Water Bottle or Water Dish?

[Jess_sully]

I've been seeing a lot of those "double diner"food/water dishes around lately, and they just look so much better thanwater bottles. Also, TSC only carries the type of water bottles thatdon't have a ball in the tip, just a spring pin thing? I don't know ifbunnies would even be able figure that out! So, I just thought I'd do alittle poll.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

I have a water bottle with the pin like tip and only one of 3of mine can figure it out.

But I use water bowls and I give bottles as well on hot days in case they spill the bowl.

 

[Jess_sully]

I thought that waterbottle was great, it had aflip top and everything, but then I noticed the pin thing and I thoughtit was pretty weird. My hamster Mowgli has the normal stainless steelball in the tip and he figured that out just fine. But all the largerabbit bottles have the pin. Maybe I'll just stick with a bowl. I likethe idea of those double diners though. I found one I really like:

http://www.jbpet.com/Shopping/product.asp?catalog_name=JBWholesale&product_id=153-0198&category_name=BowlsDoubleDiners

I like the red one I love how the bowls come right out for refillingand whatnot, and they look really nice, too. And, as always with JB,cheap!

 

[cheryl]

I prefer a bowl for my bunnies water,they seem to drink more water



cheryl

 

[binkies]

Tulla and Ivory prefer a bowl, Little Debbie just doesnt have enough room for a bowl.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

I can guarentee you, my bunnies would manage toget those bowls out! That's why I don't use them. Not to mention thattheir water is already on the opposite side of the hutch from theirpellets and hay yet they still manage to get both pellets and hay in it!

 

[Jess_sully]

Hmmm... those automatic waterers look nice,too... because then there's no worry about running out of water if I'mnot home. That's one good thing about water bottles.

 

[missyscove]

I have one of those pin water bottles, but shehasn't seemed to figure it out yet, so for now at least, she has a bowland a bottle

 

[Jess_sully]

For those of you who use bowls, how big are they(dimensions or capacity, if you know it?) and how often do you have tofill them? Do they get dirty quickly? I suppose they'd be really simpleto clean whenever you're refilling it, but I hate the idea of a bunnydrinking soiled water.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

I think mine are 3" square and maybe 0.5" deep or so.

And I hate soiled water too but it's more natural for a rabbit to drinkout of a bowl than it is to drink out of a bottle. But I change waterevery chance I get. 3-4 times daily in the summer and more like 10times in the winter. I change water every time I go out to feed, atleast once during the day, and maybe once later at night. The mostsoiled the water gets is a few pieces of hay in it and on the rareoccasion they manage to tip their heavy crock and get pellets in it.

I just dump out the old water, pour some in and on the edges to rinseit out and get off all the hair stuck to the sides and then fill it. Itworks for me. I'd love to have an automatic watering system but I haveoutdoor bunnies in Canada -- you do the math.

 

[JimD]

8 bunnies...8 waterbottles.

They all drink plenty.It's also easy for me too carry eight32 oz bottles out to be filled, and return them to the properbun...without spilling water all over.

However, I have the understanding that it's a good idea to give a bowl to a bunnie that's ill and they may drink more.

 

[Smelly]

WARNING! If your rabbitis anything like my Smelly was... well, pick the bottle.

Smelly would literally take his food bowls and throw them aroundspilling the contents everywhere. Then he'd eat it off theground and wait for me to refill his water (which he'd drink a bit thenspill it everywhere right after).

If 'ere not like Smelly then it's fine I guess.

 

[Kathy]

I use a Lixit glass water bottle and that workswell for bothRomeo and I. He's only tipped over his food bowlonce but I never know with water.

I'm a germ freak and can't stand to think that the inside of theplastic bottle that my rabbit is drinking from is harboring bacteria.I've heard that they should be changed every 6 months or so anyway..but glass for me!

 

[Alanna]

Thumpy drinks a lot more when he has a bowl(which means he wees a lot more too!) but overall I prefer a bottle-it's clean, no-fuss and never ever gets tippedover. I'm a bit paranoid about water bowls being tipped over because Ilost my childhood rabbit this way- he was a hutch bunny and one sunnyday he knocked over his water dish and that was the end of him. Therewill be no repeats of this incident!! So it's water bottles for Thumperand me.

