Bowls are generally preferred because rabbits drink more water from a bowl. There’s less effort involved, less chance of malfunction, and it is more sanitary, as long as you clean it every day.

Long fur can be an issue, and you can start out by seeing how your rabbit drinks from different height, water level, and lip level of bowls. Sometimes a larger bowl that allows the rabbit to drink from an edge, or a circular bowl that the rabbit needs to drink from straight on.

My bunnies have the bowls as well… however if you can’t find a bowl that works due the fur (I still recommend you try) then the one tip an awesome pet store owner told me was to make sure you fill the water bottle ALL the way to the top… even the smaller opening where the bottle twists close at… then when you flip it back upside down – so that the spout is facing down to drink out of – it creates a reverse suction and stops if from leaking out! Even if they have drunken some out of it

I definitely say bowl. I’d rarely ever recommend using a bottle. Bunnies drink tons of water, just as much as a 20lb dog. They need unlimited clean water 24/7 to avoid health issues. There is always a risk of a bottle clogging or bacteria getting caught up in and the owner not noticing until it is too late. Plus, to me, it just seems like its hurting the rabbit’s back and neck when drinking from a bottle, which leads to expensive medical bills and of course, an unhappy rabbit. I feel like with a bottle its harder for a rabbit to get the amount of water it needs where as a bowl is more natural (and sanitary) and the rabbit can easily get the desired amount of water. I really hope you transition to bowls.. If you do, I recommend keeping the bottle in until your rabbit gets the hang of drinking from a bowl because hes probably not used to it (since you said hes been on bottles since the breeder had him).
Good luck!

Bowl allows buns to sip water with their head/neck/shoulders in a natural position (the way they would drink in the wild).

If wet fur and possible ensuing rash are a concern, a neat trim around the face is perfectly normal, and many lionhead or angora owners do it. My lionhead gets his fringe trimmed because when it’s too long it covers his eyes and makes him more skittish.

I’d really recommend a water bowl, rabbits drink about 40% more water from a bowl. Which essentially means a rabbit drinking from a bottle is always in danger of getting dehydrated very fast. It’s so evident that rabbit vets can identify a bottle vs bowl rabbit just from a physical!

The long fur tends not to a big issue as far as I’ve noticed, mine just give themselves a quick clean if they’ve dribbled, which is rare as they are very dainty drinkers despite the overwhelming amount of fur!

bowl here. we started out with a water bottle but he could never figure it out (the lady we got him from said his mother wasn’t very maternal and didn’t teach him anything very well)

I agree with the above. I do have to say, my buns get most of their water from their veggies so they don’t drink as much from their bowl as I would expect but on days I give less veggies I definitely can tell they drink a lot from the bowl. And depending on the bun weight, 2kg usually need 200-250 ml of water as a maintenance amount, meaning that’s what they need a day in water and based on his weight, he might get most from his veggies.

i used a bowl but my bunny always knocked it over or got wet from playing in it. i switched to a bottle while still keeping the bowl in there, and they went to the bottle 99%percent of the time. i clean my bottle daily (i have a water bottle brush that cleans both the nozzle and the bottle as well as dawn dish soap to prevent the water from tasting funny from scented dish soap.), always making sure it’s filled to the top, and kept at a natural position for them.

I recently transitioned Buddy from bottle to bowl. He was hesitant at first, so I kept the bottle in his area for a while just so he had the option of both. He eventually would always opt to drink out the bowl so the bottle was no longer necessary. I’m glad, because bottles just seem so unsanitary because they are so awkward to clean.

As for the fur thing, I recommend playing around with a few different bowls – see what heights and water levels work best for your bun. I went with a heavy ceramic one with a high lip, since Buddy loves to thrash about and throw his various bowls all over the place. This way, I don’t have to worry about him spilling the water everywhere.