bunnies too

[chicks n bunnys]

I got my chicks started on a 5 nipple 5 gal. bucket and they love it.

I raise rabbits too and I was going to leave my "farm" for a week. I had a fattening pen of 5 bunnies that drank a lot of water. I didn't want to burden my neighbor with filling multiple water bottles so I tried a bucket with 2 nipples and they loved it. I am now incorporating the method with my older caged rabbits and they by-pass the ball-tube bottles and drain the nipple bottles first. I am 71 yrs. old and rigging the pvc pipe with nipple system and gravity bucket is a little much for me, but I can put together the gallon jug nipple system per cage easy and quickly.

Thank you.

 

[RJSorensen]

Hello, and welcome to BYC!

I did not know nor think that bunnies would take to nipples for chickens, but then why not? You seem to have made life a bit better for you and you livestock. Interesting 'off label' use of a chicken product.

Best to you and your livestock,

RJ

 

[chicks n bunnys]

The bunnies also ate out of a hanging 7 lb. chicken feeder more readily than the small regular rabbit feeders. As long as I kept the feeder filled and plenty of hay, they didn't bother about chewing on the plastic chicken feeder. The adaptations for the rabbits worked out great and my neighbor didn't have to fool with the fryers hardly at all.

For the chickens I have two 4 foot, four inch PVC pipe sections joined with an elbow mounted to the side of their small laying house. The bottom section is cut open to form a trough along the front of the house. I fill the upright pipe with pellets and let gravity put feed into the trough. The food stays clean and dry with the 4" cap on the upright. I fill it once a week. I have 5 layers. The rabbits inherited the feeder I had before.

 

[RJSorensen]

Glad that worked out for you, I've yet to make a PVC feeder, but they sound like the work nice.

RJ

 

[CajunChickenGuy]

I've had my rabbits drinking from poultry nipples for a few months now. It works great and saves me lots of time. I have all 6 of my rabbit cages linked with pvc pipe. The only problem that I have found is that the nipples don't thread and seal perfectly into the pvc pipe. On my 5 gallon chicken buckets, it's easy to seal with caulk from the inside. Well sealing with caulk on the outside of the pvc for the rabbits doesn't work quite as well. Some of my rabbits seem to love to eat caulk.

I kept trying to reapply caulk to stop leaks. One doe ate the caulk so quickly I tried mixing the caulk with cayenne pepper to keep her from eating it. She ate it even faster. So I used some of that hardening plumbing putty and it did the trick. If I ever have to redo this or add cages I will apply the putty to every nipple. It's hard as steel and my rabbits want nothing to do with it.

I have the bucket hooked to a simple ball valve and fill the bucket every few days...I LOVE IT!