Water container sizes?

Nao57

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So I wondered what you need for a single rabbit cage for water size?

In my state the summer heat is pretty terrible and very dry. (Southwest part of the US; arid climate, not quite desert but definitely over 100 degrees is common for July, and August every day).

But we're not in the heat season anymore, and its actually fairly cool now, but not yet cold except at night. I only got rabbits about a week ago, so I'm not sure how big the water bottle sizing would need to be for the really bad days, or for like a doe with a litter cage.

I'm pretty sure you'd go through more water on the pretty dry and hot parts of the season especially. (How much water do you lose per day per animal per cage usually for this?)

Any advise on this?

I know some people have some pretty fancy setups now but I've just been doing it by hand. And I don't mind that since it gives me interaction and more time to figure out what's going on.
 

Niele da Kine

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Most of our hutches have piped in water, but we have four which use either crocks or water bottles. The water in the bottles lasts longer than the crocks.

I have a quart sized water bottle in with a doe feeding a litter of ten. When I feed her with a lot of fresh forage, she will go through about three quarters of the bottle. If she has dry feed, she will drink a bottle and a half.

The crocks are filled once a day, they're always empty every day. We're gonna put piped in water to those hutches.
 

animalmom

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Quart bottles are great if you are using the tube drinker. You can get the drinker part separate from the bottle. I use a lot of lemon so I buy it in the quart bottle and recycle the bottle for the rabbits. I dump and refill every other day and what I dump goes on the flowers so it isn't wasted.

If you are going the crock route, which I also use, get the crocks that attach to the cage so the darlings can't tip it over. Also get the largest you have available to you for their water. I refill every day... but then I have a hose in the bunny barn so it is almost as nice as an automated watering system.

Keep asking questions as it is helpful to all of us to look at how we do things.
 

Nao57

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Quart bottles are great if you are using the tube drinker. You can get the drinker part separate from the bottle. I use a lot of lemon so I buy it in the quart bottle and recycle the bottle for the rabbits. I dump and refill every other day and what I dump goes on the flowers so it isn't wasted.

If you are going the crock route, which I also use, get the crocks that attach to the cage so the darlings can't tip it over. Also get the largest you have available to you for their water. I refill every day... but then I have a hose in the bunny barn so it is almost as nice as an automated watering system.

Keep asking questions as it is helpful to all of us to look at how we do things.
Thank you very much.
 

Nao57

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Most of our hutches have piped in water, but we have four which use either crocks or water bottles. The water in the bottles lasts longer than the crocks.

I have a quart sized water bottle in with a doe feeding a litter of ten. When I feed her with a lot of fresh forage, she will go through about three quarters of the bottle. If she has dry feed, she will drink a bottle and a half.

The crocks are filled once a day, they're always empty every day. We're gonna put piped in water to those hutches.
By crocks do you mean like a heavier ceramic type of dish?

Thank you.
 

Larsen Poultry Ranch

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How much water a rabbit drinks will depend on the temp, what they are eating, and if they are nursing. Nursing rabbits drink a lot and you never want them to run out of water. I prefer the rabbit water bottles because they hold more water than a crock, but I use the crocks occasionally. After you have your set up for a while you should be able to see how much water your rabbits go through and how often you need to refill.

The crocks I use are ceramic, and it helps if they have a wide base instead of narrow, as it's harder for the rabbit to tip over.
 

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