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 Water Bottles and Birds
by Dr Greg Burkett
Board Certified Avain Veterinarian
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 bottled. 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.
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