Water setups

[R Buns]

I tried to do a search but didn't come up with answers. Probably looking in the wrong places. Hopefully it's ok to ask here.
I have seen a few watering set ups in photos where people have a bucket of water above their cages to basically be an automatic waterer for multiple rabbits. Looks like lines come off the bucket to nipples on each cage. Is there somewhere I can learn about what is best and how to set it up? Bottles are such a pain. I have been using a bottle per cage and a bowl but especially with an aggressive biting buck it's making things a challenge. Hopefully he will be headed back to the breeder soon but it's opened my eyes to reaching into the pens daily. We have a heat wave coming again so I would like to get the bucket system set up to help keep the water cooler than little bottles and make sure there's plenty available. Hopefully take less nightly work.
Appreciate the help and advice!

 

[Alaska Satin]

I tried to do a search but didn't come up with answers. Probably looking in the wrong places. Hopefully it's ok to ask here.
I have seen a few watering set ups in photos where people have a bucket of water above their cages to basically be an automatic waterer for multiple rabbits. Looks like lines come off the bucket to nipples on each cage. Is there somewhere I can learn about what is best and how to set it up? Bottles are such a pain. I have been using a bottle per cage and a bowl but especially with an aggressive biting buck it's making things a challenge. Hopefully he will be headed back to the breeder soon but it's opened my eyes to reaching into the pens daily. We have a heat wave coming again so I would like to get the bucket system set up to help keep the water cooler than little bottles and make sure there's plenty available. Hopefully take less nightly work.
Appreciate the help and advice!

I used to use a gravity-fed system during the summer for a few years and it sounded great on paper, and it worked fairly well until it didn't.

First off, the dripping was annoying, which might be solved by getting high-end components - some folks on this forum have offered suggestions. I am not a gadget person so I got tired quickly of adjusting and cleaning the nipples. What I ended up doing was putting a little cup under each nipple to catch the water, because wet spots on the floor are not only nasty but they breed flies - including rat-tailed maggots, blecchh.

Most of the rabbits preferred drinking the water that dripped into these cups, of course, and they needed to be cleaned out regularly, which in a way kind of defeats the purpose of an automatic watering system. (Maybe it's only my rabbits that like to drop pellets, hay and poo into their water bowls?) While they required reaching into the cages occasionally to clean, at least these cups can be filled from outside the cage, so one of these might be a solution for your testy buck.

Even when the nipples weren't dripping, there were always rabbits that managed to hold the nipples open and run water out that way. Some of them just grabbed the nipple between their teeth and held it there, with a streamlet of water coursing into and out of their mouths, down their fronts and onto the floor. Others found that leaning up against the nipple was a wonderful way to cool themselves during warm weather. Again, water all over the floor, but most important, the water was sometimes drained completely while they napped in the drizzle. I had a 13-gallon water reservoir (a trash can) so that was a LOT of water on the floor.

Which brings me to the most important drawback, which was that when anyplace in the system sprung a leak (think of an excited buck pulling and pulling and pulling on the nipple until he pulls it out of the tubing), the reservoir drained and ALL of the rabbits went without water for some amount of time. It's bad when a water bottle malfunctions, but then it's only one cage, and you don't have an "automatic" system lulling you into a false sense of security. This was the deal-breaker for me, because it happened once immediately after the tank had been filled, and the rabbits went without water for about 18 hours. This was in the summer and someone was taking care of the rabbits for us while we were at fish camp, so no one knew the rabbits were in distress. (Fortunately we did not lose any, but I don't know why not.)

The winter had its own issues; I did not want to spend the money running a tank heater (the other livestock just about break the bank with that) so I ended up taking the system apart each fall and putting it back each summer.

Eventually I went back to bottles in the summer because I never felt I could trust the auto system, and it required what felt like constant tinkering. I decided I'd rather just clean and fill bottles and crocks.

However, I know some people love the auto systems (maybe in climates a little more forgiving than ours?). Here is a pretty good overview from KW Cages
https://www.kwcages.com/a-guide-to-rabbit-watering-systems

and a decent step-by-step of DIY:
https://theadventurebite.com/rabbit-watering-system/
https://nomorestomachacres.com/the-most-time-efficient-rabbit-water-system/

Here's what I'd remind myself if I was going to try it again.

