18 weeks DYH still not drinking water

[iSancho]

Rio is down to 1 night feeding every other night. I'm scared to stop the formula because I don't see him drinking water. After some forum suggestion i put a little toy floating in his bowl of water and he was able to take the toy without getting his beak wet and destroyed the toy. I tried putting his favorite foods or any food that floats and that he could see. I put a raw almond that he had a hard time breaking the shell and he drank once but never looked at the bowl again after that. Then another time I put a plastic floss pick (it was a new floss and its really big so he wouldn't hurt himself) that floats but he wouldn't get close so I had to bring it to him and he drank once after I held it in front of him for awhile when he was on top of his cage. He won't use his water bottle. I've out that next to his bowl of pellets because he doesn't seem interested in his seed bowl on the other side of the cage. Its probably that area and thats where the water bottle use to be. I've showed him the water bottle by hitting it with my finger and let water run out when he's near. Ive tried holding that big water bottle when he's on the table with me and hitting it with my nose. I tried putting a little food of what he's eating at the time on top of the nozzle so he would be curious but he just walks away from it. I tried tapping water out into his water bowl and then offering his water bowl. I tried to drip water into his beak by touch his beak with my fingers and letting the water run down but that's really hard because he sometimes let me clean his beak and other times he just avoids me and then it's a cat and mouse game to catch his beak and I get water dripping everywhere. And the few times he has touched water he seems to react to it okay. Like he's not in shock. The very first time insane him drink water with the almond in it he stood there a drank about 3-4 times in 1 sitting. The floss pick time he drank twice. I've been watching his poop and in the afternoon it's really dry. He gets some water from his veggies but the bell peppers make him poop another color. And corn makes his urine yellow. But when he likes to eat something he eats too much of it. When I had the younger BF, he would see the BF drink water from the bowl and water bottle but it didn't interest him to try it. The younger BF seems to like water. Not my DYH. When I do spray him for a bath I spray up in the air but its not enough water to get him wet or in his beak. I tried showering with him a few times but he doesn't seem to like it. Any suggestion on getting him to drink? He seems to be on the stubborn side. Maybe that's why he's my baby. Thank you!

 

[JerseyWendy]

Hi there Sancho.

How many water bowls/bottles do you have in his cage in total? Have you tried placing a water bowl right next to each food container?

I seriously doubt he would dehydrate himself - at least I've never heard of a bird doing this.

Are you saying that your DYH does NOT enjoy any baths?

Perhaps you could try and place quite a large, heavy bowl on the bottom of his cage to see if he wants to hop in by himself??? Just an idea.

How are his feathers? Are they bright and shiny? Lastly, how much formula does he still take every other night?

 

[Merlee]

Have you tried juice? I know that sounds weird but it is fluid. I wanted to see what my bird thought of juice and offered it out of a plastic tumbler. I was surprised that he would drink out of the unusual object for a bird. Keep trying other foods so he does not become dehydrated.

 

[henpecked]

IMO he's drinking water , you just don't see it. he's drank before, he knows where to get it. You haven't noticed him going to the water after eating pellets? Most of my zons are dunkers with the pellets. I think the large dish for bathing is a good idea, give that a try.

 

[Mayden]

If you're really worried, you can get a small type measuring cup

(similar to this, but obviously you get a size appropriate one)

Weigh it down with something heavy so it's not knocked, fill it up to a measuring line, take note of the line, check it at the end of the day. You can see how much they've drank.

Our other pets drink from water bottles that have measured lines on, so we can see what they're drinking normally and so can spot any blips (and so potential illness early) depending on where their water is left at by the end of the day.

Ii'd just suggest one of these but if you think he's not drinking for a water bowl, I doubt a bottle will be any better.

I think he's drinking, he can't substain himself on pellets and wet veggies alone, he'd still get dehydrated. Maybe try the measuring idea to reassure yourself?

 

[iSancho]

He doesn't dunk food into water. He eats his pellets dry. He's eating Roudybush right now & seems to like it. I'm ordering Zupreen to see if he'll eat that since I read Roudybush breaks up into crumbs so much. I have 2 bowls on the right side, 1 is the water and other is veggies. The water bottle is by the veggies across from the other water bowl but pretty much there's water by each bowl. Another bowl is in the opposite corner where he less likes to go. I'm starting to put his favorite food over there and he eats and run now.

I just added a 2 bowls next to each other on top on cage where he likes to sit. 1 food the other water. Just watched him eat the seeds and didn't look twice at the water.

