Cage and Aviary Birds

Quill Productions launched the Quill Drinker for poultry and game, due to the demand to produce a watering system that continually provides clean water at all times while reducing the need to clean out drinkers on a daily basis.

The Quill Drinker is  massively popular  due to the numerous benefits and uses outlined in this website. Quill Productions soon had people who had aviaries asking why we couldn’t make a smaller version for cage and aviary birds. The result was the Mini Quill Drinker, exactly the same as the Quill Drinker but fitted with five nipples as opposed to ten. The Mini Quill drinker prevents any contamination of the water by droppings and bedding and due to the drinkers unique shape it prevents birds perching on the drinker and therefore fouling its sides.

Each drinker comes fitted with an adjustable perch and five 360 degree nipples which mean the birds can drink from any angle.

The drinker can be filled in two ways, either automatically or manually. Filling the drinker manually is a job that needs doing very occasionally. Because the drinker holds over 1 litre of water and the fact that it is a sealed unit which prevents evaporation loss, bird keepers are able to go away for a few days, even during the summer without worrying about a clean water supply to their birds.

If filling the drinkers on an occasional basis is too much, then the drinkers can run automatically from a sealed header tank via a proven 'Rainbow' valve. For people with more than one flight, these drinkers running automatically will save huge amounts of time, labour and ultimately money.

Some questions that people often ask in relation to the Mini Quill for aviary birds are:

1. Will the water in the drinker go stale? No - because it is a completely sealed unit the water will be unable to become contaminated leaving pure fresh water at all times.

2. Will the birds take to the nipples? Yes - when birds have been introduced to the drinkers they take to the nipples within a few minutes. Of the 5 nipples fitted to the drinkers, 2 have a slightly higher flow rate which forms a bead of water on the end of the nipple. Once the birds take to these they realise that a nipple produces water and will drink confidently from all the nipples fitted to the drinker. In trials this has been proven on budgies, canaries, zebra finches and Bengalese finches.

3. Because the birds in my flight are different sizes can one drinker be used for different birds? Yes - this can be carried out in two ways. Firstly the perch can be set at one height and because the nipples operate at all angles different sized birds can drink at once. Secondly the perch can be fitted at an angle so smaller birds use the perch at its higher end and larger birds at the lower end.

4. Can the drinkers be easily cleaned out? Yes, cleaning the drinkers is very easy – by removing the bung and squirting some water into the drinker will remove any dirt in an instant. However, because the drinker is a sealed unit there should be no need to clean the drinker out on a regular basis.

5. Will the drinkers be affected by algae in the water, especially during the summer months? No – The Mini Quill drinker is available in two colours natural and dark green. The natural drinker is for indoor use only, as if used outside the mix of sunlight and water could result in algal growth. This is where the green drinker comes into its own as it will prevent any growth of algae within the drinker.

6. Can they be used for larger birds that spend most of their time on the floor? Yes, the drinker does not have to be fitted with a perch and can be hung directly from the shed or aviary roof. This enables ground dwelling birds such as quails to drink freely. Ground dwelling birds are prone to walking in their drinker and contaminating it with food and droppings. This results in un-healthy water and a lot of time spent by the bird keeper in cleaning it out – by using the Mini Quill it will be a thing of the past.