Types of drinking bowls for rabbits and how to make them yourself at home
One of the most important components of successful rabbit raising is constant access to clean drinking water. Animals suffer from a lack of fluid, and dehydration can lead to disturbances in the processes of digestion and metabolism, which threatens disease and death of the livestock. Contaminated, stale water is equally at risk, so drinking bowls for domestic rabbits should provide animals with access to liquid and keep it clean.
Primary requirements
Rabbit drinkers have the following requirements:
- Simplicity of design.
- Keeping water clean even when used by large numbers of animals.
- Continuous access for rabbits to drinker.
- Impossibility of accidental overturning.
- Affordable cost.
- Stable fluid supply even in the absence of owners.
If the rabbit is decorative, and it is kept in the house alone, you can limit yourself to a simple bowl, as for cats or indoor dogs. It is only important to constantly monitor the cleanliness of the contents and replace it regularly.
Types of drinkers for rabbits
In the event that rabbits are bred in large quantities or several animals are kept, you will have to take care of the availability of a suitable type of drinker. They must be durable, function properly, and provide the rabbits with adequate drinking water. It will not be possible to limit yourself to a bowl or an improvised product, because animals will stain the container and spill liquid. And this will lead to rotting food, breeding dampness in the cage and premises, as well as to diseases of rabbits due to wet paws.
To prevent this from happening, you need to take care of buying a suitable type of drinker.
Cup
Such a device is equipped with two nozzles and a float that ensures a constant liquid level in the tank. The device is attached to the wall, does not require special knowledge and skills for installation, it is easy to clean and disinfect. Rabbits get used to it quickly, but this type is more suitable for cages with three to five pets.
Nipple
This type of drinker is the most modern and convenient for keeping rabbits, because such a device practically eliminates the risk of water pollution. The use of a nipple drinker prevents the animals from staining the liquid, as there is no container in it.
It is also impossible to dissolve dampness, because there is simply nothing to turn over in a cage or room. Rabbits drink water from a kind of "nipple", by pressing on which they receive a drop of crystal clear water using a valve - a nipple.
Nipple systems are of the following types:
- Vertical (180 and 360 about).
- Horizontal.
For rabbits, vertical drinkers with 180 about... They differ in the following characteristics:
- Installation within an hour.
- Simple maintenance.
- Autonomous system operation.
- Wear resistance.
- Service for decades.
- Safety for animals, people, the environment.
- Minimum consumption of drinking water.
- Constant fluid purity.
- Ability to give portions of vitamins, minerals and medicines with water.
- Chance to install heated fluid for use in unheated rooms or free-range during the cold season.
- Low price.
Nipple systems are popular and profitable for breeders, therefore they are increasingly common.
Vacuum
This is a fairly simple way to supply water to rabbits. The principle of operation is that the liquid pouring from an inverted container into a bowl is topped up as the rabbits drink it. At the same time, the resulting vacuum does not allow it to spill out immediately, filling the cage and wetting the food and bedding.
These are cheap and practical devices with one drawback. Rabbits can stain the water in the drinking bowl, moreover, it is designed for several individuals, but not dozens of them.
Automatic (for large livestock)
This option is the most practical and useful in the presence of a herd of rabbits in the tens and hundreds of heads. The drinker consists of a large water tank, a dispensing tank equipped with a float, and drinkers located in each rabbit cage. As the liquid evaporates or is consumed, the float is lowered, pouring a portion of the fresh water into the bowls.
This system works well, but it is cumbersome, expensive, and the drinking bowls still need to be washed frequently, as rabbits can drop wool, leftovers, hay, and so on.
Features of winter drinkers
If rabbits are outdoors in winter or live in unheated rooms, they should be provided with heated drinkers. Nipple systems equipped with electronic mechanisms that heat the water to the required temperature are suitable for this purpose. They require batteries to operate, so the cost of the devices is quite high.
To keep several heads or when a rabbit is in an apartment or house, they are not necessary, but when breeding a whole herd in the open air, you will have to purchase such a device. It will pay off the investment over the coming months, making life easier for the breeder.
DIY making
At home, the easiest way to make a vacuum drinker. It is easily obtained from a bowl, plastic bottle, or sewer pipe. The most primitive option - a bottle of water is tipped into a bowl and attached to the cage lattice with plumbing clamps or strong wire. Part of the liquid is poured into the container, while the edge of the neck of the bottle is below the edge of the water. When the rabbits drink from the bowl, water from the bottle flows into the bowl, replenishing its level.
As a temporary option, you can use any cheap plastic container, for example, the same PET bottle. It is closed with a lid, and a hole slightly larger than the rabbit's head is cut in the side. After filling with water, an impromptu drinker in a horizontal position is attached to the side of the cage. As the liquid decreases, it is constantly topped up.
Such a device costs almost nothing, but it lasts a couple of weeks, no more than a month. This is an excellent temporary option, for example, in a situation when there are already rabbits, and drinkers have not yet been brought or installed. But, with all the simplicity and cheapness of the method, it has a significant drawback. Rabbits can chew on the bottle, and the plastic in the stomach and airways kills the animals.
How do I install it?
Most often, the cup is mounted on the wall of the room or on the side of the cage, at a height that is convenient for rabbits. It is necessary to install the drinker in such a way that the owners or maintenance staff of the farm have quick access to the device, minimally disturbing the animals. This is especially important in the case of pregnant females and nursing mothers. Stresses, especially frequent ones, can lead to the death of the entire offspring or the rabbit's abandonment of the offspring.
Care and cleaning
Even if rabbits cannot litter into the water (and in 99% of cases they do it), dirt, sediments from the water accumulates in all components of the drinking systems, and microscopic algae develop. If you do not regularly wash and clean all the elements of the drinkers, this can be a serious threat to rabbits.
They easily earn indigestion, and this entails diseases that can "lay down" all the livestock. Therefore, drinkers with bowls and containers must be washed and cleaned from dirt, as well as disinfected with agents safe for rabbits. In summer, this should be done more often than in winter, because the water becomes polluted and blooms much faster in the heat.
How do you teach rabbits to use the drinker?
Rabbits are intelligent creatures, besides they have a developed sense of smell. Rabbits find standard water containers and drinkers with bowls without problems, but novice breeders do not know how to teach animals to use nipple devices. This can be done without any problems. It is necessary to moisten the "nipples" with carrot juice or milk. Two or three such attempts, and the rabbits in the herd will calmly drink water.
Drinking is essential for raising rabbits on an industrial scale. With a lack of fluid, the animal weakens, eats worse, metabolic and hormonal processes are disturbed. Females may not become pregnant after mating, and after mating are able to bite or even eat offspring. So, to obtain offspring and gain weight, it is important not only to provide pets with housing and food, but also to make sure that they have fresh and clean water.
