my parrot keeps pooping in his water bowl!

lettie

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African Ringneck
at first i thought it was because one of his favorite perches was above his water bowl, so today I moved his water bowl to the other side of the cage where NOTHING was above it...

he's still pooping in it!!! D:

what should i do?

or is this common and I just have to change his water a lot
 

Scott

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Do you have a third optional position? Will help you figure out whether this is coincidence or he likes sitting above the bowl.
 
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lettie

lettie

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Do you have a third optional position? Will help you figure out whether this is coincidence or he likes sitting above the bowl.

technically i do if we move one of the bowl rings (where the bowl goes into) onto another feeder door at the top of the cage that did not have one before, but would that be a bad idea?

it's strange because he does not poop into his food bowl.

i put his water bowl near the SAME perch his food bowl is next to. so i don't quite understand why he's pooping in his water bowl D:
 
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Betrisher

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Dominic: Galah(RIP: 1981-2018); The Lovies: Four Blue Masked Lovebirds; Barney and Madge (The Beaks): Alexandrines; Miss Rosetta Stone: Little Corella
You don't say what size cage your bird is in. My Rosetta was pooping in her bowl a lot until I realised she was able to swing over the bowl and poop at the same time. I rearranged the cage and things are a bit better. She still poops in her water if she's climbing the cage wires directly above it.

The thing is 'setta's cage is far too small for an active corella. She needs a lot more floor area to be able to run and play. She also needs space to fly from ground to perch in order to get a reasonable amount of exercise during times when she's in her cage (which is most of the time for the moment).

My best advice is to put most of the fun things in your bird's cage on the opposite side to his food and water. I find that placing perches across the diagonal works well (gives the bird max distance to fly or hop-fly between perches), but if you do that, there's always the possibility of pooping in water.

For a Ringneck, I'd say the very smallest cage footbrint would be something like a metre by sixty centimetres (3 foot by 2 foot). Bigger would be better, though.

Oh and PS. The other thing you could consider is to place a platform up level with the bird's main perch and place his water on that. Or, purchase a large, cage-wall-hanging water container big enough for birdie to bathe in. :)
 

ChristaNL

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If he keeps pooping, you can always give him a waterbottle (the ones you get for mice, rabbits etc.) most parrots figure out how to use is within a week (they love playing with the little ball / one of my greys can empty a bottle that way if he feels like it -> usually when he wants a bath/shower badly)


Maybe he just loves really fresh water and knows if he poops in there, he gets "fresh water and a show". (Not sure how upset you act and if you scold him for it -> all attention is good news to a parrot)
 
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lettie

lettie

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You don't say what size cage your bird is in. My Rosetta was pooping in her bowl a lot until I realised she was able to swing over the bowl and poop at the same time. I rearranged the cage and things are a bit better. She still poops in her water if she's climbing the cage wires directly above it.

The thing is 'setta's cage is far too small for an active corella. She needs a lot more floor area to be able to run and play. She also needs space to fly from ground to perch in order to get a reasonable amount of exercise during times when she's in her cage (which is most of the time for the moment).

My best advice is to put most of the fun things in your bird's cage on the opposite side to his food and water. I find that placing perches across the diagonal works well (gives the bird max distance to fly or hop-fly between perches), but if you do that, there's always the possibility of pooping in water.

For a Ringneck, I'd say the very smallest cage footbrint would be something like a metre by sixty centimetres (3 foot by 2 foot). Bigger would be better, though.

Oh and PS. The other thing you could consider is to place a platform up level with the bird's main perch and place his water on that. Or, purchase a large, cage-wall-hanging water container big enough for birdie to bathe in. :)

my parrot got his bigger cage a few weeks ago actually :) he's sleeping, so I can't take a picture right now, but this is the cage he's in (24x22)

https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=23414

i had his food and water on the left side, but recently moved his water bowl to the other side. (so now the food and water are next to the same perch)
 

Laurasea

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24 x 22 is still to small....eBay and Amazon have some large cages for 100, they are square with a lit more room
 
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lettie

lettie

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24 x 22 is still to small....eBay and Amazon have some large cages for 100, they are square with a lit more room

i dont think so.. it's perfectly sized for him

not quite your answer helps my question anyways lol
 

Scott

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Size is always subjective, but a general rule is the larger the better (within reason) subject to available space and finance. Having a play-top sort of maximizes the available space when supervised.
 
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lettie

lettie

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Size is always subjective, but a general rule is the larger the better (within reason) subject to available space and finance. Having a play-top sort of maximizes the available space when supervised.

thank you! he does have a playtop :)
 

EllenD

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I agree, 22x24 is quite small for an African Ringneck, and that may very well be the cause of the issue...
 

