[gam101]

Hello folks!

This is my first post & out first tiel too. We got him when he was barely a month old (back in April) & hand fed him. His growth was fine & he is doing well too, except the fact that he does not drink water.

We have been hand feeding him water just to keep him hydrated. Could someone please advice how to get him to drink on his own?

I should also mention he has no problem eating his seeds, loves rice & mashed potatoes. Its the drinking part that has us baffled

Thank you again!

 

[Hasan]

Sit with your bird and drink a glass of water or eat a snack. Birds are social creatures and feel most comfortable when they get to eat and drink in a flock scenario. Since you are his flock, eating and drinking with your bird at regular meal times may make him feel comfortable enough to drink on his own and also Jiggle the bowl so the water moves and catches their eye. You might even put in a bottle and a dish so they can use either one to their liking. If your Cockatiel isn't drinking at all, you can also try to give your Cockatiel a little shower with a spray bottle. This way your Cockatiel will drink a little bit. or you can try to Wash your hands, dip two fingers into the water bowl, and feed it to him as if you're a mama bird. Our bird would gulp the water as if he were taking food from inside another bird's mouth. If you have long finger nails, the water should hold in them so he can get a good amount. But perch him on the water bowl when you dip your fingers so he sees what's going on, he should learn to do it on his own quickly.

wish it helped you

 

[gam101]

Thank you Hasan for the awesome suggestions. We will try all of them & see which one "bites" I'll update here if anything changes.

 

[hildareyes]

You already got advice from your vet. I'm not too sure what else you can do except keep trying to feed water with a dropper. Don't give ice cold water is all I can add.

 

[Daytontiel]

I usually introduce water and water bowel first before introduce solid foods during wean stage. And, when I got a new adult bird, I always held water bowel in front the bird, until the bird drink. This way I make sure bird know what water bowel looks like.

 

[Larak123]

Hello folks!

This is my first post & out first tiel too. We got him when he was barely a month old (back in April) & hand fed him. His growth was fine & he is doing well too, except the fact that he does not drink water.

We have been hand feeding him water just to keep him hydrated. Could someone please advice how to get him to drink on his own?

I should also mention he has no problem eating his seeds, loves rice & mashed potatoes. Its the drinking part that has us baffled

Thank you again!

I've just recently bought a 7 week old Tiel (now 8 weeks), and I had the same problem - I found that sitting her at her water bowl, and splashing it around a bit, followed by allowing her to lick some off my finger helped. She's not yet independently making her own way to her water dish in her cage, but she will drink whenever I put her in front of her water dish now - so we have definite progress. If she's out of her cage however, she will drink from any water dish independently. Good luck!! I know how stressful it is knowing they're not drinking.

 

[gam101]

Update: Well, trying to place him on the edge of a bowl with some shiny objects in the water did not fly ....he just jumps away at the first chance he gets. And yes, the speed he walks away (more like running) is like a road runner.....