Bird keeps pooping in food/water bowl

So I've had this issue for about a month, and then i moved her food bowl against a corner so its really awkward for her to perch on it. I've even bought smaller bowls and for awhile I thought it worked, but now she's back at it again.

I've moved her water bowl closer to try and keep her from perching on her bowls, so now she sits on her water bowl with her butt over her food bowl and poops in it, but if I move her water bowl further from the food bowl... she perches on the water bowl and poops in that....

I don't know how else to fix this and obviously this is problem because if she does this in the morning after I leave for work, she'll poop in it and then it'll end up sitting there for the majority of the day... so she won't be able to drink water all day. Not good.

Obviously same with the food... she ends up with food with poop on/near it therefore either has to shove her face near poop or just not eat, and then the 2nd minor issue is... food is EXPENSIVE... I JUST refilled her food bowl and now i have to dump it all out and replace it.... that's a LOT of waste I'd rather not have.

I never thought a bird would poop in the things they eat/drink out of... figured they're smart right? They should know better? I have no idea why she's doing this and the last thing I can think of is that her dishes are located on the side of the cage closest to my desk where i sit... so perhaps she's just trying to get as close to me in her cage as she can? I have no idea... I can move them elsewhere, but that's the last idea i have and I don't even know if it'll work.....



does anyone else have issues like this? And if so how did you fix it?? It's driving me insane because I just find it mindblowing that she'd poop in things she KNOWS she eats/drinks out of... like.... "wtf jardy are you 'special' or something? Staaaahp"

I had this problem too. I switched to a water bottle bought at Walmart by the rabbit stuff. Mine are free during the day so I feed on top of cage. Since that probably won't work for you what about a food tower thing or a covered food dish?

Hmm... I never thought of a water bottle. o-o Do they learn to use them easily? Jardy's a 'pellet dipper' as well, and I know for some birds it helps them enjoy their hard crunchy diet more so I'm a bit uncertain about taking that away from her.

food tower? Like... similar to the things you use to hang outside for wild birds type of food tower?

as for a covered food dish... I wouldn't even know where to start on that one as I'm not too sure where I'd look for something like that

All my birds poop in the water bowls, unfortunately. I've learned to accept it lol, but they all have water bottles as well. Here's my amazon pair taking to the water bowl the same day I put it in.
[ame="https://youtu.be/02ISv2L6714"]Birbs discovered the water bottle! - YouTube[/ame]

As for the food bowl, a covered one like this Bird Cage Feeder Box: Caitec Seed Corral at DrsFosterSmith.com might help. There's a few other types that might give you some different ideas.

ah i see. hmm mk maybe i'll get her a water bottle as well and keep them both in the cage. that'll make sure she at least as fresh water even if she decides to be a little turd (hah) and poop in one.

As for that covered food bowl..... I feel like it wouldn't work. I think she'd just as easily turn around on it and still manage to poop in her food

Maybe something like this? Insight Clean Cups

It's a little higher up so she shouldn't be able to turn around into it.

Yes. Robin does it. Maybe it's a Poi thing? lol. Food, not water thankfully.

I noticed this habit of using the food dish as a toilet early on when I got him as a juvenile (21+ years ago). I got him the ceramic hooded crocks. I hated those, and actually put up with it for 20 years haha. Harder to clean, hard to see what is in the bowl or how empty it's getting without taking the whole thing out to look. BUT... it did keep poop out of the food except for rarely.

When I got Robin a new cage this year, finally I decided to try the "normal" stainless bowls that came with the cage. Actually, it was the only option, as there is a bar that goes across the dish that would prevent a hooded crock from fitting in the ring. I crossed my fingers, but I just know Robin, and sure enough he loved having a "toilet" again . I finally put the pellet dish (that stays in the cage always) in the far back dish holder instead of the front one, since the way it's placed would be less comfortable to sit on. It's been a few days, and so far he's pooped in it less than before. It still didn't stop him, but hopefully it continues to be less often. The pellets clump around the poop just like kitty litter but I hear you, it gets expensive when you keep wasting it.

Can you keep trying new positions for the bowls until Jardy finds it inconvenient to sit on (yet easy to get to for eating)? They sell clamp on rings so you can position the bowl wherever you like in the cage.

Yet another alternative would be to replace your food cups with hooded ceramic crocks.
Bird Feeders & Waterers: Ceramic Crocks for Birds at Drs. Foster and Smith

I used those when I had Eclectus, especially because they were food throwers - and they helped tremendously with the messes. The only down side of those was I was no longer able to access their food and water dishes from the outside of the cage. But for me it was worth the tiny little inconvenience.

I've seen covered good bowls at pet stores. The food silo is there too. Its a tube that has a small tray on bottom

A benefit to the hooded bowls is if they start talking or chattering while facing inward!

GCC Mochi did this in largest cage unintentionally because of bad positioning (it was the Prevue Signature Series). Her tail would dip into one of the bowls whenever she'd be eating out of the other, and she never thought to move it (made her tail smell something awful, like sour milk, for a while). We got a separate bar-&-wingnut mounted water bowl, placed it high up where she can't do anything but drink out of it. Fixed the issue.

In her traveling cage, it's still an issue, only because of how I've placed her perches. But hoods keep droppings out of the food and water.

JerseyWendy said:

Yet another alternative would be to replace your food cups with hooded ceramic crocks.
Bird Feeders & Waterers: Ceramic Crocks for Birds at Drs. Foster and Smith

I used those when I had Eclectus, especially because they were food throwers - and they helped tremendously with the messes. The only down side of those was I was no longer able to access their food and water dishes from the outside of the cage. But for me it was worth the tiny little inconvenience.

Click to expand...

That's the kind I hated but put up with for many years. They definitely solve the problem though, as long as the crock isn't that overly big for the bird's body size. If your cage has the type of built in rings that don't accommodate hooded crocks, you can buy holder rings to bolt on.

Yeah I'll adjust the positioning of the bowls first to put them on the other side (furthest from me) so I can eliminate the "im just sitting on this because gets me as close as possible to you" thing and if it still happens, I'll get a water bottle and see what I can do about the food dish (whether i can find something with a hood on it or something else along those lines heh)

@_@

Thanks for the recommendations! I never would have thought of a water bottle (I'll just have to make sure its thick plastic because Jardy's already chipped her food bowl due to chewing on it and that is some THICK plastic... and the last thing i need is her climbing around the outside of her cage and chew a hole in a full water bottle.... oh god...)

I keep a look out for bowls, in the mean time if anyone thinks of anything else. do share I'd love to hear it.