Laurasea

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24 x 22 is still to small....eBay and Amazon have some large cages for 100, they are square with a lit more room

i dont think so.. it's perfectly sized for him

not quite your answer helps my question anyways lol
We all have different advice and opinions, that's what makes this forum strong. You spent a lot if money on a new cage, so you definitely aren't wanting to hear that it's to small. My quakers are in cage with 32 , and one in 34 length, 22 and 22 depth, one is 46 high the other 4o not counting the stand. For me I couldn't put them in something only 24 wide, those extra few inches make a big difference. For me the advice I give is a longer cage would help with popping in the water.. now I have a rescue that climbs from where ever she is , over to her food bowl to poop in it, it's a behavior issue related to her past abuse. You could have a behavior issue as well. Now for me if you are working and your bird is caged all day , two feet wide for a bird larger than my quakers us in my opinion to small. When I first got my GCC I had it in an 18 x18 as that was the recommended size back years ago, and I spent 400 for a California king cage. Thankfully I learned better, and recommendation changes, now my remaining GCC is in a four foot by four foot cage, and she uses every inch of it. I saw the link and the cage you got is beautiful. I look at Avairy picture and wish my birds had that ! :) I'm home 24/7 and mine are out all day unless I'm too sick to watch them.
 

Betrisher

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Dominic: Galah(RIP: 1981-2018); The Lovies: Four Blue Masked Lovebirds; Barney and Madge (The Beaks): Alexandrines; Miss Rosetta Stone: Little Corella
That's a nice cage and the playtop allows your bird plenty of chance to play outside when he wants to. You're lucky to have that option as it makes all the difference to a bird's mental health.

I wish I could offer more ideas about the pooping in the water, but if it's continuing, maybe think of adding a bottle-drinker as another member suggested? When you think about it, if your cage floor area is 4sq.ft. and your water container is 1sq.ft., then every time your bird poops, he's got a one-in-four chance of 'enhancing' his water supply. The odds are not that good, are they?

I feel your pain, though. I'm changing Rosetta's water multiple times every day because she turns it into green soup. I'll let you know if I hit upon a scathingly brilliant solution! :)
 
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Sandy19

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Mar 22, 2017
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Peanut poops in her water bowl too. I don't know why she does it other than it looks like a good place to poop. I have no advice other than to just keep cleaning it.

She has no behavior issues or anything, she does it whether it's in her cage or on her play stand out on the porch. She just sees a bowl of water and thinks it needs one of three things. Poop in, bathe in, or dip her pellets in.
 
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Sandy19

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My little Senegal spends most of her time on my screened-in patio, but this is the cage I have for her for sleeping and when I'm not home. Which I think is a decent size for a small bird. And she poops in all six bowls.

XhyH76wl.jpg
 
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bigfellasdad

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Changing bowel is a good idea, for reference I change Enzo's bowel locations every day to mix it up a little.
 
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lettie

lettie

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That's a nice cage and the playtop allows your bird plenty of chance to play outside when he wants to. You're lucky to have that option as it makes all the difference to a bird's mental health.

I wish I could offer more ideas about the pooping in the water, but if it's continuing, maybe think of adding a bottle-drinker as another member suggested? When you think about it, if your cage floor area is 4sq.ft. and your water container is 1sq.ft., then every time your bird poops, he's got a one-in-four chance of 'enhancing' his water supply. The odds are not that good, are they?

I feel your pain, though. I'm changing Rosetta's water multiple times every day because she turns it into green soup. I'll let you know if I hit upon a scathingly brilliant solution! :)

thank you!! i think its a nice high quality cage, and he's quite small so he fits perfectly.

i do have good news, yesterday there was no poop in the water bowl at the end of the day!! ^-^

and more good news is hes actually started to use his flat perch <3 :green:
 

Scott

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Goffins: Gabby, Abby, Squeaky, Peanut, Popcorn / Citron: Alice / Eclectus: Angel /Timneh Grey: ET / Blue Fronted Amazon: Gonzo /

RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
Worst case scenario is to purchase a new bowl with self-contained attaching mechanism, and place in random locations. Either the hook-on or screw-back types would work depending on cage bar construction.
 

ChristaNL

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Sunny a female B&G macaw;
Japie (m) & Appie (f), both are congo african grey;
All are rescues- had to leave their previous homes for 'reasons', are still in contact with them :)
(I love that typo)
 

EllenD

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Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
I was also going to recommend what Scott recommended, if you're against buying your bird a much larger cage (I'm not trying to hammer you on this, but your comment that "he's a small bird so his cage fits him perfectly" isn't really the way that a cage should be selected for a parrot, for example Green Cheek Conures are very small parrots, half as small as your African Ringneck, and they still need a cage way larger than 24x22 due to how active they are and how they love to climb, hang, swing, etc....and in addition to having to have a cage that is large enough for both of their wings to be fully open and still not have either wing NOR their tail feathers touching any of the cage bars, they should always have between 6-10 different toys inside of their cages as well, so that's another reason they need a much larger cage than one that you would purchase simply based on the size of the bird)....

Anyway, if the pooping in the water continues even if you try moving the water dish around, etc., then you could always buy a water dish/bowl that comes with a cover/hood so that even if he tries to poop in it or he's sitting overtop of it, etc., it's impossible for him to poop in the water...I have 4 of these inside of my indoor aviary that my 8 Budgies live in, because they also tend to poop in their water as well, plus they are notorious for spitting seeds/shells and pellet-bits all over the place. So I ordered these stainless-steel water and food dishes that are square-shaped instead of round, and they have a hood that snaps into the bottom of the dish. They're great.
 

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