hey, I'm looking into getting a lil water bottle/ fountain thing for my parrotlet. I've seen some pros and cons, but I was wondering what your opinion is, and if there are any I should stay away from! Thanks!
I’m not really keen on them, birds drink by scooping water up in to their beaks not by linking a tiny surface in the hopes that a fluid will come out. It’d take a bit of training to get them used to the concept, plenty of time spent at home ensuring they aren’t going dehydrated and then you’re needlessly getting them to use this device when bowls are already a much simpler option. Water bottles are much harder to clean, being plastic most of the time they build up a ton of bacteria and it’s very difficult to get in to all the edges and deepest parts to clean them correctly. The metal components can easily rust, it’s just something that happens naturally with age but can also occur faster when their beaks scratch the metal allowing it to break down and rust a lot faster than expected.
If your problem is them pooping or throwing things in water the very simply solution is to get a dish cover or just move the location of the dish, water bottles aren’t really necessary to sort out those issues. If the use of a water bottle is more for your convenience, thinking you won’t have to change out the water as often then that’s just incorrect thinking. You’d still have to change the water frequently and you’d have to thoroughly scrub them with soap every day due to the increase in bacterial buildup.
There’s really no benefit to using bottles, only additional risks. Are they the worst thing in the world? no they’re not but they’re also not really needed. A stainless steel bowl is going to be the best option for cleanliness, ease of drinking, and ease of cleaning.
