Water and Food Bowl Placement?

[RXK]

Hi all,

quick question: in terms of cage height, where do you recommend having the water and food bowls? and, why?

i've always had the bowls towards the lower end of the cage, but i've been noticing that Jendu prefers to eat higher up (i'm assuming this is a survival instinct). also, the reason why i liked the bowls at a lower position is: 1.) it gives him some exercise since he's forced to go up and down, and 2.) safety concerns of him falling from a great distance (since having food in the beak or foot can affect their grip/balance when climbing around).

[Greycloud]

Well, first you have to look at the species of bird. Some are groundfeeders. Others eat from trees. I keep my bowls alittle higher then halfway up. However, when I feed them their fresh foods I put it in a bowl on the floor of the cags cage. My Toos prefer to eat up higher.

[NotEnoughTime]

I prefer to place their food a bit higher up since it reduces the amount of foreign matter (ie. poop) that gets into the bowls... Mine does the same thing though - grabs a piece of whatever and climbs up the the top point of the perch and proceeds to eat it... Then climbs down to the food bowls to grab another piece...

[perchingbird]

I use trial and error for each bird that I've had to reduce mess outside of cage. >< My 'tiel needed the bowls low. My sun needed a hooded dish because he loved to "play" in the food bowl, swirling his beak around through the pellets and making happy conure grunt noises... then randomly tossing them all out. ><

I don't know with Kit yet, I'm still in the error process. :D

[MLaCross]

I personally keep my food bowls higher up. Like Greycloud, a little higher then halfway. It keeps poop out of them (for the most part anyway) and Pedro prefers it.

[RXK]

Originally Posted by Greycloud

Well, first you have to look at the species of bird. Some are groundfeeders. Others eat from trees.

good point. the post was in regards to our Jenday; i'm assuming they are tree feeders. is this correct?

thanks everyone else for their input too.

[chapala]

For the HQ flight cage that doesn't have feeder bowl placements built in, I have the water high and the food bowls low. The food bowls are placed so they aren't under any perches, and I haven't had problems with poop in them. It helps the birds use the whole cage and move around more than they otherwise would.

[Chief's Mom]

It depends on the bird and how they use their cage, but as a general rule, I try to keep things lower. I find that it keeps the mess down a lot! They all seem to be able to throw food a lot farther the higher up they are The macaws take their nuts one by one back to their favorite perches to eat, a few of my others are dippers/soup makers, they're all different. I try to place all the food/water bowls along the front wall of the cages and set back toys at least 6" or 8" away from that. I find that that keeps the poop out of bowls for all of them except for Tootie. I really think she's set on using her water bowl as a toilet and who am I to argue with that

[RXK]

Originally Posted by Chief's Mom

I really think she's set on using her water bowl as a toilet and who am I to argue with that

how civilized of her .

[moose3]

i put the food/water bowl higher. she seems to like it like that