One of the most common health problems that veterinarians
encounter in birds is bacterial infection. And,
the most common source for infection is the water
bowl.
An open dish is a breeding ground for bacteria.
Most birds will poop or dunk food in their water
dish. These organic materials feed the bacteria
and cause them to grow even faster. Bacterial growth
is measured in doubling time - the time it takes
for bacteria to double in number. Doubling time
for many bacteria is 2-3 hours. This means that
when you put a clean water dish in the cage at 9:00
AM, by 1:00 PM there is enough bacteria growing
in the water to potentially cause illness, even
in a healthy bird. This situation is completely
avoided when using water bottles.
When putting the bottle on your bird’s cage,
mount it above a perch the height of your bird’s
head. Be sure to fill the bottle completely to prevent
leaking. One or two drops will escape to form the
vacuum.
Switching your bird is very easy. After all, hamsters
drink from a bottle and we all know that birds are
much more intelligent than hamsters. It is my theory
that birds are able to smell water. Simply showing
birds where the bottle is in the cage will be enough
to get them to switch. Just tap the little ball
on the end of the drinker when your bird is watching.
The noise and bubbles will make your bird curious.
When your bird beaks the ball, water will come out
and your bird will immediately be on a bottle. If
not, then remove the water dish in the morning.
In the evening offer your bird water in a dish.
If your bird does not drink form the dish, then
it probably drank from the bottle during the day.
If it does drink from the dish then it likely did
not drink from the bottle during the day. Repeat
demonstrating the bottle to your bird until you
are comfortable that your bird is drinking during
the day. Nearly all birds will drink during the
first day.
The bottle must be changed every day. The bottle
and tube need to be scrubbed and disinfected daily.
One of the most often concerns expressed is that
'My bird likes to wet its food'. No problem. Birds
can still wet its food with the bottle. Candy, our
resident Congo African grey nearly always wets her
pellets and treats. She simply gets the food in
her beak and then drinks from the bottle.
There is no reason not to put your bird on a bottle.