- Use a reservoir that is light-blocking (a white trash can is not so great in the long run, although black will of course get warmer) and black or other non-transparent tubing, to prevent algae growth if your set-up gets any sunlight. The drawback to that is that you can't see what's going on in the tank and lines. Adding apple cider vinegar helped slow algae growth but eventually it still managed to take over. Algae is a pretty powerful bio-accumulator of toxins and heavy metals. This is great while the algae is alive, but when it dies, it releases its accumulation in a lump sum, so to speak, which is not healthy. So that's something to be aware of.

- Spend the extra money on brass nipples and brass tee joints if you don't want to have to buy replacements all the time or deal with corrosion of other metals. You have to take them on and off and mess with them to deal with leaks and cleaning etc., and the plastic ones break pretty quickly and the cheap metal corrodes.

- I'd think about splitting the rabbitry into zones, each with its own system, so that if one fails, not every single rabbit goes without water.

 

[tambayo]

I want to know how much water each rabbit / each pen drinks, so no automatic systems for me.

 

[R Buns]

I used to use a gravity-fed system during the summer for a few years and it sounded great on paper, and it worked fairly well until it didn't.

First off, the dripping was annoying, which might be solved by getting high-end components - some folks on this forum have offered suggestions. I am not a gadget person so I got tired quickly of adjusting and cleaning the nipples. What I ended up doing was putting a little cup under each nipple to catch the water, because wet spots on the floor are not only nasty but they breed flies - including rat-tailed maggots, blecchh.
View attachment 42144 View attachment 42145
Most of the rabbits preferred drinking the water that dripped into these cups, of course, and they needed to be cleaned out regularly, which in a way kind of defeats the purpose of an automatic watering system. (Maybe it's only my rabbits that like to drop pellets, hay and poo into their water bowls?) While they required reaching into the cages occasionally to clean, at least these cups can be filled from outside the cage, so one of these might be a solution for your testy buck.

Even when the nipples weren't dripping, there were always rabbits that managed to hold the nipples open and run water out that way. Some of them just grabbed the nipple between their teeth and held it there, with a streamlet of water coursing into and out of their mouths, down their fronts and onto the floor. Others found that leaning up against the nipple was a wonderful way to cool themselves during warm weather. Again, water all over the floor, but most important, the water was sometimes drained completely while they napped in the drizzle. I had a 13-gallon water reservoir (a trash can) so that was a LOT of water on the floor.

Which brings me to the most important drawback, which was that when anyplace in the system sprung a leak (think of an excited buck pulling and pulling and pulling on the nipple until he pulls it out of the tubing), the reservoir drained and ALL of the rabbits went without water for some amount of time. It's bad when a water bottle malfunctions, but then it's only one cage, and you don't have an "automatic" system lulling you into a false sense of security. This was the deal-breaker for me, because it happened once immediately after the tank had been filled, and the rabbits went without water for about 18 hours. This was in the summer and someone was taking care of the rabbits for us while we were at fish camp, so no one knew the rabbits were in distress. (Fortunately we did not lose any, but I don't know why not.)

The winter had its own issues; I did not want to spend the money running a tank heater (the other livestock just about break the bank with that) so I ended up taking the system apart each fall and putting it back each summer.

Eventually I went back to bottles in the summer because I never felt I could trust the auto system, and it required what felt like constant tinkering. I decided I'd rather just clean and fill bottles and crocks.

However, I know some people love the auto systems (maybe in climates a little more forgiving than ours?). Here is a pretty good overview from KW Cages
https://www.kwcages.com/a-guide-to-rabbit-watering-systems

and a decent step-by-step of DIY:
https://theadventurebite.com/rabbit-watering-system/
https://nomorestomachacres.com/the-most-time-efficient-rabbit-water-system/

Here's what I'd remind myself if I was going to try it again.

- Use a reservoir that is light-blocking (a white trash can is not so great in the long run, although black will of course get warmer) and black or other non-transparent tubing, to prevent algae growth if your set-up gets any sunlight. The drawback to that is that you can't see what's going on in the tank and lines. Adding apple cider vinegar helped slow algae growth but eventually it still managed to take over. Algae is a pretty powerful bio-accumulator of toxins and heavy metals. This is great while the algae is alive, but when it dies, it releases its accumulation in a lump sum, so to speak, which is not healthy. So that's something to be aware of.

