winter water

[bubba man]

before work i have to take the ice out of 3 bowls and put new water i`m thinking about emptying their water for the night and filling it up in the a.m. your replies please

 

[MnCanary]

Mine drink most of their water at night. I fill them just before dark. I also use large bowls, with more water than they could need, so that the water is slower to freeze. And I keep the water jugs in a hallway, so the water temperature is about 60° F. Large bowls plus room temperature water gives them several hours before the water freezes up.

 

[Preitler]

I use electric silicone heating pads, 10W/12V, under their ceramic crocks, connected to an adjustable power supply. Most times 3-5W are enough, if I go to the full 12V it's good for every weather. I insulated the crocks on the side with cardboard.

I think this is the thing that did the most for my own comfort level, totally worth it.

 

[bubba man]

i`m gonna try taking their water away tonite see what happens

 

[ladysown]

So, for your own convenience you are going to deprive rabbits of water when they drink it the most? Why not just have two sets of water bowls and switch them out? for three rabbits that HUGELY double.

 

[bubba man]

my 3 bunnies did great they didn`t even run to the water - just makes WINTER more liveable and yes i do care for my bun`s - i use them for their manure in my compost - oh yea HAPPY THANKSGIVING

 

[Zee-Man]

I use https://tinyurl.com/usxs54mf to overcome winter freezing.

I am also working on a system for continuous flow watering. With CFW since the water is always moving it never freezes. The reservoir in my heated house automatically refills. An RV circulating pump moves the water from reservoir to the hutch and back again. I can as many nipples in the hutch as I like. Then I will never have to carry water out, not that it such a chore. Even though I am a good human, I have sometimes forgot.


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

[northernnevadahollandlops]

Our first freeze was the other night. When I came out to check on them with frozen water, my most vocal doe was so mad at me. I've never seen her thump her foot so many times. So now they have a heated water bowl.

 

[Olbunny]

We use heated water bowls

 

[bubba man]

50 degrees tonite no problem

 

[arachyd]

I never had an automatic watering system. What worked for me was to bring a bucket of warm (not hot) water outside at feeding/watering time and to have 2 water crocks for each hutch - use 1 and keep 1 aside. Time was not on my side when working a full time job so this made it easy. I'd simply go down the row putting frozen crocks in the bucket and filling up the spares. When I was done the frozen crocks were thawed enough that the blocks of ice fell out and they could have a quick rinse and become the spare crocks for the next feeding/watering.

 

[MaggieJ]

Good solution, arachyd!

I used to do something similar when I had rabbits in cages. Here's the link to an old post about it.
https://rabbittalk.com/threads/cheap-and-easy-winter-water-idea.18459/

 

[northernnevadahollandlops]

]Cheap and easy winter water idea

Do you still use the rubber bowl? Does it not freeze?

 

[MaggieJ]

I had to give up keeping rabbits several years ago, due to mobility issues.

Yes, the rubber bowl would freeze, but it was larger and the rubber seemed to insulate it better than ceramic. It's also unbreakable. I used to just turn it over and step on it and the ice would pop out. Then I'd refill with warm water. I found that the rabbits enjoyed the warm water, so even though it freezes a bit faster than cold, I gave it to them that way.

We get cold snaps well below Zero F, but they rarely last more than a few days at a time. But it's a rare night from mid-December to the end of February that temperatures don't dip below freezing.

 

[northernnevadahollandlops]

I had to give up keeping rabbits several years ago, due to mobility issues.

Yes, the rubber bowl would freeze, but it was larger and the rubber seemed to insulate it better than ceramic. It's also unbreakable. I used to just turn it over and step on it and the ice would pop out. Then I'd refill with warm water. I found that the rabbits enjoyed the warm water, so even though it freezes a bit faster than cold, I gave it to them that way.

We get cold snaps well below Zero F, but they rarely last more than a few days at a time. But it's a rare night from mid-December to the end of February that temperatures don't dip below freezing.

Well I know many of us appreciate your experience and the time you take to answer questions and contribute here!

 

[MnCanary]

By the way, MIT School of Engineering says that hot water does not freeze faster than cold water. MIT School of Engineering | » Does hot water freeze faster than cold water?

 

[user 1698]

By the way, MIT School of Engineering says that hot water does not freeze faster than cold water. MIT School of Engineering | » Does hot water freeze faster than cold water?

Actually it can under certain conditions. It's called the Mpemba effect.

 

[MnCanary]

Actually it can under certain conditions. It's called the Mpemba effect.

Yes, I've run into that name. But it has been disproven. Questioning the Mpemba effect: hot water does not cool more quickly than cold - Scientific Reports

 

[Mariah's Meadows]

I use these heated bowls during winter months. My enclosures are spaced relatively close together, so I have no issues with length. All cables plug into a USB hub inside of a dry box. This year, I added some more enclosures a bit further away so put an extension cord from the original dry box to a new dry box that uses another USB hub. They were the most inexpensive thing I could find. Even my most persistent chewer didn't damage the bowls. There are definitely downsides like they are powered with a USB cable, they are plastic, and they don't automatically refill; but it works for me! Prior to getting these, I would simply pop out their stainless steel bowls and knock it on the ground to remove the ice, then pop it back in and fill with warm water. The bowls just snap in place, so it is not a hassle to do that. I did a lot more than 3 bowls in the morning before my 2-hour commute to work and it was fine for me. Now that I have heated bowls and I work remotely from home, there is even less for me to do I would suggest using one of the methods listed above or get some sort of heated bowl/pad to keep the ice from forming. Even leaving the ice in the bowls allows the rabbits to lick at the ice rather than not getting any water at all.

 

[user 1698]

Yes, I've run into that name. But it has been disproven. Questioning the Mpemba effect: hot water does not cool more quickly than cold - Scientific Reports

Thanks for the article. I guess the phenomenon is still up for debate.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article...nt-hot-water-freeze-faster-cold-mpemba-effect