Water Bottle

[pjbmom]

So Chico was taking 1/2 his food in putting in water dish so I introduced a water bottle and he took to it within a few days. So now I use the waterbottle inside the cage. I put his water bowl on playstand but only until Fig gets on his cage - as Fig likes to throw his bowls around and of course he thinks he is funny! You cant trust Fig with bowls for one minute!

 

Thank god for the waterbowl. No more bad smell from water bowl with nasty food in it.

[Jayd]

All our fid's do the same thing, lol....Water bottles are very unsanitary, they have no air circulation and harbor germs from the parrots tongue. They need to be cleaned many times in the course of a day. Now don't laugh but a Grey learns very quickly to keep the stopper open and drain the water out.....

[Spinner]

Yay for Chico! Waterbottles are clearly the most sanitary method for drinking water delivery. No droppings, no food in the bowl, no bathing remains. They keep the walls a little dryer too from in-cage water play

[Jayd]

Yay for Chico! Waterbottles are clearly the most sanitary method for drinking water delivery. No droppings, no food in the bowl, no bathing remains. They keep the walls a little dryer too from in-cage water play

 

Thanks Dave. This is jut one of many cncerns for water bottles on the net.

Re: Kili Showering From Water Bottle

 

by colorado4bjh » Wed May 26, 2010 9:32 pm

I can't believe no one addressed the real concern over the use of water bottles here. I have volunteered and spoken with top avian experts over here in Denver, CO at the Gabriel Foundation (a nationally known avian rescue organization). They have expressed how bad the use of water bottles are. They have encountered owners who have lost their parrots because they didn't notice their parrot clogging up the spout with food or some other item due to playing with it. Real health issues can arise in the same day if the parrot cannot get water.

 

They also stated it was truly impossible to really be sure that it is clean due to the inside of the spout being inaccessible. Mineral build up can happen depending on hard the water is in any given region, and then bacteria can grow, etc. They stated that Poicephalus owners just need to be diligent in changing out the water on a regular basis. I personally keep the water as far from the food as possible and find that it doesn't get contaminated with food very often. The water gets changed 2 times a day at most.

[danmcq]

Jay and Dave both gave good comments for thought.

 

There are pro's and con's to bowl or bottle. Now that we are both home all the time and I work from my home. Keeping a clean water bowl is easy because we check them every time one of us walk by the cages. They do become dirty from being pooped in, food dropped in them and bathing. They get the water changed through out the day.

 

However, if no one is home for hours on end, you certainly do not want your birds drinking from a contaminated water bowl all day while your gone. Now enters the time to use Water Bottles. The big con with them, are the people that use them! If they do not check mechanical function, clean and add fresh water at least 2x daily. They will have issues as noted in that post Jay shared from another forum. The problem with many people, is they wrongly believe all you need to do is look at the water bottle and if it is still over a quarter full, it is good! Many people don't realize that water bottle may not be low for days depending on how much water their parrots drink. Back wash as jay described happens. Also,the owners may not realize it has not gone down because the ball valve is stuck etc. Then you just have a disaster waiting to happen.

 

The other great use for water bottles, is when you take your birds out in various types of carriers. A water bowl certainly will not work. The bottles are the perfect solution for this and we use them all the time.

Edited January 17, 2013 by danmcq

[Jayd]

Great explanation Dan. Your 2 cents is always worth so much more.......

[pjbmom]

thanks, I agree both pros and cons. I empty twice a day,morning and nite. I am not home during week days to change but now will definietly will do more often on weekends.

[Spinner]

We'll disagree on this one. My experience, the data I have, and the use of water bottles in the vast majority of commercial animal care facilities indicates water bottles to be the safest water system for our birds. I stick with data over anecdotal concerns. Regardless, though, I'm glad Chico has found what works for him.

[Jayd]

We'll disagree on this one. My experience, the data I have, and the use of water bottles in the vast majority of commercial animal care facilities indicates water bottles to be the safest water system for our birds. I stick with data over anecdotal concerns. Regardless, though, I'm glad Chico has found what works for him.

 

Ditto and thank you, but I don't feel the Gabriel Foundation qualify s as anecdotal. This isn't against your opinion [which I respect], but it's we'll known that a lot of things the commercial animal care facilities sell isn't always safe or good for our parrots, especially the food industries. Thanks

 

http://www.avesint.com/diet.html

We recommend open water crocks or dishes for birds to drink and to bathe.

