Teaching buns to drink from water bottle

[Big Tom]

I have the Lexit water bottles and I have 2 three month old rabbits that just can't seem to get the hang of them. There are three buns together in the same cage and the third drinks from it just fine. The other 2 wait for it to drink then rush over and lick it's chin trying to get a drink. When that bun leaves they stay there licking the metal tube and the cage wire trying to find any water that they can. I have a small crock in with them that I have to fill several times a day just so I can be sure they are drinking. I tried taking the crock out over night several times and they are pretty thirsty by morning. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[CWD]

I would remove the crock, and the rabbit that drinks fine with the water bottle.
then put a little peanut butter on the end of the tube where the ball is, as they lick the peanut butter they will also get
a drink. they will soon learn how to get the water.
you remove the other rabbit, so it will not get the peanut butter, and the others will not be able to wait for it to get a drink.

I have had to do this with a couple of rabbits and the usally catch on real fast.

 

[Sinnfox]

I had to teach a few older rabbits...they had only ever had crocks....I held them near the bottle touched the tip so there was water then made them touch the tip of their noses to it...did it a few times to be sure they found the tip. I watched the water level closely...if it didn't seem like they had drank much I would show them again. That might me tricky since yours share a cage though :/ normally once they knew where the water came out they had it down...only had to reshow one...it was the eldest I have taught and after the second time it understood.

 

[Big Tom]

Thanks guys I will try that. The other rabbits caught on to it pretty fast. They don't seem to use their nose though, they use their teeth to move the stem and they seem to waste a lot of water. The floor is always wet underneath the water bottles. Is this common?

 

[JessicaR]

Thanks guys I will try that. The other rabbits caught on to it pretty fast. They don't seem to use their nose though, they use their teeth to move the stem and they seem to waste a lot of water. The floor is always wet underneath the water bottles. Is this common?

thats how my FG would drink from the lixet bottle, he would bite it. I never had much luck getting any of my others to drink from thaem so I just use the roller type

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

yes, they do tend to 'bite' the valve stem on the one type of tube-- the excess water on the floor is because they hold the valve open, and cannot swallow the water fast enough! I like the Double ball tubes-- but if you have a 'biter' sometimes the tube gets bit- resulting in a dent that prevents the ball from seating properly, and causing a leak.

I found with one litter, I put a small bowl under the tube, then lowered the tube so low, the rabbit was bound to trigger the water release when it stuck its head in the bowl to drink. I try to make sur my tabbitys know water bottle and corck, especially in the summer-- becasue sometimes, the crocks get tossed---

 

[Sinnfox]

oh I didn't mean they drank by touching their nose to it...I make them touch their nose to it so they will lick the tiny bit of water off their nose to realize it comes from the tip of the bottle.

 

[faiththequeen]

We used jelly here I only have one bun that still refuses to use it. But it worked with everyone else. Good luck!!!

 

[Big Tom]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I think I'll give the peanut butter a try and see what happens as soon as my new cages from Klubertanz arrive.