Water bottle or bowl?

[rabbitwhisperer]

Most rabbits don't fully hydrate with a bottle. They do with a bowl. Use a heavy clay crock or a Smart Crock. Do a google search on "Smart Crock" for pictures and ways to order.

 

[Blue eyes]

Cool, never seen one like that! How often do you take it off the bars to clean it out?

"Off the bars"? Do you mean the clamp portion that is attached to the cage bars? That doesn't need to come off. The bowl itself twists out of the holder to make things easy. I take the bowl out (just twist and lift) every morning for rinsing and filling. The clamp stays where it is - attached to the cage bars.

 

[rabbitwhisperer]

The Smart Crock has a grooved "screw" with a slit in it, sticking out the side of the crock, at the top. A vertical bar of the crate fits in the slit. Then a "cap" screws onto the part on the outside of the crate. Each to take off and put on. I manage the Colorado House Rabbit Society. We have around 130 rabbits at any given time. We dump the water every evening and fill with fresh. Every morning we just top off, unless the water is really dirty. Once a week, we sterilize with 1 part of bleach to 30 parts of water.

 

[Blue eyes]

@rabbitwhisperer, do you need to unscrew the screw to take the bowl out?

I know the Quick Lock Crock and also the Lock and Crock just lift out of the part that screws to the cage (ie. the portion screwed onto the cage bars remains attached when the bowl is lifted out). I can't tell from the description whether this is the case with the Smart Crock.

 

[Asmaa]

Has anyone switched their bunny over to a bottle? I want Bunster to use the bottle cause the bowl is so messy and water spills

Yeah, my bunnies used to drink from bowls and they had the same problem so I switched to bottles and there are no problems, its easier for both you and the rabbit as well and they are cheap.

 

[Blue eyes]

Yeah, my bunnies used to drink from bowls and they had the same problem so I switched to bottles and there are no problems, its easier for both you and the rabbit as well and they are cheap.

It really is not easier for the rabbit. They have to work much harder to get their water -- one drop at a time. Bowls are more natural and I have seen that rabbits drink more from a bowl than from a water -- more water is good!

The bowls that clamp on to the cage, if positioned away from the hay/litter/food won't get messy.

 

[lavendertealatte]

Bunster's using the bottle now as well as the bowl lolllll cause I moved the bottle so it's right above his litter box area and his water bowl is on the other side of the pen away from his hay. I was so surprised to see him using the bottle it does look quite unnatural!

 

[Fiasco]

Do you all think that bowls are the better choice for Holland Lop bunnies? I think I may have read somewhere that lop-eared bunnies can have trouble with their ears getting in the water, would that be a worry for them? I wasn't sure if it was just referring to English Lops and the such, with really huge ears. What do you think?

 

[Popsicles]

The tip of my lop’s ears do dip in sometimes but that’s really not an issue. She much prefers a bowl and drinks soooo much more.

 

[Fiasco]

The tip of my lop’s ears do dip in sometimes but that’s really not an issue. She much prefers a bowl and drinks soooo much more.

Great, thanks so much for letting me know! I had no idea that a bowl could make such a big difference. My bunnies will definitely appreciate it on these hot summer days! How about in winter, though...could their wet ears pose a problem then? I have my bunnies outdoors in hutches. Maybe I should stick to a water bottle in the winter, what do you think? Thanks!

 

[Popsicles]

They definitely will! It’s only the very tip that dips in, and even then not every time, just depends how her ears fall. Could be easily avoided by getting a smaller diameter bowl so their ears go either side of it plus they won’t be drinking as much in winter anyway so won’t be as frequent they are getting wet. I still wouldn’t get a bottle as my bun throws it off the cage plus I’ve had so many issues with bottles getting broken and no water coming out.