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Need advice on bird bath

Birdyldy79

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My Java Rice Finches have decided their water dish is their bathtub and they bathe daily. So I bought a birdbath thing I can attach to the side of their cage, less invasive than sticking my hands in all the time to take it out and put it in. Problem is, they won't touch it, not even close. Their bath is large enough for them to really spread their wings and splash about in, it's actually designed for cockatiel size but we won't tell my finches that. So I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to how to get them to start using it and stop bathing in their water dish.
 

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Destiny

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Might try emptying out the water for now and use it as a treat bowl. Put the finches favorite foods inside as a lure.

Once they get over their fear of new places, move the water bowl into the bird bath so they can bath/drink/whatever in the birdbath area. Then try adding water back to the birdbath as originally intended and see if they will use it.
 

Birdyldy79

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Yeah, I was thinking maybe I should remove the water dish and just leave the bird bath up so that they have to use it. It's grose, the water turns all milky white every time they use it and I have to clean the water dish/bowl 2 or 3x a day as a result.
 

Destiny

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I would not remove their regular dish until you know that they are willing to drink from the bird bath. If they are scared of the bird bath, they might not go into it to drink and become dehydrated.

There are many water dispenser designs available that can prevent bathing. That might be a better option.
 

SteveearE

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I made a bird bath bubbler using natural materials because I wanted to incorporate the bubble pool into the beauty of my garden. All I need is: The 20-gallon round barrel will hold the water and all of the birdbath bubbling together. Vinyl pipes will act as a highway for the water. This will help the water flow from the bottom of the bath tub upwards, where the bubbles will flow back down. Most submersible water pumps suitable for bird bath use have an outlet port that fits 12 inch tubing. The drill bit for the hammer drill should be 34 inches thick.
 

finchly

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I made a bird bath bubbler using natural materials because I wanted to incorporate the bubble pool into the beauty of my garden. All I need is: The 20-gallon round barrel will hold the water and all of the birdbath bubbling together. Vinyl pipes will act as a highway for the water. This will help the water flow from the bottom of the bath tub upwards, where the bubbles will flow back down. Most submersible water pumps suitable for bird bath use have an outlet port that fits 12 inch tubing. The drill bit for the hammer drill should be 34 inches thick.
cool! Can you show us pictures? Maybe start a new thread, so we don't hijack this one.

@Birdyldy79 How long have they had the bath available? I find when I hang a bath on a cage some of them need it present for several days before they start using it. Or maybe they feel it's too small? I put little pans on the floor of the cage for a bath, and use these drinkers for drinking water. It helps keep them out of the drinks.
6oz-bird-drinker_waterer-for-finch-canary-_134-clear-blue__95679.1308155721.jpg
 

FeatheredM

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Your birds may just be scared of it and need time to get used to it
 

SteveearE

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I made a bird bath bubbler using natural materials because I wanted to incorporate the bubble pool into the beauty of my garden. All I need is: The 20-gallon round barrel will hold the water and all of the birdbath bubbling together. Vinyl pipes will act as a highway for the water. This will help the water flow from the bottom of the bath tub upwards, where the bubbles will flow back down. Most submersible water pumps suitable for bird bath use have an outlet port that fits 12 inch tubing. The drill bit for the hammer drill should be 34 inches thick.
The step-by-step method I shared on how to make a bird bath bubbler is not exactly very easy. But it yields beautiful results that look natural and is easy to maintain.
 

Coop

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A lot of birds need to bathe daily or even more often. I've found the best way to keep them from bathing in the water dish is to keep a separate "swimming pool" on the floor of the cage. Yes it has to be changed daily. For finches the 6 inch plastic saucers used under potted plants are ideal. They are only about a half inch deep and nobody will drown. You can get them cheap in the garden section (often outside) of stores like Lowes and Home Depot. The clear plastic baths like in your photo are often not liked; I think part of it is having to go through the smaller opening and part seems to be that it's entirely clear and looks like a nice open area to get caught and eaten by a predator. It also looks too deep because there's no visible bottom. Small birds like some kind of visual cover even if it's only cage bars, and those baths look open and unprotected on all sides even the floor and roof. Eeeek! Danger from All Sides! Run Away! Run Away! It does sometimes happen that finches enter a bath like that and get frightened while inside, and end up drowning in their panic, unable to distinguish the door from the clear sides, so they aren't the best choice for that kind of bird.
 

UrbanSylvanus

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I actually have something similar for my own Java Finch, except it’s probably too small for a cockatiel. It hooks onto the smaller cage opening and the gate, and there’s a separate doohickey that keeps the gate tightly closed. 1640450713771.jpeg
(Hand for reference? Apologies for it looking really dirty, it’s winter so pool’s closed until it’s warm again)

As you can tell I taped the bottom with electrical tape so it looks opaque. After I did so she started being more inclined to try stepping inside, and finally started using it (and has continued to once it’s spring, she probably takes baths 2 to 3 times a day in the dang thing when I have it attached)

From my experience they’ll need to trust that this giant thing isn’t a trap first, and start treating it like a giant water dish. If they’re already trying to bathe in their water dish, it’s just a matter of trying to get them to upgrade their bathroom/tub :D
 

Shannan

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I know that Walter generally takes two weeks or so to accept new things and sometimes a month but eventually curiosity gets him and he checks it out. Patience is the key. I like the idea of using it first for treats, then adding water. I should have done that with Walter. (I ended up floating some corks in his and he wanted to play with them so he became braver about his bath dish. (He is still not regularly bathing in it but he is drinking out of it and it has been a month. I am hopeful!)
 
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