Baths

what works for others,and no im not taking my showers with the birds.lol
anyway i have no set time i let him indicate by catching him washing up in the water dish splashing around seems to be once a week,and a book i read did say they needed soaked down feathers and skin at least once a week. sink and countertop did not work. he seems to love hanging on the front of the cage spreading his wings and having me blast him with the spray bottle,and then he will get on a ladder i have going across his cage for him to walk on and turn around and spread out and then back to the front again flapping while being sprayed, is a messy way to bath him but he looks to be having so much fun while being sprayed. also herd about putting a pan of water in the cage and letting them go at it does this method work?

thanks

There are a million ways to get them to bathe, and no one way works for every bird. Yes, if you put a "bathtub" in the bottom of his cage he may very well use it. Since he's bathing in his water dish it's likely that he will use the bathtub in his cage. Only leave the "bathtub" in there until he uses it and is out of it, then remove it.

You can try an empty kitchen sink or bathroom sink, put him in it, then turn the faucet on warm like a little shower and see if he likes that. Try splashing him or sprinkling the water from the faucet on his head. You can try putting him in the real bathtub with no water in it and the shower on, or you can try putting a couple of inches of water in the bathtub and then try with and without the shower on in that situation. I've never used a spray bottle but I know a lot of people that do because that's the only thing their birds will allow...it sounds like he really enjoys the spray bottle and is actually turning around and exposing his different body parts to be sprayed, so that's pretty good, I'd keep doing that in addition to trying all the other ways since he likes it so much.

I have a Senegal, a Quaker, a cockatiel, and a green cheek conure, and forgetting the Senegal (he's only been here a month and we haven't tried a bath yet) the other 3 all absolutely love baths! All 3 will bath everyday in their water dishes (cold water, I don't get it) on their own, but we have a planned bath on my day off and on Sunday, where all 3 sit on the shower rod waiting for me to finish my shower, then I turn the hot down a bit, and one by one I take each one on my finger and put them near the shower water, and they each dunk their heads, legs and feet, tail, etc., then I put them down in the tub and they play under the shower while I do the next bird, then the last. They just love shower time, and it really helps get loose feathers out, it helps pin feathers break down which makes them less itchy while molting, and it just seems to really make their feathers look good. Afterwards I dry them and then I put coconut oil on each of their feet so they don't get dry skin.

There is nothing at all wrong with taking your bird into the shower with you! You really should at least give it a try once because it's really good for them and their feathers, they enjoy it and have fun playing under the shower, and most of all they love being in there with you, playing under the water and having a really nice bonding time...

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My usual three cents!


My Patagonian ONLY wants shallow water in a gigantic wok I got for him. He detests sprays or overhead faucet flows.
Maybe he had bad experience(s) with water or baths. I experimented with a shallow bowl or two, finally settled on a giant wok! My bird seemed nervous about the sink, but accepted the wok.
Also, experiment with some gentle trickles from your cupped hand when he is near the shallow water in a wok or similar, and see if he likes that, maybe.
If all else fails, you might just have to give him an unwanted spray now and then for feather/skin conditioning... I'd warn him "Here comes the spray" then do it fast, then give a treat.
My Rb also loves to be blow-dried since an early age. I hold the dryer out at arm's length... he sidles up as close as he likes... about elbow-ish. Patagonians are from a very arid desert-ish land, so this might be too drying for some parrots, but he LOVES it.

GaleriaGila said:

My usual three cents!


My Patagonian ONLY wants shallow water in a gigantic wok I got for him. He detests sprays or overhead faucet flows.
Maybe he had bad experience(s) with water or baths. I experimented with a shallow bowl or two, finally settled on a giant wok! My bird seemed nervous about the sink, but accepted the wok.
Also, experiment with some gentle trickles from your cupped hand when he is near the shallow water in a wok or similar, and see if he likes that, maybe.
If all else fails, you might just have to give him an unwanted spray now and then for feather/skin conditioning... I'd warn him "Here comes the spray" then do it fast, then give a treat.
My Rb also loves to be blow-dried since an early age. I hold the dryer out at arm's length... he sidles up as close as he likes... about elbow-ish. Patagonians are from a very arid desert-ish land, so this might be too drying for some parrots, but he LOVES it.

Click to expand...

Oh my, I once tried to blow-dry my green cheek conure and his eyes popped out of his head and he let out his angriest little screech ever at me! Gone like the wind he was!



