Moving to a new house

[Kimmerre]

I just bought my first house and will now have well water. My bun has had city water so far in her life (she's a 1 1/2 year old lionhead), and I just wondering if anyone has any ideas on how this will effect her. Not sure if I should mix well and city water for awhile and slowly transition into well water.....?

I willstill have access to the same water she's used tooonce I move, since it's at my Mom's house.



Thanks in advance! :big wink:

 

[cremellomare]

If the water hasn't been tested yet that would be a good idea for both of you anyways. Bacteria and contaminants can be found in well water and you won't know its there without testing. Make sure it is safe first. You can get test kits for it at the health department in your county. I used to teach groundwater education to people in Northern Michigan.

 

[Luluznewz]

i think if its safe for you to drink its safe for rabbits as well.

 

[missyscove]

I know when traveling we often advise bringing some water from home. Just because it's safe doesn't mean she won't notice the difference (hey, I prefer Los Angeles tap water to the tap water here in Ithaca).
I think it might be a good idea to offer her some of the water she's used to, especially while she's settling in at the new place and maybe gradually mix in the new water. If you notice her water consumption is down with the new water, you can always set out a second dish spiked with a little apple juice to entice her.

 

[Kimmerre]

Thanks so much! I think I'm going to slowly get her used to well water, especially since I already had a near death experience with her and I don't want to have to go through that again (or pay the vet bills!)

Kim

 

[Nancy McClelland]

the main difference with well water is that there is usually a higher mineral content. Good idea to have it tested though. Never know for sure if it is safe and since your bun is smaller than you, things in the water will have a grater impact.

 

[Kimmerre]

Yea I should get it tested for my sake too. Plus I have other pets that will be drinking/living in the water. I heard you can get free tests from the local health department? (Correct me if I'm wrong). I might even test the water I have now to compare it to what I will have.

I wish eveyone who owned a bun joined this website!

 

[cremellomare]

I don't know if they are free in your county, but you can check..it used to be $30 for them, which is pretty cheap for peace of mind.

 

[akane]

Usually the county or state will do a limited number of free tests but I don't know if it's different where you are. There are tons of people on well water in Iowa. Here well water and city water tend to be about the same. The city water is generally drawn from the same source and it's too full of minerals to filter much without spending a fortune so they mostly just top it off with chloramine. For that reason I actually prefer dealing with well water. No chemicals added. However we only drink bottled and have anywhere I've been in Iowa ever since I was little. We just put a whole house filter in because we got tired of the iron discoloring everything and we still drink bottled.

The animals have never really noticed the quality or lack of in our water and since we know it's not actually dangerous (just tastes gross and is annoying to deal with) we've been using the well water for them since we installed the filter. A trick we used for horse shows rather than haul along water is to add a little apple cider vinegar to their water for a few weeks before a show. Then when you have to give them different water you just add the ACV and it smells/tastes nearly the same. Some people add ACV to all their animals water all the time for the health benefits and to encourage them to drink more. I also keep flavored electrolyte mix on hand in case someone is ill or being particularly stubborn about not drinking enough.

 

[MikeScone]

missyscove wrote:

(hey, I prefer Los Angeles tap water to the tap water here in Ithaca).

Ithaca water's not so bad - you can go down to Cayuga Lake and swim in the source, too, if you like...

Whenever I brought Scone into the office in Ithaca or left him at the vet's, I always brought a bottle of well water from home. I don't know if he would have objected to city water, but never having tasted chlorinated water in his life, I'm sure he could have told the difference.

I haven't practiced real estate law for a while, and it could well be different in Michigan, but around here it was normal for a seller to provide a water test if the house had a well, and banks usually insisted on it. You might already have had one, buried in all the closing stuff.

 

[missyscove]

It's more mineraly than the water at home I think. It's okay if it's cold but I don't like it warm.

(ps this is my 4000th post)

 

[AquaticRex]

defiantly bring the "normal" water with you at first until you can get used to it. the boyfriend is from up north and came down south with me once and complained the whole time on how the water tasted slimy. also, i ended up buying bottled water for Dante cause he refused to drink the water. has anyone else that travels gotten that? he just stopped drinking and his bottle was full for a day, so i poured bottled water into a bowl and he automatically went for that... i just dunno if thats normal. we're back home now and he's drinking fine but it was while down south...

 

[Kimmerre]

Update: After several weeks of combining both well and city water she's offically on 100% well water. It was a pain, but it was worth it for her.

She's been on well water now for sevearl weeks and I haven't noticed a difference with her at all.

Thanks!