I wish I had your dedication, MBB to wash and refill dozens of water dishes ten times a day, but I just don't!

I started off with a large bottle, which I thought was great because ithad a flip-topso it could be refilled without taking it offthe cage, but the spring-loaded pin proved to be too much for Thumpyand so now we have a small one with a ballbearing and I just refill itmore often- probably better for him to have fresh water regularlyanyway.

 

[Smelly]

If the rabbit is smart enough you could haveBOTH. The bowl will probably be a rabbit's favorite buthaving a bottle backup just in case of tipovers can help.

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

I give my rabbits a choice, a water bottle and awater bowl, however they hardly use the bottle so I voted bowl. Theyboth drink much more water and because it is a heavy crock type bowlthey don't knock it over. I do have to change the bowl more often thanthe bottle though, I usually change it about 3 times during the day,just because I like them to be able to drink from the top because it iseasier for them and because they sometimes drop bits of hay (andoccasionally poops) in it.

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

Oh, and also these are the bowls I use (the top one)

http://www.snugglesafe.co.uk/acatalog/pet_gifts_for_small_pets.html

it says they are 5" diameter.

 

[Michaela]

I use the water bottles. I tried bowls for awhile but it got too dirty and the bunnies hardly used it. Can rabbitsnot get wet dewlap or something like that from bowls? just wondering,don't mean to offend

 

[naturestee]

Michaela wrote:

I use the water bottles. I tried bowls for a while but itgot too dirty and the bunnies hardly used it. Can rabbits not get wetdewlap or something like that from bowls? just wondering, don't mean tooffend

Some rabbits do get "wet dewlap" because they stick their neck, dewlapand all, in the bowl. If your rabbit does this it's reallyeasy to stop it. Put a plastic ball in the bowl that fits butgives more than enough space for the rabbit to get her nosein. This also works well for rabbits that like to put theirtoys in their water bowls. I used to do this with Mochabecause she enjoyed playing "basketball" when she was bored.She stopped when she got a friend so I don't any more.

And I'm bowls all the way! Mocha can't/won't drink out of abottle. The other three can drink out of bottles, but ifthey're offered both they usually won't touch the bottle. Feyactually defended her water bowl, but not the bottle, from my hand forthe first few days she was here.

I use heavy ceramic bowls so they can't be thrown. I wipethem out every day, otherwise they tend to get dirty. But ifyou think about it, bottles really should be cleaned every day toobecause otherwise the water tastes stale, and it's really hard to cleanthose spouts out.

For those with bottles, keep a bowl around. Many rabbitsdrink more from bowls than from bottles because it feels more naturaland enjoyable. If they are feeling ill (especially GIproblems) or are prone to urinary tract infections, give them a bowl ofwater. It will encourage them to drink more which can helpthem feel better. This was a tip from "Rabbits Health in the21st Century" by Kathy Smith, and it does help.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Alanna wrote:

Iwish I had your dedication, MBB to wash and refill dozens of waterdishes ten times a day, but I just don't!

I don't have a choice. With 3 outside rabbits and a cold climate, if Idon't change the water 10 times a day, the bunnies will only have asolid block of ice and no water. Not to mention that my littleprincess, Zoey, will not drink anyhting other than warm water inthe winter.

In the summer I provide a water bottle but none of mine drink out of itanyways. And even then, I find that I have to change waterbottles dailyor it gets an old taste to it. Not to mention if I take the bowls away,their water consumption is about 1/4 of what they drink out of a bowlwhich really concerns me on hot days.

The key to using bowls is placing it far enough away from food and notnear a bathroom corner (or they may well just use the bowl as a toilet)and to find a bowl that your rabbits can't tip. I have to use plasticbecause anything else will crack in the winter but I use bowls with arounded edge that the bunnies cannot grab and tip. Even when I've usedthose heavy crocks, they STILL manage to tip them.