It’s so frustrating to have questions and find no answers online, and what is more frustrating is to have confusing answers regarding the same question.
This was me a couple of months ago, I got myself a parakeet and wanted to know how often they need to drink water.
In the effort to learn and know-how take care of my parakeet I spend hours online. It was frustrating, but because I love my Budgie I had to do it. So I decided to do my research and write a helpful blog on How Often Do Parakeets Drink Water, to help give a direct and well-researched answer to this question.
So, how often do Parakeets Drink Water? Parakeets drink water at least once a day, you might not notice it but they do. Some budgies are shy and might not drink water when your there, but don’t be fooled they do need water.
Sometimes they can go for days without drinking water but that should not stop you from putting them fresh water every day.
We suggest you refill the water once a day. Make sure the water bowl is clean because a dirty bowl will demotivate your budgie from drinking.
They might drink a small amount of water during the day but they supplement that with water from vegetables and fruits.
We recommend water bottles as they prevent the Parakeet from messing with the water. Not sure where to start, we have a helpful guide you can check it out on this post.
I never see my parakeet drink water
If you have a new budgie and he is not taking food of water for the first few days, don’t be worried. Parakeets take time to adjust to new environments.
However, they can easily starve to death within days, that’s why you need to keep checking upon them. Learn more on our post on how long can parakeets stay without food and water to understand what I mean.
If you haven’t been seeing them drink water, make sure you invest in a good water dispense because parakeet generally refuses to drink dirty water. We recommend a No mess water feeder, they tend to work magic on Parakeets.
If the water has feathers or any dirt they will not drink it. To prevent them from dehydrating ensure you have easily accessible water feeders that keeps the water clean.
You can pick a water dispense on Amazon and if you have no idea where to start check out this review we did “What do parakeets drink water out of”.
Can Parakeets Drink Cold Water
Can parakeet’s drink cold water? Yes, Parakeets can drink cold water, especially in summer when the temperature is high. Being intelligent birds budgies will not take the cold water if it’s in a cold season.
If you’re using a bowl as a water feeder you might see them playing and making a mess trying to bath in it especially in hot seasons.
Some Parakeet owners have shared with us that, their budgies prefer warm water rather than cold, while others say that cold water is what these birds are used to in the wild. So the answer to this question depends entirely on your specific bird.
Other drinks Parakeet Can Take
Water is the best way to hydrate your bird, vegetables, and fruits naturally get to supplement the required water intake.
However, as bird owners, we sometimes want to treat our birds with some nice liquids. We have seen this in movies or read it in books, but today I want to highlight a few drinks other than water that Parakeets can take.
List of drinks parakeets can take besides water
Warning:
These drinks are not supposed to substitute the water intake of your birds. Don’tmake this a part of their daily diet. Water is by far the best drink your Parakeet should be taking.
- Fruit Juice – Apples and Orange juice are the best [with zero added sugar]
- Electrolyte drinks for birds-you can find them on a pet store or on Amazon.
- Fresh Vegetable Juice
We don’t have a huge list here because we believe Parakeets should only be given water. Water is healthy and safe for Parakeets. You can give your budgie some of these drinks but only a sipe and not every day.
Bowl or Water Bottle
Do parakeets drink out of a bowl is a popular question among bird owners. I personally think water bottles especially the water dispensers are better than bowl because they are less messy and you can actually tell if the bird is taking or not by checking the water level.
Bowls have their advantage, birds tend to enjoy the water in the bowl because they can play inside and pretend to be bathing. The only disadvantage is that they will not drink that water if it becomes dirty.
You will be forced to change the water more frequently when using a bowl than when using a water bottle.
Bowls
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy to Clean | Messy |
| Easy to drink for any bird | Change more frequently |
| Fun for birds that love playing on water | |
Bottles-Water Dispenser
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Not Messy | Not easy for some birds |
| Easy to refile | |
| You can record the amount of water your bird is taking | |
| Can stay a whole day without changing |
How to get your bird to drink water
- Make sure the water is clean
- Ensure they know which bottle or bowl has water. Introduce them to the water dispenser or whichever what feeder you’re using.
- Put the water feeder next to the food feeder. We recommend you get a double feeder that has one side water and the other side food.
- Pellets make birds thirsty try and feed your parakeet pellets might help.
- Some birds enjoy warm water try warming the water and see if they will take.
- Some birds need space. refill their water and then get out. This has worked for new birds in a new environment.
Final Thoughts
As we finalize on this article, we would like to say that, birds are different and every owner should take time to understand their budgie.
When you pay attention to your Parakeet you will understand more about their needs and know how to take care of them better. Don’t just read stuff online and copy-paste, get to observe and learn what your bird requires.
Parakeets require constant water in their cage, either you choose to use a water dispense or a water bowl is up to you. We suggest you find what works best for you and implement it as you go. Don’t worry if you don’t know a lot of stuff, just take it one day at a time and you will be fine.
Otherwise have a great time taking care of your bird. We celebrate you. Join our email list to be notified once we post new content.
