How to Teach Rabbits 🐇🐇 to Drink from Metal Nipple

[Olbunny]

In the summer I use a 5 ga.lon bucket with a clear tubing water line. One line across the top of the pens with tees down to water nipples. I bought the nipples on Amazon, tubing at local hardware store. Or mature does had trouble but the curious kits found it n had it figured out. They will teach their young.
I did get the does to use it but had to get the nipple wet, kept a little stick on the pens to jab it. As written when they get thirsty they figure it out, n getting it wet helps.
Good luck n Merry Christmas

 

[Zee-Man]

... I am thinking of putting small bowls to catch the drip - maybe that will incorporate both. ...

I like that idea. A mall bowl to catch drips is very innovative and also give a way to know if the rabbits are drinking or being sloppy.

 

[Murphy]

Im finding mine dont drink from water nipple ball baring type either. Yet. But have had a bowl of water alternative in at same time. I"ll lift it today, show them the drip drip thing, fingers crossed.

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

Thanks for all the ideas given out here! In my case, the square plastic jars are working great! I like it so much better than the bottles, it takes no time at all to fill, and holds a lot more! The fact that it is easier for them to drink convinces me that I will keep the set-up. I have actually ordered a bunch more, so that each cage can have one.

Note: Mine were bonus items included with the rabbits, loose in a bucket, so I had no idea how to install them. Turns out that the process is to put the silicone washer on the OUTSIDE of the jar, and the nut on the inside. I had been putting the silicone washer on the inside of the jar, next to the nut. Virtually impossible to stop leaks. With the washer on the outside, not a single drip! Just a note in case anyone else is having that problem

 

[northernnevadahollandlops]

Interesting.. well, one of the bonus items we got when we bought all those rabbits was a few of these things.

View attachment 28416

Interesting that they drink more from a bowl - then this will definitely work! I will figure it out and post pictures if anyone else is interested.

Liz, is there anything bon their little orange bowls that says where they came from? They look sturdier than what I've got.

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

Liz, is there anything bon their little orange bowls that says where they came from? They look sturdier than what I've got.

I couldn't find anything specifically on the bowl, but I did find these on Amazon that look like they are the same ... ? I think I looked at 100 various types LOL .. . . .
They are $20 for 5 Lil Cluckers - link here

I bought these really cheap ones - They were only $15 for 8. Cheap, thin, but they had a free return, so I thought I'd try them out. The mechanism is the same, but the mounting is really kind of thin - I most likely will return them and get the ones that are a bit better

There is another kind that looks like the orange ones but they're blue, they look good too. Let me know if you get any and if they are good

Liz

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

Liz, is there anything bon their little orange bowls that says where they came from? They look sturdier than what I've got.

More research LOL the cheapo ones have a separate part on the top that is removable and looks like it might be nice to have to clean out any debris that might get stuck in there. It also makes it hang lower in comparison to the height of the container. Also the bowl is deep ... not sure if that's a good or bad thing. I did like the RentACoop ones that have a separate insert that makes it easier to clean. Wish I wasn't so wishy-washy LOL

 

[northernnevadahollandlops]

I couldn't find anything specifically on the bowl, but I did find these on Amazon that look like they are the same ... ? I think I looked at 100 various types LOL .. . . .
View attachment 28491They are $20 for 5 Lil Cluckers - link here

View attachment 28492I bought these really cheap ones - They were only $15 for 8. Cheap, thin, but they had a free return, so I thought I'd try them out. The mechanism is the same, but the mounting is really kind of thin - I most likely will return them and get the ones that are a bit better

There is another kind that looks like the orange ones but they're blue, they look good too. Let me know if you get any and if they are good

Liz

Thank you!!

 

[Olbunny]

I've never seen these thanks

 

[MuddyFarms]

As far as water bottles go, it has definitely been easier for me to get the rabbits to use the ball-tipped waterers. Little bunnies catch on very easily to them, too. When I have to transition rabbits from bowls to waterers, I tend to put the ball waterer in for them to get curious about. I move the tip every time I am in there to keep it wet so they smell the water. I let them have that and the bowl until I see them using it several times on their own or they have had it for at least a week. Then I take out the bowl and add in the waterer with the rod-tip. They have two waterers at that point, and eventually they decide to try the new one out and learn to chew on it. I keep moving the tip now and then to get it wet. Sometimes I have held sunflower seeds on the tips of the waterers to get them to chew on it. I try to make the switches during some cooler days so I don't have to worry about them getting dehydrated quickly. It can be challenging, for sure!

Some of my rabbits prefer how much water they get out of the rod-tip and immediately change over to that one. Others aren’t into chewing much and don’t like the waterers with the rod-tip. However, they all do very well with the tips on the pvc circulating heated water system I put in. Even the bunnies learn to drink from them easily! It is easier to move the rod on those tips to get water out. The tips are from KW Cages.

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

I've never seen these thanks

Thank you!!

Well, the blue ones arrived today. They look like the orange, but have a couple issues.



They are better than the cheap red ones, but not as good as the orange ones that may or may not be the same as the Lil Cluckers.

Since they all have 'free returns' I may be returning them, as well as the red ones and biting the bullet and buying the orange ones.

