Last Updated on by Mitch Rezman
We’re going to start out with one of our favorite product lines Lixit. Do you really need a water bottle? Birds being the messy creatures that they are will poop in their water dishes regardless of placement.
This means the stray food, the poop, and other contaminants which carry bacteria get ingested by your bird. One of the easiest ways to overcome these problems is to install a Lixit water bottle in your birdcage.
Lixit water bottles enable you to introduce water simply for bathing and avoid having to change your bird’s drinking water throughout the day in order to keep it clean.
The key to selecting the proper water bottle takes into consideration the size of the bottle, the size of the nozzle, and your budget. The nozzle size is the most important consideration because it will ensure that your bird gets enough water but doesn’t waste it.
Lixit water bottles work based upon the “Vacuum-Valve” principle. A metal ball bearing inside the tube is able to hold the water content because a vacuum is formed in the bottle that is sealed by a rubber cork. The metal ball actually has a film of water that sits between the ball and the drinking tube opening. When your bird’s tongue or beak moves the exposed ball the seal is broken and the vacuum inside the water bottle is released allowing water to flow and hydrate your bird. The water flows as long as the ball is moving to keep the valve open. When your bird stop moving the ball, it settles back in place, the film of water then covers the ball again and the valve closes.
Every time the water’s released a drip of water will come out which creates the new vacuum seal. So that the vacuum forms within the sealed water bottle, the amount of water in a bottle versus the amount of air that is taking up space has to be equalized. So if you see a single drop when you first install the bottle it’s not a sign of a leaking water bottle. You actually want to tap the ball bearing several times with your fingertip after you fill the bottle which releases a small amount of water which speeds up the process of equalizing the vacuum pressure. More Lixit water bottle.
are often overlooked as tremendous time savers by reducing the amount of bird food waste that gets sprinkled both inside and outside of the bird cage. We’ve seen other products with similar intentions come and go but this product has shown to be sticky.
They are well-designed and built for durability. Installation is easy, screwing two hooks that link over a feeder door.
Imagine eliminating 99% of all the hull and husks your bird normally tosses out of its cage. Your bird literally goes inside and leaves all the mess in the clear box. You’ll also save money by tossing out fewer un-eaten seeds.
If you’re looking to take keeping your bird cage cleaning to the next level consider using Prevue T3 birdcage liners. Although newspaper and rolled paper will collect the debris from your birdcage unless the paper is changed throughout the day a great deal of bacteria is being harbored.
Prevue T3 birdcage liner which is treated with silver ion, a naturally occurring element – inhibits the growth of mildew and odor causing bacteria growth on the surface of the paper. It comes in several sizes and is easy to cut to size with scissors. The paper is conveniently marked per inch for easy sizing and training
If it’s not in the budget for daily use or if you have a lot of bird cages, we highly advocate its use for newborn and younger birds as well as sick or recovering birds all of whom may have compromised immune systems.
Keeping the Bird Cage Clean Tips
- Less seed more fresh food and/or pelleted food
- Fill food dishes 1/3 – 1/2 full
- Move bird food dishes lower- place them on the floor of the cage
- Place section of newspaper directly on the slide-out grille
- Use office chair mat under cage area
- Lose the seed guards – they’re actually more to clean
- Use Lixit water bottles instead of water dishes
- Keep wings trimmed – less flapping powerless mess spreading
- Cut millet into smaller pieces
Written by Mitch Rezman CMO
Windy City Parrot, Inc
Simply Everything for Exotic Birds – Since 1993
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Shelby Johnson
12 Jun 2022This article is interesting. In addition to the concerns mentioned here, there is also that light daily dust coating on everything else, that must also fall onto the contents of parrot food and water open dishes.