water bottle

Hi im looking for some info please. we just brought home our caique yesterday. 3 month old had raised/fed from a breeder. I put a water bottle in the cage on advice from the breeder because caiques like to bring their food to water and make a soup out of it ! my question is how is the bird supposed to know that its a water bottle? there was one in its cage from the breeder, will it find the botle on its own ? the spout makes it through the bars but hardly! i wonder if the bird can drink from it. Its not a Lixit bottle unfortunately < i ordered the bottle but its gonna take some time to get here

Get rid of the bottle, and let your little guy make soup! The bottles are extremely hard to clean, easily giving your guy an infection, and if the bottle malfunctions and you don’t catch it the same day, you now have a very sick little guy! As said, let him make soup! Let’s have cookies and milk, but no dunking?

Agreed with above, water bottles whilst advertised as "cleaner" are the exact opposite. Germs and bacteria fill up in the spout or whatever it's called which results in a sick bird.

I don't know of a bird that doesn't like dunking (maybe lorikeets but their food is already liquid) I'd let them dunk and then just make sure you are diligent in changing water

Why do people keep saying water bottles are hard to clean? Why would it get dirty? It only has water in it. Mold and fungus need food to grow, if there is just clean water in it won't need cleaning unless you let the water get stagnant. Plus a lot of water bottles now come with antimicrobial properties to make it even safer. water bottles are fine and you can teach them to use it.

I agree with Flboy, let him make soup. My Hawk Head likes to dip her pellets on occasion...they would do the same thing in the wild if there was wild grown pellets If they like to dunk it must be natural. Just clean the bowl once a day.

I have a bottle for Nike in her backpack....never saw her use it so I provide fruit for moisture when she's hiking.

YUMgrinder said:

Why do people keep saying water bottles are hard to clean? Why would it get dirty? It only has water in it. Mold and fungus need food to grow, if there is just clean water in it won't need cleaning unless you let the water get stagnant. Plus a lot of water bottles now come with antimicrobial properties to make it even safer. water bottles are fine and you can teach them to use it.

Click to expand...

Question, how can the water get stagnant if it is clean? Think about it!

Flboy said:

YUMgrinder said:

Why do people keep saying water bottles are hard to clean? Why would it get dirty? It only has water in it. Mold and fungus need food to grow, if there is just clean water in it won't need cleaning unless you let the water get stagnant. Plus a lot of water bottles now come with antimicrobial properties to make it even safer. water bottles are fine and you can teach them to use it.

Click to expand...

Question, how can the water get stagnant if it is clean? Think about it!

Click to expand...

what? water that sits with no current or flow becomes stagnant. That is basically the definition of stagnant.


stag·nant
ˈstaɡnənt/
adjective
adjective: stagnant

1. (of a body of water or the atmosphere of a confined space) having no current or flow and often having an unpleasant smell as a consequence.
   
   
   
   

YUMgrinder said:

Why do people keep saying water bottles are hard to clean? Why would it get dirty? It only has water in it. Mold and fungus need food to grow, if there is just clean water in it won't need cleaning unless you let the water get stagnant. Plus a lot of water bottles now come with antimicrobial properties to make it even safer. water bottles are fine and you can teach them to use it.

Click to expand...

Only a small amount of air is needed for bacteria to form, it's part of the basis of ecospheres.

Mold and fungus do require some food but it's not much needed which can be found within the water and in particles within the air. Also don't forget bacteria which multiplies with practically nothing.

Remember each time the bird takes a drink from a water bottle air goes in giving the bacteria more food to dine on. Water bottles are not a sealed environment and where there are small parts we cannot get to to clean bacteria can continue to multiply in those spots until such a point it becomes a problem for the parrot.

EDIT:I think that's where the confusion in them may lie. Whilst no they don't go stagnant they do eventually become hotspots for bacteria to live which could easily be bypassed by using an ordinary bowl which also allows them to enjoy themselves with dunking and impromptu bath times, hey if they're enjoying themselves then who cares if we have to deal with a little splash

YUMgrinder said:

Flboy said:

YUMgrinder said:

Why do people keep saying water bottles are hard to clean? Why would it get dirty? It only has water in it. Mold and fungus need food to grow, if there is just clean water in it won't need cleaning unless you let the water get stagnant. Plus a lot of water bottles now come with antimicrobial properties to make it even safer. water bottles are fine and you can teach them to use it.

Click to expand...

Question, how can the water get stagnant if it is clean? Think about it!

Click to expand...

what? water that sits with no current or flow becomes stagnant. That is basically the definition of stagnant.


stag·nant
ˈstaɡnənt/
adjective
adjective: stagnant

1. (of a body of water or the atmosphere of a confined space) having no current or flow and often having an unpleasant smell as a consequence.
   
   
   
   

Click to expand...

So all bottled water sold is stagnant?

My birds love their bottles. I use lixit bottles. I wash them in hot water in the dishwasher. My vet suggested using them. They do get open bowls on their playstands during the day. All 3 of my girls immediately took to using the bottles even though none of them had used them before.

I'd say there is more risk of bacteria and mold to grow in bowls since so much stuff can get in it. My birds poop in their bowls constantly so really I would think water bottles are safer. I can't imagine why it would be hard to clean though, just put them in the dishwasher or soak them in hot soapy water.

technically yes, bottled water is stagnant. If you take a drink of your water in a bottle and allow bacteria in, it can end up making you sick if you wait to long to drink it. A few days is all it takes if the conditions are right. Tap water has chlorine in it here in the states and it helps kill off microorganisms but that too sitting in a glass too long will be undrinkable after some time. That's a good reason to change out your birds water regularly. So if the concern is this, then it is a problem with water bottles AND bowls. It doesn't matter, enough time and both will make your bird sick.

We got our lixit bottle today and he took to it right away , nice and easy ! These birds are fast learners

What makes a Lixit a good bottle? I've got a plain old JW Water silo in Yoda's cage, as well as a stainless steel water bowl.

He's not in his cage much, just to sleep and for a couple of hours when I'm out of the house, (I work from home). Outside of his perch he has a little water dish. All of these get cleaned and changed once or twice a day.

Yoda didn't know what to make of the water silo thingy at first, but I put a little treat on it and encouraged him to take the treat. In doing so he discovered that there was nice clean water in there also, and now he loves it.

I only use water bottles when I’m away for at least overnight. Because of the “soup making”, I normally change the water in their bowls at least 3 times a day....I can’t expect my petsitter to do that, so they get bottles until I get home.

Water bottles are great, a lot less bacteria than poop water or as they say soup.
Birds who are trained to drink from a glass bottle will prefer the bottle, they will drink less from the water bowl so give them the option, include both and replace the water and clean often. Bowl or bottle should never feel slimy.
Here is more information.
https://www.petcha.com/how-to-wash-and-disinfect-parrot-water-bottles-crocks/