Linnies and their water.

[Begone2]

It has been many years since I kept linnies. I now acquired three babies (a few months old) all from the same nest. They are currently in a spacious cage indoors, but I hope to put them outside in an aviary once the weather gets warmer. I noticed that they poo regularly and frequently in their water dish. I seem to remember this happening before. Is it preferable to get one of these vertical tube water feeders that attaches to the cage bars?

Is there a danger that, if kept together, they may eventually breed, assuming that they are not all the same sex? Perhaps in the longterm I should introduce other unrelated birds. What do people think?

 

[Shezbug]

 

[Leih]

@Lady Jane would be a good person to ask. I have two male linnies but don't have issues with them pooping in their water, but they do make "soup" with some of their food. They do sometimes poop in their food bowl, I can't figure that one out! @Dona has a linnie too.

 

[Dona]

Hello! I have a single Linnie. She does not poop in her water or food. I don't use a water tube feeder because I am afraid I would not be able to clean it well enough, but many people on here do use them. I have successfully switched out locations of toys, boings and dishes to try to avoid obvious poop spots. Gigi actually does her first crazy huge poop of the day the same place each morning and I am able to put a few extra layers of paper towels in that area.

I would certainly think it's possible that your trio could breed. I know that Lutinos are a sex linked mutation. When I was searching for my Linnie, the Lutino I looked at had to be a female. Not sure how that works but you might already know that your 2 yellows are girls? We will need a breeder to chime in with that. @Matto.

 

[Leih]

Here's a pic of my boys that shows their markings. It's a lot less pronounced in females. They also have a good deal of black on their shoulders.

 

[Dona]

@Leih I love those polka dotted boys

Yes, my female is nearly all green with very little black.

 

[Matto]

I use water bottles. Much cleaner.
Most lutino linnies are female. That's just how genetics work. But if any of them are Male, then yes they can breed. Don't give them anything resembling a nest, and if they do lay eggs just replace them with dummy eggs. You don't need to control what they do, you just need to make sure that they do not produce babies.

 

[Alliusis]

I second not having any enclosed spaces that they could see as a nest or tree hollow. It could cause aggression between your linnies once they begin to mature.

My male Linnie will get very hormonal and aggressive to his cagemate when he's in a breeding mood... (he wants to mate while she isn't really into it). My female Linnie has suffered multiple bites on her cere that have bled and caused some deformities with her nares! I had to separate them and only allow supervised playtime until I got it down to a science. I can't have anything they might want to burrow in (hard because linnies love to burrow!) I can't have any enclosed spaces (coconuts, grass huts, etc) in the cage. I have to change their cage arrangement around frequently (which you should do anyway for enrichment!) and really limit daylight hours. Luckily I haven't had a bite occur in a long time and I hope it doesn't reoccur!

And to address the question - yes, my linnies like to perch on the edge of their water bowl and end up pooping in their water. Don't know why! I just change the water every day and clean the bowl out every day with soap and warm water.

 

[Begone2]

Thanks for all the comments and advice. They now have a water bottle. Their former water dish is now used for their fruit and veggies. When I was at school, I got a summer vacation job in a small zoo in my city (long closed!) .... one of my jobs was to clean out the birds' water bottles. I remember using a special brush with a rounded end, like a large pipe cleaner. The lady who was my boss told me how important it was to keep their water bottles clean. I have never forgotten that. It was a well-kept little zoo.

My concern was that brothers and sisters might breed together. I'll make sure I have some dummy eggs just in case, but I will have some time to wait yet.

 

[Dona]

Great! I think water bottles cleaned properly sound like the way to go.

Your lutinos are likely females. How is your green looking? Lots of black and polka dots or more subdued? My breeder was fairly sure Gigi was a girl from the beginning because of her coloring. She has very little black and very few dots. Maybe you have 3 sisters!

 

[Dona]

I don't think looking at color is a sure thing at all, but it's a clue.

 

[Leih]

I recently was talking to my AV about water bottles and while they're great for keeping the water clean, he'd said to be careful and check regularly that it wasn't stuck. Apparently he has seen many dehydrated birds from that...

 

[Dona]

I recently was talking to my AV about water bottles and while they're great for keeping the water clean, he'd said to be careful and check regularly that it wasn't stuck. Apparently he has seen many dehydrated birds from that...

Yeah I would worry about that too. Also Gigi likes to dip her pellets and wouldn't be able to get them wet enough with a water bottle I doubt. I only give her a very swallow bowl of water to discourage her from taking a bath in her cage. She gets plenty of mistings so so far she hasn't tried to bathe in her dish.

 

[Leih]

My boys hadn't been pooping in their water for months until this thread popped up!

 

[Dona]

My boys hadn't been pooping in their water for months until this thread popped up!

 

[Zara]

My concern was that brothers and sisters might breed together. I'll make sure I have some dummy eggs just in case, but I will have some time to wait yet.

I have a bonded pair of lovebirds who are brother and sister (same clutch). They are happy together, they preen, they play, they mate. I will be destroying all eggs produced without a doubt, but I won´t split the birds
Eggs and reproducing are easy to fix, keep your eye on them to make sure no one is getting picked on.

 

[Begone2]

Yes, inbreeding is not cool - various European royal families have been doing it for centuries - so I will be keeping a close eye on them. The green linnie has lots of black, and seems the most boisterous. The two lutinos regularly preen each other, but they also have wee noisy quarrels, so I guess they are bonded. I check their water several times a day, so they are not likely to suffer from a blocked water outlet, but thanks for pointing that out. I took their cage outside on our balcony today, as it was sunny and warm. They didn't like the short journey through the house, but soon settled down when they got outside and appeared to like both the sun and the soft breezes, making the sort of body language that they do when they are taking a bath. I have three kakarikis flying free on the balcony, which is enclosed by mesh. Apart from the initial curiosity, the kaks left the linnies pretty much alone. If this harmony continues, I may try letting the linnies fly free too. Anyone got experience with linnies living with kakarikis?

 

[Dona]

So your green may be a male, hard to be sure. I don't know personality differences, like if a male is typically more boisterous. Gigi is active, playful and bold, loves to fly and land on family and visitors, but she's often very quiet.

No idea about living with kakarikis, but the outside time sounds so great for your birds. When I had a cage I could carry I took Gigi onto our balcony and she started out quiet but became more relaxed with time. I need to figure out how to get her out there with her bigger cage. I hope someone chimes in with kak experience.

 

[Leih]

I recently saw a thread about someone wanting to get some kakarikis and discovered that @Mark & Da Boyz has a kak.

 

[Mark & Da Boyz]

Well That's not quite right...the Kakariki has me! Riti is a sweetie but shy about hands and cameras. BUT I did get a photo of her on the "T" stand I use on the scale the other day.