water-bottle train?

[petz-r-life]

When I adopted my piggies from the shelter, they told me, "They are water bowl trained." Ok. So? Well, we got them a water bowl, and it has to be changed about every five minutes. (it gets filled with litter, feces, urine, ) So I went and bought a big blue water bottle for them. It is hanging over their water bowl, full. I just watched one try to suck on it, a little confused, but how can I get them to use it as a permanant water source?
Thanks,
Maria

[aqh88]

If they have figured out there's water there and started grabbing the tube then I would start leaving the bowl empty for short periods of time. Watch to see if they use the water bottle after checking the bowl for water. When they consistently grab the bottle for water when the bowl is empty then remove it. Usually it's not very difficult to teach pigs to use a water bottle and even pups figure it out by the time they are a couple days old.

[petz-r-life]

thanks! I am trying that, and it's working.

[Percy's Mom]

If you're still having any problems with it, you can also try holding the bottle to one of the pig's lips while holding him. They usually get the idea pretty quickly that moving the ball is what gets the water to come out.

[ctinaw]

Just remove the water bowl entirely. If you've seen them testing the bottle they know there is water there and they will drink it when you remove the other source. "Water bowl trained" what in the world.