Knocking the water dish

[Katy]

So since I've been separating my babies during the day, the smaller cage gets occupied by Fiesta during the day. I work long days, so I take them out early in the morning 7:30-8:30am (for atleast an hour while I get ready for work), and then I separate them until I get home at 5:00pm.

The last 5 consecutive days in a row, I've come home and found little Fiesta's water dish toppled over on the ground. His dish is the kind that has two metal hooks on the back, and hangs on a horizontal bar.

Why is he knocking over his dish? How can I get him to stop doing it? His seed dishes are the same kind, and he doesn't touch those (as in, they aren't on the floor of his cage when I get home from work) I'm just really worried that he'll knock over his water early in the day, and then have to go without water for the entire day.

It's been fairly warm here lately, and I'd hate for him to have no water. There are some days that I don't separate them. When I do that, he doesn't try to move the water in the other cage when he's with Cash. I've tried bending the hooks a bit further so that it will be harder for him to lift up over the bar of the cage. I'll see when I get home if that has worked or not. I really hope so. Any other suggestions??

[butterfly1061]

Why is he knocking over his dish? How can I get him to stop doing it?
Why? Cause it's entertaining. How to get it to stop? I would suggest getting a more secure dish. I have one of the dishes you use and I quit using it for this very reason. I use only Smart Crock dishes.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavResults.cfm?Ntt=smart%20crck&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=2003&Nty=1
They are VERY secure and you can get the kind that remove easily from the holder attached to the cage bars. Since you know this has been happening, you will want to get something that's not so easy for him/her to tip over so he won't become dehydrated. :2cents:

[Katy]

I kind of figured it was a game for him. He probably does it to see how much water he can spill all over himself and his cage. bahah

However, I can't have him doing it while I'm gone. No dehydrated birdies for me, thanks!

[LauraO]

Why is he knocking over his dish?

Cause he can:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: .

Jackie's suggestion is the best and easiest way to deal with this situation. lovebirds are all about fun and mischief and they comb every speck of their cage to look for new and exciting things to destroy:D .

[Tango's_Mom]

question, are these smart crocks available in stores or do you have to order them online, I have one of the kind Katy mentioned (the 2 dishes that came with the cage are very secure, but I would like to replace the extra one I use for fresh foods with something more secure.

[LauraO]

I've found the dishes at a local petstore. There are also stainless steal ones that are very similiar.

[Venoma]

Our local Petsmart has the crocks - you might want to see if you can train them to bottles, Katy, that way you can ensure they always have clean water and it's pretty darned hard for them to open THOSE up :)

God I miss Halifax - my littlest bro used to go to Dal so I was down a couple of times a year, seriously fun city, would have loved to have lived there! (Canadian ex-pat living in the US now FTR)

[Katy]

The other cage I have (Cash's cage) came with dishes similar to that, but I also have 3 of the other dishes that I've mentioned in that cage, too. She doesn't seem to be quite as interested in tipping them. When Fiesta is in there, he doesn't tend to tip them while Cash is there. (Perhaps she's being a teeeeeny bit aggressive if he tries to play with them since I'm sure she sees them as hers.)

[Janie]

I love the crocks and have bought them at bird fairs and have also seen them in Petsmart and Petco. I agree with Kristin about the water bottles so if you can switch them to water bottles you will never have a dirty water dish or one that's tipped over again. :D It might take a while and if you should decide to try water bottles, you'll need to continue offering water cups until you're sure that they know how to use the bottles. My older lovie was never taught how to use one and I think he's too old now to make the switch so he still uses cups instead of a bottle. A water bottle does need to be changed (and cleaned) daily but not nearly as often as a water cup/crock.

[shylevon]

You may want to invest in a water bottle for your birdies. They are inexpensive, easy to clean, and no more floaters in the water. Converting most birds to a bottle only takes a day or two, and the rewards are worth it, in my opinion.