Dumping over food dish

[Rebecca]

I don't mean knocking it over and spilling the contents. No, I mean somehow, without spilling any pellets, turing the entire rectangular dish upside-down, trapping the food. For the past few mornings I've woken up to find they've dragged the food dish to one corner of the cage and turned it upside-down. I'm just worried that, since the food is trapped inside, they aren't able to eat the food inside. There are certainly more pellets left when they leave the bowl right-side up than when they trap the food.

Thoughts? Suggestions? I remember seeing a food dish that fit into a corner ledge that I've been considering if I can't rectify the situation, but I have no idea where they are.

 

[Laurie]

Hey Rebecca--Mick St. John and Wesley do this on a regular basis. I swear those boys drive me nuts. The good news for me is I work 3rd shift so I'm awake and at home when they do it, so I just go and take the food dish off of the food pile. I don't think I can rectify this so I'm thinking of getting a larger heavier dish for them.
What happens is every night the popcorn and run all over their cage as if it's a Nascar track or something and they flip the thing over.
I do know chins know how to move things around and pick them up. Bobo drags her food dish all over the place and also moves by flipping up and down, up and down her green wood block. I'm hoping because of this your chin would know how to flip the dish to get to the food.

 

[oxchincerelyxo]

There are things you can get to hold the cup down. Heiney came with one (in her cage from her previous owner) because she would flip it all day everyday...or there are some people who have their ledges with a built in holder...hopefully they/someone will come along with some sites for you to use-I don't have those

 

[Chinniechantel]

A few of my chins do this too. I don't think they can flip it back over either, so I hate thinking they don't have a constant supply of food.

I am shocked at how they get it over completely covering all of the pellets. It must be a sport for them! Coop cups or those heavy parrot dishes with a cover are best for those rascalls.

 

[peachydays]

I would also recommend a coop cup. The only draw back to the coop cup is that they can sometimes get the coop cup out of it's holder, and spill the contents (see picture below....that's Ralph's handiwork). If you bend the holder just enough so that you can still get it in there, but it makes it hard for a chinnie to get out, it solves the problem.

 

[ALS_WIS]

LAN- I have the brother to your wes, and he does the SAME thing, I dont know why they do it, but he pees in it after he does it. Weird thing is, if I put a little just covering the bottom, then he wont.. maybe try that,

 

[knitdragon]

I had to stop using a coop cup because Henry would push it out of the holder every night. I hung the cup so the bottom touched the shelf and he still managed to get under it and overturn the cup. It was both amusing and annoying. Right now I'm using a heavy 2" square ceramic berry basket.

 

[MNChinLover]

I would suggest getting the Midwest snap'y fit dish, it snaps into a metal holder, so that they can't remove the dish from the holder, which attaches to the side of the cage.

 

[LilBubs]

Bubs likes to sit on his food dish, so every morning there is a nice mixture of pellets and poop in there (sigh). Sometimes, if he startles, or if he's just particularly bouncy one night, I think he flips the dish over while jumping on or off it. I'll come out in the morning and find the dish flipped completely over, sitting on a nice pile of inaccessible pellets. So maybe that's what your kiddos are doing.

If you're worried that they're not getting enough food, in addition to all the other suggestions, maybe you could put a second dish in there or something? I bet if Bubs flipped one dish and couldn't get to his food, he'd be a little more careful with the second one, lol.

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

My chins love flipping the metal cups out of the holder all the time. The best thing I have found for both the turning dish over and the pooping/peeing in the dish is a ceramic one with a hood that attaches to the side of the cage. It can be found in the parrot section in a pet store. It comes in too sized - one is good for the food/the other for hay