I am new to raising rabbits. We had 4 give to us this summer. They seem to be doing fine but, I was wondering how is the best way to water them in the winter. I live in south centeral In. so it gets fairly cold here. Right now we are using the water bottles, but these will definatly freeze and bust. Thank you. Sherry

-- Sherry (Calfarm@msn.com), September 30, 2000

Answers

I filled my bottles about 1/4 to 1/3 full with warm water and hung them in the morning. Then in the evening, I did the same thing with my second set of bottles, bringing in the first set to thaw. I know its a pain in the neck, but I haven't had any bottles burst in three years here in Ohio.

-- Ed Holt (goat@sssnet.com), September 30, 2000.

We do the same. NE Tennessee, so it gets somewhat cold, and the bottles freeze. Just got a second set and switched them twice a day. They get plenty to drink, but they pretend to be dying of thirst when I put fresh bottles in. Where abouts are you, by the way? I was born and raised near Brown County, IN.

-- Teresa (otgonz@bellsouth.net), September 30, 2000.

Haven't had rabbits in awhile, but we used to use empty tunafish cans and would fill with warm water twice a day. Always had plenty on hand when they froze and needed replacing with ones from the house. Made a loop on the side of cage with heavy wire to attach them so rabbits wouldn't knock them around.

-- Kate Henderson (sheeplady@catskill.net), October 01, 2000.

I"m pretty sure I saw it on this forum--you can use plastic soda bottles with the regular rabbit water-bottle tops. Might cut down on cost/headaches in the long run if this works.

-- Cathy Horn (hrnofplnty@webtv.net), October 01, 2000.

RUBBER BOWLS!

I cannot swear enough about using them. Just turn them over and either step on them or hit them with a hammer and the ice falls out. I refill them twice a day in the winter, morning and night (occasionally, three times if it is really cold) Sometimes, an area is licked open for the water not frozen under the ice. For some reason, they do not like to chew these rubber bowls. I only had one rabbit that chewed a little on the rim.

Jeffer's carries them. Rubber Pet Bowls, 8" top x 4" High, 2qt, $2.24

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), October 01, 2000.

Teresa, we live in New Hope. That's near Spencer. It's pretty area, especially now with the turning leaves.

-- sherry (Calfarm@msn.com), October 01, 2000.

Cathy, you are correct about reading on this forum about soda pop bottles as replacements for rabbit waterers. I read that here on my first visit to this forum last year and 10 minutes later, my daughter told me the water bottle had split. Pop bottles do indeed make good replacements. We kept several replacements on hand through the winter and I was hooked on this forum.

-- Laura (gsend@hotmail.com), October 01, 2000.

I've kept rabbits outside for over ten years now, and the easiest way to make sure they drink enough in cold weather is to buy plug in heated pet bowls. I know this sounds terribly "yuppie" but they are cheap (around 20 bucks), easy to come by (Quality Farm/Fleet, Jeffers, KV Vet Supply, feed stores, even at Wally World for 5 bucks on clearance one time), very efficient, cost effective (uses 40 watts), and they last a long time. I have one I bought 15 years ago and it is still working. Animals, large and small, drink more when offered warm water when it's cold outside. Don't be afraid to use extension cords (grounded ones) in whatever length you need to reach the power supply, just be sure to tape all connections well with electrical tape and elevate the connections up off the ground a little in the event of heavy rain. I've used 100 footers before just fine. Good luck!

-- Annie Miller (ann.miller@1st.net), October 01, 2000.

I just bought one of the heated bowls from WalMart for my chickens but I still stick by my rubber bowls. I have ten rabbits.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), October 02, 2000.

What about the metal clip-on bowls? Jeffers sells them in their livestock catalogue, as does Bass Equipment. I've never used them outside, though - would the rabbits' tongues stick to them in the freezing weather?

-- Christina W. (introibo@address.com), October 02, 2000.

Christina,

I just thought of "Christmas Story" where the kid's tongue gets stuck to the pole.

It would be hard to get the ice out of the metal bowls unless you heat it. I put holes in my horse's water trough by breaking the ice with a cat's paw. Stupid, I know, it was what was handy. Got a heater after that.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), October 02, 2000.

I havent had rabbits in a long time but I used an electric yogurt maker you have to feed the cord through a water pipe so the rabbits dont chew on the cord, but it never let the water get to hot and they won't freeze these are also nice for starting plants in the spring just the right amount of heat. And a dime a dozen at the good will when your not looking for them

-- ronda (thejohnsons_doty@hotmail.com), October 06, 2000.