Water

[BBandus]

Good Evening,

We collected our 8 week old mini lop yesterday, he is eating really well and seems to have settled in well.

Could I ask how much water should he drink? We have given him a bottle and a bowl and he doesn’t seem to be drinking much. He is pooping and there are little patches of wet in one corner of the hutch.

Thank you

 

[ArtistChibi]

Unlimited fresh water and hay usually gets them to drinking water.

 

[BBandus]

Thank you. Yes he has a hay rack and a supply of water. How much should be be drinking per day?

 

[ArtistChibi]

He'll drink when he feels like it, really.

 

[Preitler]

There really is no rule of thumb, he will drink when he needs it. It depends a lot on what you feed. Water bowls are easier to drink from than bottles, also easier to clean and maintain.

 

[BBandus]

Thank you, I was just a little worried but he seems brilliant in himself.
Bless him, his little ears drape in his water bowl

 

[ArtistChibi]

Shen has done the same. As well as stretch so hard, his paws got into his water.

 

[JBun]

1 oz. per lb of body weight is a general guideline for what they should drink on a completely dry food diet. It will vary some per rabbit, and depend if they have fresh foods in their diet yet, like veg, herbs, forage(introduced properly to minimize digestive upset). The more fresh foods in their diet, the less water they need to drink.

As long as your bun is eating normal amounts each day, he will naturally drink when he needs to. If a bun wasn't drinking, they would also stop eating, and then eventually stop pooping as well.

 

[BBandus]

Thank you all.

 

[NYAngela]

Good Evening,

We collected our 8 week old mini lop yesterday, he is eating really well and seems to have settled in well.

Could I ask how much water should he drink? We have given him a bottle and a bowl and he doesn’t seem to be drinking much. He is pooping and there are little patches of wet in one corner of the hutch.

Thank you

I was super nervous about my bun too when I got him because I never saw him drinking! So I started measuring the amount of water I put in the bowl and I measured it each morning for a few weeks to get an idea of his “normal” My first rabbit drank just 1/4 cup per day my current rabbit 1/2 cup. Both 2lb dwarf breeds.

 

[BBandus]

Thank you so much, it really is a worry. That’s eased my mind, thanks again x

 

[AnneAndTheBunny]

Thank you. Yes he has a hay rack and a supply of water. How much should be be drinking per day?
A full grown rabbit should be drinking as much as a small dog would per day. However your rabbit, is not full grown. Also, rabbits get a lot of there water from the fresh greens that they should eat every day. Your rabbit would need to eat 1 cup of greens. To encourage your rabbit to drink more try adding some flavoring. When I say this I mean add a few herbs such as basil, mint, etc. You could also ad some unsweetened fruit juice. (Orange, grape, apple.) Also, keep in mind that bowls are much better than bottles dew to the fact that it is a much more natural way to drink and less work they have to go through. Good luck!!