But perhaps just as important is the quality of water that is consumed. Waterclean, fresh and in ample suppliesis essential to nearly every process of your pet birds body.
Water is probably the most important overlooked nutrient of any animal, says Dr. Julie Burge, DVM, a private practice veterinarian in Missouri. A bird can live a lot longer without food than it can without water.
Approximately 75 percent of a birds body is made up of water. Each day, an adult bird needs to drink enough water to make up 5 percent of its body weight to replace the water lost from waste removal, respiration and evaporation.
Water performs a number of important functions. The normal physiological processes that go on need water to occur, explains North Carolina veterinarian Dr. Gregory Burkett, DVM. The insides of cells are water, so if a bird doesnt drink enough water, then the water thats inside of those cells leaches out because the body needs to use it, and then the cells dry up like raisins and die.
Water is also needed to flush out the parrots body, remove excess minerals and other wastes, to transport nutrients throughout the body and to help regulate body temperature. Without enough water, the blood volume will drop and the kidneys, liver and heart will not function as efficiently as they should.
The amount of bacteria ingested determines whether or not the bird gets sick, according to Dr. California-based avian veterinarian Brian Speer, DVM, co-wrote Birds for Dummies (IDG Books, 1999). “Every day, we and our birds eat bacteria that could cause disease,” he claims. However, the fact that we’re only consuming five or ten organisms at a time means that it doesn’t make us ill. However, drinking tainted water could expose us to five billion organisms, which would likely be too much for our immune systems to handle. .
If you leave a bird in its water for longer than a few days, bacteria can still grow there even if it is using a water bottle and not “making soup” in it. Water does stagnate. “Bacteria are present everywhere, so the water will contain them,” Burkett says. However, in freshwater, its numbers are sufficiently low for the bird’s immune system to handle it. But, if the water in the bottle is left out for longer than two or three days, it may also begin to double and turn bad. .
Water performs a number of important functions. “Water is necessary for the normal physiological processes that occur,” says North Carolina veterinarian Dr. Gregory Burkett, DVM. Since water is what makes up cells, if a bird doesn’t consume enough of it, the water inside the cells leaks out because the body needs to use it, causing the cells to dry up and eventually die like raisins. .
The time it takes for a bacterium to double in number is used to measure bacterial growth. According to Dr. According to Burkett, many bacteria double their life in two to three hours. Put practically, this means that if you fill the cage with a fresh water dish at 8 a.m. m. and at 9 a. m. When the bird drinks, any food particles or bacteria on its beak end up in the water. “By midday, the quantity of bacteria present has doubled, and this continues to double until 5 p.m. m. There are sufficient bacteria there to sicken any bird, according to Dr. Burkett says.
Most urban water systems pass their water through a treatment plant where pollutants, excess minerals, etc. , are filtered out. You and your birds can probably drink that water without any problems. However, if you live in a remote area and use well water, there may be issues with that occasionally.
Harrisons adult coarse food and our tap water are given to the Amazons, while the African Gray is given Pretty Bird African Special and bottled water (the 24-case cheap store brand). Other than the fact that she is the youngest of the three by about 20 years, I am unaware of any particular reason why the African Gray receives bottled water. My dad simply gave her bottled water from the beginning since he drank bottled water back then.