I'm hoping he drinks without me knowing but I'm in the room with him most of the time. Or he's with me in the office and he's destroying paper or a box. i made a play gym for him but i think its too massive that he wont get on it. so now im working on something smaller and simple. And when I'm with him he seems to be sleeping.

Added the bowl on the bottom of the cage but I doubt it because his feet never touch the bottom. I'll have to get juice to try. You think a sweet juice or something like cranberry or pomegranate? I could try coconut water because I have it in stock but I know that just looks like water to him. I would love it if he dunk and splash around in the bowl.

And he definitely does not like baths of any kind. Before I sprayed right on him and he didn't like that so I spray up now. Spraying up into the air works better and he'll tolerate it just for a little while. He doesn't like being in the shower with me. I tried to entertain him I there too by singing and dancing. I tried to introducing him to the facet with running water and even a big swallow bowl I would hold up so he could dunk his head but no. He would fly away and his wings are clipped. I feel like I've stress him out with water. That other BF seemed to like it but not this DYH.

I feed him about 36 - 40 ml of formula but its watery. I could take him off formula because he eats his food but now I'm scared he doesn't drink. I tried once to drip water with a syringe (different kind then the one I use for formula) and now he knows that's not the syringe he likes. He plays keep away. And I'm his person. He'll bite my husband but not me but if he runs from me when I have water in my hand. But at night he'll sit on my arm and I scratch his head until he's tired then I put him inside to sleep.

So he wouldn't dehydrate himself right? I didn't know if his body would tell him he's thirsty. I have a measuring cup in there as well now. Waiting to see. Fingers cross!

 

[iSancho]

i forgot to add his feathers looks good. Really shiny and vibrant in the sun. It's straight and smooth. Maybe all that spraying in the air does work? But he does nothing like the parrots that enjoy a bath on youtube. He just sits in 1 spot and fluffs his feather just a little and after 3 or 4 sprays he'll start flapping his feathers and try to run. Thank goodness he doesn't stink.

 

[JerseyWendy]

i forgot to add his feathers looks good. Really shiny and vibrant in the sun. It's straight and smooth. Maybe all that spraying in the air does work? But he does nothing like the parrots that enjoy a bath on youtube. He just sits in 1 spot and fluffs his feather just a little and after 3 or 4 sprays he'll start flapping his feathers and try to run. Thank goodness he doesn't stink.

LOL!! He may not enjoy the showers YET, but I'm sure in time he'll LOVE them. IF your DYH gets along with your BF, maybe you could try bathing them at the same time? Once the DYH sees how your BF enjoys it, he may get into it as well.

Here is how I do my Amazons together: I put an outdoor plastic garden chair in the room, towels everywhere, place a heavy brick on the chair so it doesn't flip/tilt over, place Hunter on one armrest, and Sam on the other. I blast the music, get the spraybottle (mister) and go to town. They both love it. Sam learned from Hunter - he didn't like it much in the beginning, but now he goes ballistic as soon as he sees the chair in the position.

 

[CaitlinBird]

I wouldn't worry too much, food and water are basic needs for all animals and if he needs a drink, he'll drink. Don't worry yourself so much, I would argue that eating and drinking is instinctual and doesn't really need to be taught.

 

[Merlee]

When I got my rehomed amazon, he was a dunker. I gave him a water bottle and it didn't take him more than an hour or so to learn how to use it. He was never exposed to one before so I was very impressed how quickly he figured out how it worked. I didn't even have to show him how to use it either. The good thing about it is that I can hear him use it even in the next room so I feel secure he will not become dehydrated.

 

[Pajarita]

Parrots are not hard-wired to drink a lot of water at once or to drink several times a day. They are very vulnerable on the open ground and they don't really need it because nature made it so they derive almost all their hydration needs from the food they eat (plant material like leaves and buds have an average of 85% water and fruits go up into the 95%). And that's one of the reasons why feeding them pellets is not such a good idea (way too dry). Most of my birds drink only once a day and they all do it early in the morning (about three good gulps of water) but mine eat fresh food (gloop and raw produce) so they get lots of water from their food. Is he eating a lot of fruit? Because that will give him plenty of water...

 

[iSancho]

Yes, he'll eat fruits. Mainly apples. But I thought too much fruit is not good for him. I guess its better than nothing. So do you think I should take away his pellets for now?