- Spend the extra money on brass nipples and brass tee joints if you don't want to have to buy replacements all the time or deal with corrosion of other metals. You have to take them on and off and mess with them to deal with leaks and cleaning etc., and the plastic ones break pretty quickly and the cheap metal corrodes.

- I'd think about splitting the rabbitry into zones, each with its own system, so that if one fails, not every single rabbit goes without water.

You couldn't have covered it better. You nailed all my concerns and more. Thank you so much for taking the time to write all that information. I will be staying with my current set up. Thank you again for being so in depth in your response.

 

[R Buns]

I want to know how much water each rabbit / each pen drinks, so no automatic systems for me.

That was one of my concerns. Other than the large livestock I keep track of everyones feed and water consumption. Good indicator of a problem when there is a change.

 

[Florida Jeff]

I use the auto water system and love it. I split it up one for two breeder doe cages and a larger one for the other 8 cages. I used black tubing that eliminated all alga except in the drip leg at the end that I flush often to clean and get cool water to the cages. I used a 5 gal insulated water jug on the small side. I used a 7 gal square cooler for the other side. I load with cool water from jugs in refrigerator. With lots of kits and 4 adults I add about 2-3 gal. a day. the two does use about 1/2 - 1 gal a day. They drink some and waste some.
I put two nipples High and Low in the Moms cage with kits. I have moved the low nipples up when the kits are weaned and move to Day Camp. Mom would sometime lean on the nipples and drain the cooler. I don't leave for two or three days until the kits are on there own or go to Freezer Camp. I check the water every day during that time. I don't move the kits until they are drinking from the nipples. If they don't watch mom an learn to drink from the nipple they won't learn on there own and you are back to the dishes (poop pee and food problem) If you put them on bottles they will never go back to the nipples and will die before they use them.
I used the black 5/16 tubing and nipples, plastic tees and brass 5/16 valves I got at amazon. I had crappy nipples that did leak a bit , but got good ones that have worked well for 2 yrs now. I check the nipples every day at feeding time making sure they are working.
I now Alaska Satin has had a hard time with the auto system and that is a real bummer. I feel for him. It took me a while to work mine out but I hate cleaning water bottles and filling multiple times a day in the summer. If you use coolers they keep the water cold and you can even put blocks of Ice in in the summer. No sun gets in the cooler and no algae problem. If you want I can send you links to parts if you want.
Every man has to choose his own poison.
Hey Good Luck to you and to Alaska Satin.

 

[R Buns]

I use the auto water system and love it. I split it up one for two breeder doe cages and a larger one for the other 8 cages. I used black tubing that eliminated all alga except in the drip leg at the end that I flush often to clean and get cool water to the cages. I used a 5 gal insulated water jug on the small side. I used a 7 gal square cooler for the other side. I load with cool water from jugs in refrigerator. With lots of kits and 4 adults I add about 2-3 gal. a day. the two does use about 1/2 - 1 gal a day. They drink some and waste some.
I put two nipples High and Low in the Moms cage with kits. I have moved the low nipples up when the kits are weaned and move to Day Camp. Mom would sometime lean on the nipples and drain the cooler. I don't leave for two or three days until the kits are on there own or go to Freezer Camp. I check the water every day during that time. I don't move the kits until they are drinking from the nipples. If they don't watch mom an learn to drink from the nipple they won't learn on there own and you are back to the dishes (poop pee and food problem) If you put them on bottles they will never go back to the nipples and will die before they use them.
I used the black 5/16 tubing and nipples, plastic tees and brass 5/16 valves I got at amazon. I had crappy nipples that did leak a bit , but got good ones that have worked well for 2 yrs now. I check the nipples every day at feeding time making sure they are working.
I now Alaska Satin has had a hard time with the auto system and that is a real bummer. I feel for him. It took me a while to work mine out but I hate cleaning water bottles and filling multiple times a day in the summer. If you use coolers they keep the water cold and you can even put blocks of Ice in in the summer. No sun gets in the cooler and no algae problem. If you want I can send you links to parts if you want.
Every man has to choose his own poison.
Hey Good Luck to you and to Alaska Satin.

Thank you. That's helpful. Actually makes sense on the nipples vs bottles etc. Sounds like you have a great setup. Keeping the water cooler is one of the challenges I am trying to work out with less effort. Thanks!