Is This Safe ?

[Nyboy]

@bobm good tip about hanging outside cage. @catjac1975 Rabbits can not take heat but handle cold great. I have been changing his frozen water bottle before and after work, feel bad he goes all day with frozen water. He has a wooden house with pine shavings to dig into and keep warm

 

[catjac1975]

It won't be cold for too long. I just give my animals fresh water 2 x a day. He will be find.

 

[Nyboy]

Yesterday I hooked up heated bottle outside cage. I did see Harvey use it ( he is smart for a rabbit) This morning water was not frozen, but temps only dropped to 30. Will see if still works when temps drop into teens. So far happy with purchase

 

[thistlebloom]

If it gets too cold you could wrap the bottle in a few layers of bubble wrap or something to insulate it. I've never had a problem with the water heaters even when it gets below zero.

 

[Nyboy]

Good tip of course we are having a warm spell. Kind of when you buy the snowblower you wanted for years and never have snow.

 

[Nyboy]

Since setting up temp has not dropped below 32. Tomorrow with wind chill will be in teens. That will be good test how it works

 

[Nyboy]

14 degrees this morning, Harvey had water not ice in his bottle. If heater lasts all winter money well spent.

 

[ducks4you]

Can the rabbit be outdoors in cold like this? Isn't there a place to keep it indoors?

I kept rabbits in suburban Chicago outside all winter. Their hutches had 1/2 outside wire and an entry to 1/2 wood. They can build up a good coat and as long as they have shelter from the wind and a dry indoor cage with water (outside) and food they will do as well as the wild rabbits without such amenities. I will not use electric water heaters with cords for either rabbits or horses because they both chew on things, rabbits who have to file down their teeth and horses who get bored and are just mouthy creatures. My barn cats and my chickens don't chew on the wires, so THEIR water is in heated water bowls.
I suggest a couple of rubber bowls, like I use rubber buckets for my horses. You can bang on and step on and remove ice from them and only put in enough water as necessary.

 

[thistlebloom]

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with you Ducks.

There is no way I'd ever go through a winter without heated water for all of my animals. It's a simple matter to keep the cords away from curious mouths. A little creative use of pvc pipe and zip ties and you're golden.

We don't have a frost free hydrant near the animals, so I have a heated hose on a house faucet where I fill 5 gallon buckets and move them to the animals heated water buckets on a sled. It's not as onerous as it sounds, really, the sled glides easily over the snow.

The horses get their heated tubs scrubbed and refilled every 4 days or so, when they have drank the water down low enough to dump into another 5 gallon bucket and dumped out of the corral.

I have enough winter chores without adding daily or twice daily water hauling and kicking rubber buckets around to remove frozen water.
But I have done it before I got the heaters.

One important benefit of water heaters, besides the convenience they give me, is that the animals all drink more water in the winter than they would if it was icy cold. That will go a long way to preventing impaction colic in a horse.

 

[ducks4you]

I don't worry about my horses getting enough water. My old barn is wooden and sided and really warm and they get enough water every evening that I know that they get enough. I practice keeping my horses outside 24/7 in the Fall until it gets cold enough for them all to build a very good coat. NOBODY shivers--they do have a 16 x 19' shelter off of the the barn--and my blankets just gather dust. I have known somebody whose horse got electrocuted. To me, it just isn't worth it. Something else, you can pour the water, let them drink, then refill. It's just part of my 31st winter of horse chores, and I spend more time cleaning stalls than hauling water. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my 100 ft. heated hose!!!! The horses don't get anywhere near THAT, either.