Water bottles vs cups

NDan · Post by **NDan** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 8:47 am

I know that has been addressed before, but I am stuck as to what to try to get my birds to use a tube waterer. I put it next to their food dish, next to their water dish, not next to anything....
Do I have to make sure the next bird I get already knows how so he can teach the rest?
It would be soooo much cleaner.

ND

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 8:18 am

obviously if you get a new bird that is used to these drinkers it will eventually teach the others ..but old habits and all that!if the birds you have are not used to those drinkers then it will take a bit of time to teach them to use them all i can think is that you put the 2 side by side or as close to each other as you can put a piece of tape on the outside where the water level is and then you can monitor the level without to much disturbance.

ken

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 1:22 am

My finches all have water bottles in their cages, as well as baths. Most know how to drink from the water bottles. I couple, I actually captured, held in my hand and physically showed them how to use it. Others learn from the other birds. Although I offer both bottles and baths, they use both.

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 5:20 am

hi emily
mine usually do the opposite drink out of the bath and bathe in the drinking water

ken

rottielover · Post by **rottielover** » Mon Oct 29, 2007 4:07 pm

Surpisingly I never had a problem with the birds not learning how to drink from the tube style.

I just left the cup of water in the same place and attached the tube water near a perch.

I think what helped the most is that I have one male Gouldian who has "no fear". He'll go right up to new things in the cage right away, while all the other birds are on the opposite side of the cage scared of the new item.

He was the first to drink from the tube, and very quickly after the other birds were doing it also.

My society pair are the same way... They don't care what's in the cage, they'll go right up to it and investigate...

I was joking with my wife one day that we could place a cat in the cage and those birds would land on it's head and start poking at it to figure it out!!!

Marigold · Post by **Marigold** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 12:18 am

When I bring new birds I quarentine them. This is how I train them to use a feeder hopper and water tube.

I put the feeder hopper at one end of a perch with a big piece of millet crammed in the opening. Once the millet is cleaned they know that's where the food is located. I put the water tube at the opposite end of the perch.

So far all of my Ladies have caught on right away.......