Bowl-d Decisions

[Deleted]

Feeling undecided on the food bowl situation.

If I'm using separate then I need 3 seed bowls, at least one water bowl, and one to two bowls for egg, peas and sweetcorn.

I like stainless steel bowls rather than plastic for cleaning purposes, out of the types of bowl that you can get to position higher up. Alas most bowls are very deep.

But Yuki always gets into bowls and ends up kicking seed everywhere, which the larger cat bowl on the cage floor has mitigated. He still gets into it, but he doesn't end up scrabbling about. It also cuts down on squabbling.

But then I'm not sure whether to have a bowl on the cage floor or not.

Other than the fact that they're plastic and too deep for only a single day of seed, some of those hooded bowls I used to have for Munchy would stop Yuki getting into the bowl, and would mean one bowl, one budgie at a time.

One of those little roofs might be some use if I decide to stick to bowls on the floor of the cage.

What types of bowls do you guys use or prefer?

[tweetiepiesmom]

My guys don't go to the bottom of their cage (or the floor when outside) and neither sits in the food bowl either although Buddy does jump into the water dish when he wants a little bath. That said I'm not sure that what I use for dishes is applicable to you. I like the stainless dishes that fit into a ring holder because, like you said, they're easier to clean especially for veggies and sprouts.

[blue48]

It's different for an only budgie, only one bud to please, but he wouldn't like eating from a bowl on the floor. I've got some shallow glass yoghurt pots that I put his veggies in on top of the cage. They're heavy enough to take his weight without tipping when he perches on the edge, and for him not to be able to throw/push off, and although he still manages it sometimes. His seed is quite high in his cage in a bowl that hooks to the side. If I put it lower he manages to poop in it.

[Deleted]

Yuki gets poop in whichever bowl wherever because there's usually one stuck to him...

My two will happily go eat from the cage floor but they don't hang around there. It's also the only reason they go sit on my desk.
Munchy used to live a good deal of his life running around the floor.

I'll figure out what works best eventually.
The three platforms for the shallow bowls I have fit nicely in a row. If Yuki would stop getting in it and causing havoc...

[Hezz]

Budgies will go down to the floor of the cage if there is something for them to go down for. Of course they won't if there is no reason to.

Agree, @sillycat84, most bird cups are too deep for budgies and the small amount they need. I have one of the cup with the full hood over the top - great for keeping out a bud who insists on sitting in their food (I got it for Smudge), but you have to keep them almost totally full for a budgie to be able to reach the seed.

Don't know if it would help you at all, but for Mango I use the smallest of the "D" cups (sounds like a bra ) which hook on, and have it tilted slightly so that the seed is easier for her to reach as she can't perch normally. It is also a way of putting less seed in the pot.

[Deleted]

Hezz I definitely had some of those a few years back. How do you angle yours?

I've currently challenged them to using that JW Tip and Treat foraging toy, I think Yuki may have just grasped it, but even if both of them did those things are tricky to wash out.

The best choice will be found eventually.


Edit: Yuki's definitely figured it out and is now happily stuffing himself. I have informed him that if he eats all of it then he's not getting anything else today!

Indie's just confused.

We were trying to think of foraging ideas for them last night.

And they managed to leave presents in the cat bowl overnight, but it gets removed and cleaned before they eat for the day anyway, so not too much of an issue.

Second edit: The plus side to using the cat bowls is that I could use something like the paper cat litter to encourage foraging.

[Hezz]

Oct 10, 2020 9:37:46 GMT @sillycat84 said:

Hezz I definitely had some of those a few years back. How do you angle yours?

The little hooks have some movement to them, so I spread them out a little more after putting them through the bars with the whole pot at a slight angle. The bottom hook sits on a horizontal bar and the higher hook grabs the vertical bar where it slides down to. I'll take a photo or two ...





In Mango's case the bottom hook sits against her perch as that's easiest for her, but you can see the idea.

[Deleted]

Awesome, thank you Hezz!


I've cut up an old egg carton to make light weight obstacles to cover some of the seed in their large bowl with.

I might get a selection of small bowls like Mango's and split up their daily seed allowance between them, leave some bowls empty, move them around from day to day, etc, to encourage them to have to hunt for their food.
Not sure Indie's cut out for any complex foraging. He doesn't even try to get the seed out of the tippy thing despite being able to see it!

[Marianne Marlow]

Hezz, I used to give Billybob a pot like that and angle it the same way you do, he also had bad feet that couldn't grip well.

We used to call it "Billybob's pot" I kept it in for a while after he passed, but unfortunately Polly would take great gusto in tipping all the seed out, so I had to abandon it eventually.

Oct 11, 2020 0:19:00 GMT Hezz said:

Oct 10, 2020 9:37:46 GMT @sillycat84 said:

Hezz I definitely had some of those a few years back. How do you angle yours?

The little hooks have some movement to them, so I spread them out a little more after putting them through the bars with the whole pot at a slight angle. The bottom hook sits on a horizontal bar and the higher hook grabs the vertical bar where it slides down to. I'll take a photo or two ...





In Mango's case the bottom hook sits against her perch as that's easiest for her, but you can see the idea.

[Hezz]

Ah, Marianne Marlow, I remember you used to do the same at one time but couldn't remember who it was for. It does work well for a bud with bad feet, if that is of any help for others who might have the same problem.

[Deleted]

Got 3 of those little bowls. They seemed okay perching on them and reaching down inside. So now I have a ridiculous amount of choice about which bowls to use. 😂