You can attatch a Lixit water bottle to a cage but how do you make a bird drink?

[heirofslytherin123]

This might go in the training and behavior area but i just attached water bottles to the cages of my birds to make sure they always have clean water. I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to get them to use it? Peli is a bit afraid and Sonic hasn't even looked at it.

 

[Cyreen]

I played with the bottle nozzle and flicked water drops at the birds, "Look water, see!" in my chirpy-happy-voice (the voice that generally gets me the "You're cracked, lady!" look), and they all seemed to get it. So long as they have fresh veggies and fruit, they're getting lots of fluids to compensate for the learning curve.

 

[Big Blues]

I agree with Cyreen, happily playing with the bottle nozzle to get their attention works and I have always left a bowl of water in their cage until I actually see them drinking from the nozzle. For some birds it is like a foreign object when you first place it in their cage and they don't know what to do with it. I would watch their poop to ensure they stay hydrated.

 

[heirofslytherin123]

I give them plenty of fresh fuits and veggies but have also left the water bowls in the cage. My other concern is when do i let them bathe? my guys take baths pretty much every day. should i just have the water bottle and the water bowl in there all the time?

 

[Big Blues]

What is your reasoning for the water bottle, are they dunkers? That is why I used a water bottle because they dirtied the water dunking pellets but mine didn't bath in their bowls, I either misted them or they went into the shower. You could leave both in the cage and watch what they do over time and then decide.

 

[heirofslytherin123]

The water gets all gross from dunking and after they bathe the water level goes down a lot and I'm worried that they can't drink when it goes down

 

[Cyreen]

I made bathing a separate thing - sometimes I mist, sometimes they shower with me and on occasion Zetta expresses an interest in a water bowl and I give her one on the kitchen floor where she can splash to her heart's content (easily mopped).

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

When I switch a bird from a bowl to a water bottle, I place the water bottle above the existing water bowl and continue using the bowl until I observe the bird drinking from the water bottle. It doesn't usually take a long time for the birds to figure it out.

I gave the Amazons Birdie Butler bottles because they not only bathed in their water bowls, but they also dunked and really fouled the water several times a day. It took them less than a week to learn to drink the water from the bottles. I still gave them water bowls because they liked to dunk their food, but at least I knew they always had clean water to drink despite what they did to their water bowls.

 

[blackivory]

I was thinking of teaching Olea to use a water bottle as she is terrible bather. It gets very hot here in summer and I don't want her without water while I'm at work.