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I am getting my IRN in a month and I thought about teaching her to drink from a gerbil bottle. Does anyone have a bird that drinks from one? What is the best way to switch them over? Also, is diluted baby juice (baby juice doesn't have preservitives and other crap in it-I use it for my herps) okay to give once in a while instead of water?

are you switching to keep the water dish neater? I've heard if, but I"ve also see some nice covered water dishes. that prevents "stuff" from getting into it.

ya, I thought as an alternative I would get a ceramic covered bowl, but I work at a petstore w/ birds and I find everything from food and feathers to bedding and toys in them, so They seem to keep the bird out, but not necessarily debris in general(in my experience) Iwouldn't think it would be a hard transition....natural curiosity should allow her to discover the bottle quickly, but I am concerned she won't know to go to it when she's thirsty right off the bat and if I put a bowl in there, she'll use that instead.

I never really liked bottles for watering; they're harder to clean, don't let the fid bathe, but they do add an intellectual challenge for the bird. I don't know that I'd use a bottle for just one pet in its own cage.

I'm going to give her a place to bathe outside of the cage, like in the sink (don't really wany water EVERYWHERE). Maybe I will just use the bottle occasionally for juice or something and give her a regular water bowl.

Hey Fiona,
I have two birds that drink from water bottles and one that chews holes in them so they spray all over the cage. I was told to hang the bottle above her/his water bowl. They'll become curious and check it out. Then when you see them drinking from it you can take their bowl away. But my little Remmi just chewed a hole in it and had his own personal shower. So I deal with one bowl and two bottles. I prefer the bottles to the bowls simply becuz they stay cleaner. My Remmi is a dunker. Good luck!

Jen

thanks, that's really helpful. I've worked with fiona(the ringneck I'm getting) for about two months now and she doesn't seem that much of a chewer, but she's also been to 4 different stores in her 14 mnths of life, so who knows how she'll be once she relaxes in her permanent home. I too think the bottles would be less messy. I trained one of my lizards to drink from a bottle (not easy!) but it doesn't rely on water as much as a bird.

Jen, i just had an idea. You said that one of your birds chew through the water bottle. What if you attach it on the outside and turn the nozzle so it goes through the bars. That way it can't reach the bottle so easily, but can still drink