We do not recommend water bottles for birds. These are for rodents, in my opinion! A drinking bottle is totally unnatural for birds. Birds should have the opportunity to access open water for bathing and, yes, food dunking if they want to do so. If not cleaned frequently and correctly, such bottles can harbor bacteria that can be very dangerous to your bird! Putting water soluble vitamins in the drinking water is not recommended as these can grow bacteria in the water quite rapidly. Clean water dishes thoroughly every day; if you detect a slimy feel in the dish, it is NOT CLEAN! Occasionally using a light vinegar solution on water and food crocks/dishes will greatly aid in elimination of harmful bacteria and fungus. Leaving them to dry completely in the bright sun for at least fifteen minutes is an excellent sterilization technique, free of disinfectants or chemicals. A regular light washing/scrub with regular liquid soap and water is fine for most maintenance days. Always rinse well!

tip: If you keep two sets of crocks/dishes, you can more easily maintain a clean set, ready to use!

[Jayd]

thanks, I agree both pros and cons. I empty twice a day,morning and nite. I am not home during week days to change but now will definietly will do more often on weekends.

 

Thank You, A bowl or bottle needs to be disinfected with White Vinegar. Add 2 drops to your water bowel or bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar.

[Parrot Lady]

all my birds use bowls except Rocky he was trained to use a water bottle since he was a baby and I make sure to clean 2 or 3 times a day , I use Pet Focus and soak all the bowls and water bottle then I use Dawn dish soap and soak and clean all of them , I also have a brush to clean the bottle all my birds are healthy and no one has gotten sick

[Ray P]

To see them play in their water dish and have fun is great. Nothing to se with a water bottle

[birdhouse]

^^^ That's one of the reasons I'm not crazy about water bottles. It's hard enough to get them to take a bath as it is. I really don't want to deliberately keep them from being able to, on the rare occasion they actually want to.

 

I'm also very concerned about being able to sanitize them. Warm, stagnant water breeds an amazing amount of germs in an incredibly short time. I'm worried that I won't be able to get them 100% rinsed so the bird would be drinking whatever I've cleaned them w/on top of everything else.

 

Plastic bottles are worse because they can absorb germs & cleaner. At least glass doesn't. A plastic surface also scores over time which would make it even worse as the bottle gets older.

 

And call me cynical, but I have a hard time believing that they're made from nontoxic plastic when so many human grade drinking & storage containers aren't. That's why I don't use plastic cage cups, either.

[Dave007]

I'd like to add my humble opinion if I may--I think both are ok as long as certain rules are adhered to.

A bowl is good for a number of things, basically for the bird who decides to bathe/ drink at odd times. A grey doesn't bathe very much be it spraying, bathing, showering. The water needs to be changed when that happens. Body crud from a bird gets into the water. Soaking--There are greys and other species that absolutely refuse to eat certain foods if they're not moistened. I have 2 greys and one quaker that are like that. One of them even has to soak a peanut in water before eating it. This particular quaker has done this since she was a baby. She's never gotten sick. Neigther has my other birds. Again, the water needs to be changed. A clean bowl builds up sludge as does an unclean bowl. A person may not see it but it's there. Again, cleaning is necessary. How many times a person gives fresh water in one day is up to the person. A person who leaves a dirty cooking SS pot in a sink can see that sludge eventually build up through the day. A person can also feel it. Oxygen evaporates. Put an aquarium fish in an enclosed bowl or bottle and it'll eventually die. So, bowls and bottles have to be monitored.

A bottle is different because water that's enclosed can become stagnent. Because this can't be seen, bottles are left unattended so cleaning is necessary. The bottle is good for the bird to drink from as long as the mechanics are frequently checked, basically the metal ball. Inside the bottle, calcium can build up and stay there even if the bottle is cleaned. A normal washing may not break down the calcium but the bottle is good as long as special cleaning is done. In order to see the calcium on SS, just look at a SS water bowl at the end of the day. Empty it and you'll feel a slight slime on the inner walls so that has to be scrubbed and removed. Some people do some of that cleaning with a mixture of vinegar and water. The bottle needs the same thing but many people just aren't used to using that mixture. Another thing is the living area of people. There's many places who's water is hgh in calcium. People won't drink tap water. They can feel it, they can taste it. That buildup can also be seen in toilet bowls. So, many people wind up buying lots of spring water from the grocery store. My opinion is that both are good if used and cleaned the proper way. Unfortunately, many people don't do that special monitoring. I have a preference but that's not important here. I've never had a bird get sick from bad water.

Edited January 18, 2013 by Dave007