I plan to up his fruit intake since he doesn't drink water. I watch him in the morning and he'll start off with pellets and not touch his water bowl which is right next to the pellets and then he'll eat some vegetables I offer. He'll only eat butternut squash, red or orange bell peppers, corn. His poop is dry even the first big one in the morning for the last 2 days. It'll be a little wet after he eats the fruits so I will add more fruits for now.

I don't have the BF with me anymore. I think that would have helped too. I stress so much because the BF drank a lot of water. She would drink it from both the bowl or the water bottle. She seemed to be more curious or a quick learner than the DYH.

It may be stress that has made me paranoid but I can see the wrinkles around his eyes. Would veggies & fruit alone be enough water? I swear he's no where near his water bowl and he eats pellets. I've been stressing so much that I watch him when he eats all day to see if he'll at least take 1 drink but he doesn't. Today I offer him water in the syringe that I use for formula and he noticed the difference and hesitated. I was able to get a drop in but he shook the water out.

I'm off to the market to pick up PediLite instead of juice. Think that is ok? I probably try everything and get juice too. And thank you for all the help and suggestion.

 

[Merlee]

I would not take his pellets away because it has a lot of what he needs nutritionally. I wonder if your bird will eat pellets that have been soaked in water or some sort of juice. Try other veggies that you eat too other than the ones you listed. If you boil or steam them, they hold extra water. Fruits do have a lot of water, especially grapes. Have you tried oranges? I would continue spraying him with water because it's good for his feathers and he should get accustomed to bathing on a regular basis.

Just curious as to what size pellets you ordered? I like smaller sizes so there is less waste.

Hope things improve for you.

 

[iSancho]

He'll only eat boiled cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potato if I hand feed it to him 1 by 1. So I'll do that if I feel like he hasn't eaten much that day. I feed him the small size of Roudybush. I do spray him everyday with a light mist but not for long because he'll flap his wings to get away. I'm looking for a better spray bottle because the one I use is just a regular one that makes the spray noise when I pump the handle. Maybe that's the problem? He doesn't like soaked pellets. He'll eat 1 or 2 of those colored pellets that I soaked in water that's it. If I give it to him everyday he won't touch it. It's like he's curious enough to try new things but if he doesn't like it he won't keep eating it. So I reintroduce things to him.

I blast the music, get the spraybottle (mister) and go to town.

JerseyWendy - I took your advice and blast the music and I danced away while misting. He actually fluffed his feathers a lot more and spread his wings. He was drench. Maybe this is the turning point for his fear of water. He's still not drinking yet but he's eating watermelon now so that's a plus.

 

[JerseyWendy]

WOHOOOOO!!!! That's GREAT news about the spray bath! YAY!!

 

[Pajarita]

And watermelon has lots and lots of water so that's very good. Have you tried different bowls? I prefer stainless steel but I have one GCC that will not drink out of anything metal, it has to be plastic and it has to be transparent so try different sizes, materials, shapes, depths, etc.

As to too many fruits and not been good for them, I have no idea who started this rumor but I've even had this argument with Dr. Harrison once. Amazons eat A LOT of fruit in their natural habitat, some days they eat nothing but fruit (BFAs will demolish an entire fig tree in a matter of a few hours).

 

[henpecked]

IMO the issue with fruit is with our companion parrots getting too much sugar. Yes wild parrots will gorge themselves on fruit when it's "ripe". They'll also find several other food sources that same day.They also tend to burn off the sugars with lots of flight/foraging. They do eat a "balanced Diet" ,but it's balanced over a long period of time. If you where to only observe one week out of the year you might get the wrong impression about what constitutes their diet. Example is the nonavailability of fresh fruits during the 3=4 month long "dry season" in the subtropics. During the rainy season ,when it rains daily, they consume rain water without having to visit a "watering hole" except to bathe. Another example would be amazons eating huge quantities of nuts and seeds during the dry season, but you wouldn't feed your pet a 80% diet of seeds and nuts,would you?

Some of the healthiest,long lived flocks of amazons (and other New World parrots) kept in captivity belong to a good friend of mine who only feeds very small amounts of fruit,way less than 10%. He has hundreds and hundreds of zons and macaws, breeding 3rd/4th generation , and has active breeders,breeding for 40 yrs.

IMO (again) too much of anything is bad for a amazon. variety is best

 

[Merlee]

I wish you had a section of your own just to pass on the knowledge you have acquired during your life time . How about a book? lol.

 

[henpecked]

LOL, i'll dictate , you do the writing!!!

 

[SandyBee]

I am crazy enough to do that. Love learning about these beautiful creatures. Bosley agrees with your friend, he won't touch fruit and he's very healthy.