FAQ: Bowls & Feeders for birds

Wood absorbs moisture, is hard to clean and easily harbours mould and bacteria. Wooden dishes are not suitable for water or fresh food and are rarely used even for dry seed.

A budgie needs only a small, shallow feeder with low sides so it can reach the seed easily. A bowl that is too deep encourages digging and scattering, while one that is too small quickly fills with husks.

Canaries often get small hooded feeders and tube drinkers that hang on the cage doors or bars. It matters that the dishes fit the cage openings and are easy to remove for daily cleaning.

Cockatiels suit medium-sized, wider bowls, as they like to perch on the rim and eat from it. Stainless steel or ceramic with a sturdy holder that the bird cannot tip over is often chosen.

Large parrots need thick stainless steel bowls with a sturdy holder that bolts on or locks. They quickly bend, chew or throw out plastic or thin dishes from the holder.

Finches suit small, shallow feeders whose edges they can easily reach while perching. As these birds are often kept in groups, it is worth setting up several feeding spots at different heights in the cage.

Lovebirds are keen chewers, so small but sturdy stainless steel or ceramic bowls with a well-tightened holder suit them. They often chew through thin plastic dishes within a few weeks.

The bowl should be deep enough for the parrot to dip its beak comfortably, but not too deep for small birds. Large parrots need a heavier, wider dish that they cannot tip over or carry around.

Yes, especially chicks, very small birds or weakened birds. Water dishes for them should be shallow, and clean pebbles can be placed in a larger dish so the bird can stand.

It is natural behaviour: birds search for their favourite seeds, dig and shell them. A full feeder makes it worse, so it often helps to put in a smaller daily portion and use a dish with higher sides.

Hooded or high-sided feeders, a seed guard around the cage and smaller portions all help. The dishes can also be moved away from the cage edges so the husks fall into the cage tray.

It is usually better to give a daily portion and refill the feeder every day. In an overfilled feeder the bird picks out only its favourite seeds, and the rest gets damp, dirty and thrown away.

It is a fabric or plastic band around the lower part of the cage that keeps scattered seed and husks in the cage or on the tray. It needs washing regularly, as dust and droppings build up on it.

Birds often prefer fattier seeds such as sunflower or hemp and leave the rest. If the feeder is topped up daily before the old seed is eaten, the diet becomes unbalanced, so it is worth giving smaller portions and watching what is left.

No, seed that has fallen to the floor has been in contact with droppings, litter and moisture. It should be thrown away and only clean seed put into the feeder.

There are open water dishes, tube drinkers from which water gradually flows into a small trough, bottles with a ball valve or nipple, and larger automatic drinkers. Each type differs in how quickly it gets dirty and how easy it is to clean.

In a tube drinker the water gets less dirty from seed and droppings and spills less. It is harder to clean inside, though, so it still needs daily water changes and regular scrubbing.

Many birds learn, but not all and not straight away. Until you are sure the bird is drinking from the new drinker, leave its usual water dish next to it as well.

Watch whether the bird goes to it and drinks, and mark the water level to see whether it drops by more than evaporation. Remove the old drinker only once you are sure, and if the bird seems lethargic, contact a vet.

Usually a part is not seated tightly, a seal is damaged or the tube is cracked and lets air in. Check that the drinker hangs vertically and is assembled tightly, and replace it if it is cracked.