the lines that will cause a clog, and so I need to poke each toggle daily just in case to be sure they are all still working. If not, occasionally I will need to disconnect a line, but more often the blockage is right at the toggle, and I just need to aggressively flick the valve open a few times to clear it. I have had to clear a line 1 time in 3 years, and the toggle maybe 4 times in 3 years. These are the crocks I have. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X451W7Z/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

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How often do you dump out the trays?

Every 2-3 days. Daily for flooded ones.

 

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Jessi


Ebony. 1 kit was lost.

 

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Put out rat poison. Dumped out some feeders to clean and swap with inside feeders away from rats.

Ebony kits


Jessi kits, had to remove a bunch of fur.



Widy kits kicked out of nest.


And Unity kits also removed from nest. 2 have rex fur.


And 2 of Sugar's kits were obsessed with nibbling on me.

 

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So chewy! Actually holding my arm with it's wee paws.