Rabbit Water: Bottles & Bowls
Rabbits need constant access to water; a medium sized rabbit will drink around 50-300ml per day. What's is the best way to provide that considering rabbit preferences, ease of cleaning and their tendency to throw around hay and upturn bowls?
You may find it helpful to read this article – why water is important for rabbit's – before choosing drinking vessels. It shows you how to calculate much water you rabbit needs and how the method of providing it can impact their health and behaviour.
Bowls
A water bowl the most natural way to drink and most rabbits will use them in preference to a bottle. The downside with water bowls is very easy for them to become soiled with bedding and litter, and can also be knocked over by rabbits that like to rearrange their living area. Bowls work best if your rabbit is indoors or you have room to place a bowl away from lose bedding/food, and you are available to change the water regularly during the day.
Heavy ceramic bowls are the most rabbit-proof, as plastic and stainless steel ones are lighter to pick up and be thrown around as toys or even just accidently knocked over. Mason & Cash might not be the snazziest coloured bowls but they are reasonably priced, easy to find, chunky and come in a range of sizes. The rabbit one is 5" across and holds about 400ml but you can upgrade to dog sized if you need to hold more water for a group. Lots of ‘rabbit' bowls are actually very small, so read the measurements if shopping online – 13cm/5” across is the minimum I'd go for.
I'd suggest getting two so that you can have one down whilst the other is washed – the Mason & Cash bowls are dishwasher safe for easy cleaning. Any bowl you use must be food safe, avoid bowls sold in ‘decoration' departments that may use glazes that aren't suitable for contact with food – pick recognised brands and I'd be wary of bowls from cheap online market places that may not have quality controls.
Don't place ceramic bowls on raised platforms where they can be nudged over a ledge or tumbled down a ramp and broken. However, a bowl holder that raises the bowl slightly up from the floor can help keep it clean and prevent tossing.
Coop Cups
Wish you could use a bowl, but have a mischievous rabbit that like to toss things into the bowl or the bowl itself? Coop cups maybe the solution to your problem – they are a bowl that clips to the side of the cage (originally usually sold for birds).
They either come with hooks or two plates that fit each side of the mesh and screw together. The bowl lifts out of the fixings so it's easy to clean and change the water. If you don't have mesh in your set up, you'll just need something to hook it over – a cabinet handle screwed to the wall or something sturdy (the side of a wood hide) at an appropriate height works.
Coop cups are stainless steel (plastic versions are available but I don't recommend them) so easy to clean – you can run them through a dishwasher.
Gravity Water Dispensers
Another option are gravity water dispensers, they have a bowl at the base and then an upturned reservoir bottle that keeps the base filled automatically. Pick a larger one (xL plus) and they are heavy which discourages throwing. They can provide a lot of water so can work well for groups, however there is the potential for chewing the reservoir (which will break the seal and mean all the water comes out).
Bottles
Classic Water Bottle Spout (left),
Sippy Spout (right)
Although bottles aren't rabbit's first preference for drinking from, they generally have no problem working out how to use them. They do have benefits - as they are sealed the water is not at risk of being soiled by bedding and the water is also less subject to evaporation.
The downside is that although rabbits can drink from them, it takes 3-4 times longer to get the same amount of water from a bottle as from a bowl which they may find frustrating. Although it takes longer, it doesn't seem like rabbit drink any significant amount less just because they have a bottle – but that may not be the case factoring in things like multi-rabbits restricting access time, unwell rabbits, rabbits that are nervous.
Bottles aren't terrible, there are several circumstances where a bottle can be a very good option:
- as a backup to a bowl (i.e. if they knock over or soil the water bowl they still have fresh water)
- when a rabbit is unwell and has limited mobility – you may be able to situate a bottle spout closer to them than would be practical with a bowl (although a bowl as well would still be ideal if possible)
- your rabbit has outsmarted all your attempts to successfully provide a bowl and regularly empties out the water, poops in it, or tossing things it in that soil it.
A 600ml water bottle should provide adequate water for two small-medium rabbits for 24 hrs. If you've got multiple rabbits or they drink a lot, I'd suggest multiple bottles rather than bigger ones. It's also a good idea to consider a second bottle in summer, to provide a backup in case the water runs out or the bottle is knocked off - this is particularly useful if you work or are out during the day.
There are two common types of spout on water bottles. The standard type are composed of a metal tube with several balls inside. Gravity locks the ball in the end of the tube until the rabbit it licks it pushing the ball up and allowing water to fall past. The most popular brand is Classic (600ml £6 via Amazon), , these bottles are cheap and readily available, but they can be prone to leaking and some rabbits also find them frustrating and will bite & pull at the ends.
The other variety have a non-drip sippy spout. Sippy spout bottles are also quieter so great if your rabbit is near your bedroom at you don't want to be woken in the middle of the night. This style bottle are generally made with wider tops that make filling and cleaning easier too. They do tend to be more expensive to purchase but are very durable. Ferplast sippy bottle (£7 Amazon) are the most readily available but I personally prefer the John Hopewell Ezi-Filla Bottles however they are only available direct and with shipping they are a bit more expensive (£10) unless you are ordering multiples.
Attaching a Bottle
Most bottles are sold with a simple wire with hocks bent at the end to attach them to the cage/hutch mesh. Whilst these work they can be difficult to get on and off and position correctly to secure the bottle. A bottle spring (£5 from Amazon) , which is a spring with a hook each end which can be pulled back to slide the bottle in and out, makes changing water easier.
If you need to attach a bottle in an area when there is no mesh then you can use bottle holders designed for cyclists. You will need to take a bottle with you to test to get the correct size.
Keep in mind that attaching the bottle on the inside where you rabbit has access means that they are susceptible to chewing.
Water Bottle Covers
Left: Classic Bottle Cover & Bottle
£10 via Amazon
Right: Scratch 'n Newton
Bottle Snug (£5 via Scratch n Newton)
In winter water bottles are prone to freezing. There are a wide range of insulated bottle covers available designed to prevent this. They all do basically the same thing, just double check they will fit the style of bottle you have. The Scratch n Newton Snug is a little more expensive than some but it's the most versatile I've found, it will fit round a square bottle of various sizes easily and it comes with a piece of stretchy elastic with hooks for attaching the bottle to mesh (which I find much easier to use than the standard bent wire bottle attachments). If you are on a budget, you can also make your own using bubble wrap and an old wooly sock.
Although the covers protect the bottle, the spout can also freeze, so check the bottle regularly to make sure water still comes out.
For more tips on stopping bowls and bottles freezing see: winter care for rabbits.
Cleaning Water Containers
Water containers (whether a bowl or bottle) should be cleaned regularly to prevent bacterial growth. Even if the water and container looks clean, bacteria can build up quickly. Bowls may need more frequent changes, especially if your rabbit tends to get hay, food, or worse in the water.
Having a duplicate container so you can pop one through the dishwasher or give it a good soak/scrub can make cleaning more efficient.
Bottles can be cleaned using a bottle brush. A more thorough cleaning can be done using sterilizing tablets sold for use on babies bottles. This type of cleaning should be done on any second hand bottles before use.
