What Rabbits Do You Have? Show Off Your Rabbits Here!

[RedRidge]

We're at -10f here and my heated rabbit bottles haven't arrived, all the stores are sold out of them, we got the wrong kind of heat tape to diy it. It's my buns first time and ours. I put in the bottom of a pet carrier for the nesting box and put in a bunch of nice timothy hay yesterday for her.

How does everyone else handle keeping the bunnies water from freezing?

A pond pump to circulate the water prevents it from freezing. Easy and cheap

 

[Double Kindness]

How would one hook up a pond pump to a water bottle? I have some of those pumps and I'm quite desperate for a non frozen water bottle solution.

 

[RedRidge]

An 800gph pond pump, nipples and a roll of 5/16" tubing.
If you have the pump you just need tubing and nipples. .. and a bucket of course.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000BVMWKO
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00LAH5EHG

If you're so cold you're worried about the water in the bucket freezing at all just drop in a deicer.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001E8X2CA/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?qid=1416237244&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

all you need to do is put one ends of tubing on the pump that's down in your bucket, run it through one consecutive line to each nipple and after the last nipple run the tubing back into the top of the bucket.
So from bucket you have pump - tubing to first cage - nipple -tubing from 1st cage to 2nd cage- nipple (repeat for each cage) - tubing back to bucket.
It recirculates and doesn't freeze since moving water doesn't freeze, assuming your pump flows at a fast enough rate... mine is 800gph

 

[Bunnylady]

It recirculates and doesn't freeze since moving water doesn't freeze, assuming your pump flows at a fast enough rate... mine is 800gph

Every time I hear someone say that, I am reminded of the fireman who did a slide presentation on a fire at a small oil company. They'd been told that moving water doesn't freeze; this fire occurred during an unusual (for that area) cold spell when the temps stayed in the teens and twenties. They found out that fire hoses set up and left running on the fire froze solid in a matter of hours. The rate at which the water flows does play a part, as does the length of the "run," if you keep your bucket ice-free and the distance back to the bucket isn't too far, your rabbits can still have liquid water at below-freezing temperatures. However,water bottles will freeze. Fortunately for me, the weather seldom stays below freezing for more than a few hours here. During the few periods that it does, I resort to carrying water out to my animals several times per day. Some people use crocks for water during the winter; a lot of rabbits will lick and gnaw ice if they need to between fill-ups.

 

[RedRidge]

We us the bucket system described above on our inside walls and plug in bottles on the outside walls.
We get below freezing regularly but it's unusual not to get above freezing during the day (although as I type this we will be below freezing for the next 48 hrs).
Yes flowing water will freeze but flowing water flowing at 800 gph through a 5/16" tube that's 48' in total length will not freeze unless you experience below zero temps for several hours (a rare occurrence here).
Our bottles will not freeze regardless of how low the temps are. We made it through last winter with no problems and it was below zero for days.
This photo is of our outside wall. The wall to the south is an open wall/doorway with no door. Plenty of airflow but we do put corrugated plastic sheets behind each cage on the outside wall each winter , as you can see from the pic, to cut the direct draft.

 

[Double Kindness]

My problem is that it is below freezing here and has been and the metal freezes the water in the dripper part. So that is the issue I'm trying to deal with. I'm very nervous b/c my nzw x sf bun is expected to kindle on Saturday and I'm worried she might eat her babies if she doesn't have enough unfrozen water to drink. She's been very picky about her food. So I'm hoping to not be burying babies next week.

 

[RedRidge]

We were just discussing this on the group page. None of us have ever had frozen nipples IF the tubing is less than 60' long, the pump is at least 800 gph, the heater is 250 watts, and temps are above zero. You get less than zero with that setup you may have a problem, but above zero you are good to go. ;-)

 

[chiklee]

We're at -10f here and my heated rabbit bottles haven't arrived, all the stores are sold out of them, we got the wrong kind of heat tape to diy it. It's my buns first time and ours. I put in the bottom of a pet carrier for the nesting box and put in a bunch of nice timothy hay yesterday for her.

How does everyone else handle keeping the bunnies water from freezing?

we just go out every couple of hrs.and change the water containers I have bad weather here to .

 

[RedRidge]

I'm watering hundreds of head of livestock. If I let it freeze and swap it out id be in the barn 24 hrs and still not get it all done

 

[VKat]

I am trying to deal with this exact same problem here. My doe has 11 day old kits and drinks a lot to meet nursing demands.

I've been trying to swap out with fresh warm water bottles, but the metal tube freezes within minutes so they can't actually drink the water

Do you think bowls of water are better for winter months? Will the rabbits typically adapt to something new like that easily?