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getting rabbit accustomed to drinking water from rabbit waterer

oguzakyuz

New Kit
Hi All,

This is my first post, so apologies if I am posting in the wrong forum. We recently received a rabbit from a friend of our neighbors. Apparently she rescued the rabbit from the street and was looking for someone to give. We have chickens in our backyard so decided to take care of this rabbit as well.

Our biggest problem so far has been to get our rabbit accustomed to drink water from a rabbit waterer we purchased. It is a nipple based system. I've attached a picture below. He just doesn't seem to understand that he can drink water from that. Assuming that he would drink water from the waterer, I didn't leave any other water source around. When I checked it out in the evening not a single drop was drunk from the waterer (I immediately provided water in a bowl and he drank it heavily).

TAVSANSULUGUBYK_1.jpg


So how I am supposed to accustom our rabbit drink from the waterer? :)

Thanks for any help,
Oguz
 
Why not leave him with a bowl to drink from? It's much more natural, and rabbits tend to drink more from a bowl than a bottle. A heavy ceramic bowl (like a small dog bowl) would be ideal.
 
Why not leave him with a bowl to drink from? It's much more natural, and rabbits tend to drink more from a bowl than a bottle. A heavy ceramic bowl (like a small dog bowl) would be ideal.

I agree. Most rabbits prefer a bowl.
 
Welcome to the forum.
How much pressure does it take for the rabbit to lick the end and obtain water? Your picture does not look like the water bottles I got from a pet supply store so I wonder if it requires more than a lick with a bunny tongue to get the water to dispense. Some water bottles rely on air pressure to keep the water in the bottle when they are upside down. Others have small metal balls in the spout that the bunny depresses with their tongue to get individual drops of water with each lick. The metal balls can get stuck in the spout and prevent the water from coming out.

As you likely know from your chickens, all water bottles need to be cleaned regularly, especially the spout that can become stuck with bits of food, algae, or other materials.

Try gently tapping the spout and let the bunny see it is the water source (this is how I test to make sure water bottle is working correctly too). Hold the bunny bottle near the bunny's mouth. My water bottles are softer plastic so I can even gently squeeze the bottle to squirt out a few drops of water.

Your bunny having been a stray, may prefer a bowl. Some bunnies will tip over and foul bowls so using one that clips to a pen and can be put up off the floor, or is too heavy to easily knock/tip over may be required.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I am located in Turkey by the way. The nipple releases water without too much pressure but it could be that this bunny never drank from such a water source in his entire life. I actually plan to extend an aquarium pump supported circulation system that I use for my chickens. This allows for constant circulation of water and is frost-resistant unless the weather gets too cold. This way the rabbit will be drinking from a bowl and I won't have to fill it up on a daily basis. I will share the results if I can get it to work :).
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I am located in Turkey by the way. The nipple releases water without too much pressure but it could be that this bunny never drank from such a water source in his entire life. I actually plan to extend an aquarium pump supported circulation system that I use for my chickens. This allows for constant circulation of water and is frost-resistant unless the weather gets too cold. This way the rabbit will be drinking from a bowl and I won't have to fill it up on a daily basis. I will share the results if I can get it to work :).

My bunnies are indoor bunnies, but others have outside bunnies so I am sure having a ice free bowl would be a major benefit to some.
 
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