best practices for water drinkers

[tinysparrow]

I was hoping to start a discussion about water drinkers. I remember reading a few posts recently on the forum about cleaning them, and I wanted to ask a few more questions

1. What is the best way to clean them?
2. How often should they be changed out?
3. Does the dishwasher clean them as well as soaking them in a bleach solution (or something similar to bleach)?
4. If soaking them is the best method, what should the ratio of water to bleach (or similar chemical) be?
5. If the dishwasher is ok, what is the best setting to use? (i.e.: should we use the hardcore sanitizing cycle, or will just a quick wash cycle do it?)
6. How do you store your drinkers when they are not in use so that they remain sanitized?

Looking forward to hearing some thoughts

[cindy]

I soak mine in bleach and water, rinse well and let dry, they are stored in a rubbermaid container until needed. I rotate the drinkers, take down the old and replace with the new.

[Sally]

I have double the number of drinkers I need for the cages, so I can rotate them out. I have handwashed them in usual detergent, and I have put them through the dishwasher. My dishwasher is an older, simpler model, so I don't have a sanitizing cycle.

I like the Mike Fidler method of maintaining my drinkers. I use a solution of Virkon-S (1/4 tsp/quart of water) for disinfecting. I keep buckets in the bird room with 3 gallons of this Virkon-S water, with the clean waterers soaking in the solution. I take down all the old waterers, then take the clean waterers out of the solution and fill them with clean water, no rinsing at all. Then I dump all the old water out of the 'dirty' waterers and place them in the buckets of solution. They stay in those buckets until time to refill the waterers again. This Virkon-S solution only stays viable for one week, so once a week I have to dump all the buckets and make up fresh solution.

Ideally, I would change out all waterers each day, but some days just get away from me. On those days, I just dump the old water and refill the same drinkers. I don't think Mike Fidler changes out every drinker every day. With this method, I have gone as long as a month before actually washing the drinkers, because they stay clean in the disinfectant. This disinfectant is perfectly safe for use with birds.

I find the best buckets for this are Tidy Cat scoopable litter which comes in buckets, as they have lids. Otherwise, the solution would become dirty from flying seed, feathers, and dust in the birdroom.

[gsjohnson]

Hmmm...I have a large bird bath that holds 2 gallons of water. That is the only water source my birds have. I change the water every 2 days, along with scrubing and rinsing the bird bath with water. I also add Vetafarm Aviclens water cleanser and Friske Finches Avian Nectar Liquid Vitamins w/Iodine at each water change. Does this seem ok?

[cindy]

I ran the issue of washing the drinkers and bowls, cup by my avian vet when I owned an African Grey...dishwasher or soaking in bleach and water rinsing well after the soak. If you have multiple cages it is best to disinfect the tubes and cups either by one of the two ways. Drinkers and water cups can have food particles, bacteria and film build up.

[carlamay]

I was told not to use bleach so I use a good amount of vinegar in the diswasher in two of the cycles and run it on sanitize. Then I run it empty with a disinfectant before putting in human dishes. I also have vinegar spray on hand for quick cleanups on water dishes and bath dishes. I rinse out bath dishes in the afternoon and replace each morning. Waterers are coop types and get changed every other day unless soiled.

[tinysparrow]

thanks for the ideas. I think I will order some more drinkers so I can switch them out more easily.

[ac12]

How do you get the slime off the deep inside end of the water tube?
My brushes work for the sides, but can't clean the ends of the tube.

[lou]

Gary, don't fill the tubes all the way up.

[Sally]

Baby bottle brushes from the dollar store work well for tube waterers.

[lstyles]

Like Sally I use the Mike Fidler method using Virkon-s in a bucket. However, I do not change my waterers daily. I make up gallon batches of water with sparkle (which should keep it fresh for 7 days) and vitamin powder. I have to make up a fresh batch of this waterer water about every 2-3 days so the sparkle water is always fresh. I have used this system for 2 years now and it seems to work well for me. I have about 50% more waterers than I use in cages and these soak full time in virkon water and are ready to go when one needs to be changed out.
Lori

[kcdozy]

I use the Vikron-S just like Sally to clean them. I use tube waterer's and change the water every other day and clean them in Virkon every 2 weeks. 3 days in a row I add saniclens to water tubes-next 2 days saniclens and cal-d-solve. Then 2 days with apple cider vinegar with no saniclens.
Rich

[TweeterinColorado]

I have an aviary with about 60 birds and providing enough fresh water is a challenge. I am now using a gallon water 'feeder' for chickens that I found at the local feed store. It has replaced the three one liter water bottles I had been using. I put an large inverted flower pot saucer on the top that extends over the water trough and helps keep the debris to a minimum. I refresh about every 3 days and clean with vinegar. Works well for me.

[tinysparrow]

Thanks again for the help and ideas I have started to use the "switch out" method, and it's been a big help and a huge time saver. I will look for vikron-s in my travels.

[gsjohnson]

I have an aviary with about 60 birds and providing enough fresh water is a challenge. I am now using a gallon water 'feeder' for chickens that I found at the local feed store. It has replaced the three one liter water bottles I had been using. I put an large inverted flower pot saucer on the top that extends over the water trough and helps keep the debris to a minimum. I refresh about every 3 days and clean with vinegar. Works well for me.

Can you post some pics of your aviary and setup?