Here's the issues - the red ones are very flimsy, probably ok for chickens, but they just don't seem sturdy enough to me. The blue ones are more sturdy but they don't fill up very much, only about 1/2" or so on the bottom. I am going to post photos and more descriptive discussion of the pros & cons on my website, I'll let you know when I have that ready. I will probably wait until I know if I am replacing the blue ones. I installed them tonight, and will see tomorrow if they actually fill up more after they get settled & used more.

So, there you go, more than you ever wanted to know about automatically filling bowls. ... and yet I'm not done!! LOL

Liz

 

[Olbunny]

Thanks. My first thought on the blue ones only filling up a bit. I think that may be better as the water would change out. If they , blue ones, are from Minnesota I like that brand. We just ordered 2 new heated ones

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

Thanks. My first thought on the blue ones only filling up a bit. I think that may be better as the water would change out. If they , blue ones, are from Minnesota I like that brand. We just ordered 2 new heated ones

Well, poop. Wish I had read your comment before I went to the rabbitry. LOL ..

Since I like to tinker, and my time is worth nothing, I decided to fix the blue ones so they filled more. They work on a small spring, when the water fills the bowl, the weight of the bowl compresses the spring and presses a silicone stopper onto the water supply.

So, the spring was too weak. It allowed the bowl to fall with only a little weight. I stretched the spring a bit, and now the bowl fills about 1/2-3/4.

I'm of two minds about this - (well, I'm of two minds about virtually everything, so really not worth mentioning) Heat is the largest factor in Texas, so I want to make sure there will be enough volume of water for multiple rabbits (although only one can drink at a time? so maybe not an issue?)

I can see where having the bowl refresh more often is desirable, too.

Which brings up the downsides of these.

1) Occasionally poop gets in the bowl, (probably because of a bad location, so that may be able to be avoided)

2) If there is any debris in the water supply I think it could block the small silicone stopper and allow it to leak all the water out.

3) if you have a weird rabbit that must like to be wet, they will lay under it thereby pushing the bowl up so it never stops filling and have it drain completely out.

So, although I really like the idea of a bowl, I would not use it if I couldn't check at least daily to make sure there is sufficient water or if you could hook it to a permanent water supply. When I go away for a day, I hang the old water bottles in addition so I don't worry.

Liz

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

Thanks. My first thought on the blue ones only filling up a bit. I think that may be better as the water would change out. If they , blue ones, are from Minnesota I like that brand. We just ordered 2 new heated ones

I doubt these are from Minnesota, I believe they are from Chinasota. If you have a source for ones MADE IN THE USA let me know and I will absolutely return these and buy the USA ones.

I realized I only mentioned the downsides of the bowls. The positives are

1) MUCH much much easier to fill.
2) bowl instead of ball/nipple
3) Easier to clean
4) MUCH much easier to fill LOL

Liz

 

[northernnevadahollandlops]

Thanks. My first thought on the blue ones only filling up a bit. I think that may be better as the water would change out. If they , blue ones, are from Minnesota I like that brand. We just ordered 2 new heated ones

Which brand of heated ones did you get? Are they bowls?

 

[Olbunny]

I doubt these are from Minnesota, I believe they are from Chinasota. If you have a source for ones MADE IN THE USA let me know and I will absolutely return these and buy the USA ones.

I realized I only mentioned the downsides of the bowls. The positives are

1) MUCH much much easier to fill.
2) bowl instead of ball/nipple
3) Easier to clean
4) MUCH much easier to fill LOL

Liz

We got the ones on Amazon. If you put insulation underneath it. They heat better. Spray foam would work great.
In the non freezing months. I have a 5 gallon bucket with a water line n water nipples. No bowls. Don't have to water them daily. Like every 10 -12 days add some water from the water barrel. I think that grow outs need several nipples in a pen.
By having a water supply like this I feel that the chances for water born diseases are less

 

[northernnevadahollandlops]

We got the ones on Amazon. If you put insulation underneath it. They heat better. Spray foam would work great.
In the non freezing months. I have a 5 gallon bucket with a water line n water nipples. No bowls. Don't have to water them daily. Like every 10 -12 days add some water from the water barrel. I think that grow outs need several nipples in a pen.
By having a water supply like this I feel that the chances for water born diseases are less

Do you have any photos of your system?

 

[hotzcatz]

If your water supply is from a five gallon bucket, you can get a stock tank water valve that attaches to a garden hose and will fit in the bucket that will keep the bucket filled. I was going to see if I could get a toilet tank to work as the supply tank since it already has an automatic filler valve. After five or six years the plastic bucket will degrade so I thought the ceramic toilet tank would be better, but my SO went and threw out the toilet tank that's I'd scavenged for the project. Hmpf! Now I gotta find another one.

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

If your water supply is from a five gallon bucket, you can get a stock tank water valve that attaches to a garden hose and will fit in the bucket that will keep the bucket filled. I was going to see if I could get a toilet tank to work as the supply tank since it already has an automatic filler valve. After five or six years the plastic bucket will degrade so I thought the ceramic toilet tank would be better, but my SO went and threw out the toilet tank that's I'd scavenged for the project. Hmpf! Now I gotta find another one.

Scavenged is my favorite price! How were you going to block the hole in the bottom of the toilet tank? I love the idea it's like a giant crock. Fortunately toilet tanks are pretty easy to scavenge I think. Keep us posted on the project!

Liz