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Oh, MANNNNNNNNNN, that's a cute little bird.

next summer I plan on having them harness trained by then an building a perch in the yard and take them out there to spray down in the sunshine I figure they will like that.

GaleriaGila said:

Oh, MANNNNNNNNNN, that's a cute little bird.

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Thank you, he sure thinks so!😎

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Yet another perspective: my ekkie will only bathe in the shower. And I have to be in with him. I just push him into the stream tail first. From there he will either hunch down and love it or will walk away from it. I can't get him wet any other way. So I often have a shower companion. At least sitting on the shower rod if not in with me.

Bathing in the cage will ruin it! My JoJo is in the shower with me every day, but will not get into the spray. I have a monster dog dish for him that sits on the top of the cabinets. If I am slow to notice, every 4 days! He will fly up to it and wait for me to take it down and fill it.
You can find really nice SS bowls at feed and grain stores, any size, very good prices!

If he likes the spray bottle, I would guess he is going to love the shower.

I think with Eclectus Parrots, a regular shower or bath is as important for feather condition as diet, but my two don't seem to be able to get really wet in a bath. Thinking of their natural habitat, they would get a good shower regularly, especially in the wet season.

I have a shower shirt. It's not about modesty in front of my birds, Gizmo loves to run up my shoulder and dry himself off, if I am not wearing a shirt he keeps trying to jump on my head (which is not allowed). Also Pebbles tends to want to go up to my shoulder, but if she slips she doesn't try to fly, she tries to grab onto flesh (not a problem on my arm, but a big problem on my shoulder). I also don't get under the shower with them, as they like just the touch of warm, far too cold for my liking, so the pants don't get wet, so I just need a shower shirt, which dries between uses (my two get a shower every second day, and every day when they are moulting).

Here are some videos of Gizmo and Pebbles, he is the most passionate about having a shower, if I forget, he will keep flying into the bathroom and then back to me, as if to say, "come on, I want a shower".

Relaxing sharing the shower (a rare moment for Gizmo):

[ame="https://youtu.be/EUQ7kvPEiwY"]Gizmo and Pebbles shower - YouTube[/ame]

Gizmo's impression of what sharing is all about, a true shower hog:

[ame="https://youtu.be/Le8j8M5kAwU"]Gizmo the shower hog - YouTube[/ame]

I tried adding a Perch, so I could get away from getting soaked with each shower, but to be honest, they usually end up on my arm anyway

I introduced them to the perch over a few days before adding the shower into the equation:

[ame="https://youtu.be/XPXJxrmhwVg"]Pebbles and gizmo perch - YouTube[/ame]

Pebble (not a huge perch fan, but at this point she was moulting, so accepted it):

[ame="https://youtu.be/c_2boaydA0Q"]pebbles showering on perch - YouTube[/ame]

Gizmo:

[ame="https://youtu.be/-GDiUkDlQs4"]Gizmo shower - YouTube[/ame]

Gizmo improvises on drying off:

[ame="https://youtu.be/p0c54o9Sjyc"]Gizmo's Towel - YouTube[/ame]

Gizmo loves the hair dryer, but I don't use it much now (only on really cold days), as some suggested it might dry him out too much:

[ame="https://youtu.be/zIAm1teKQII"]Gizmo and the hair dryer - YouTube[/ame]

Anyway as you can probably see, a shower is a good option, I could never get my two wet enough with a sprayer, and even Pebbles who didn't really like water, either accepts it or during a heavy moult loves it. A good soaking is also helpful to see where your birds are at regarding moulting, an eclectus can really hide lost feathers and new feathers well. Often you won't see what is going on even with a short shower or a spray, until the water really gets through to the under feathers. I like to watch for new feathers and in moults I will add some more calcium and protein to the diet. As for Gizmo, well if he had his way, he would live under a shower

Great shower vids, Cameron! Gizmo is loving it!

My Eclectic Duo also get full on showers. And like Gizmo, Jolly is the one who loves it. With ekkies, frequent showers are very important. I aim for every other day, or at least twice a week if things get a little busy. I don't get into the showers with them, but instead use one of those concrete perches (it only stands around 8 inches or so off the ground) and use a handheld shower head to get them from all angles.

Only things I'd have to add to the excellent posts above are that you should experiment with different water temps to see what your ekkie prefers (Jolly prefers cooler water, whereas Maya likes hers a little on the warmer side), and different water pressures (Jolly prefers a higher water pressure, and Maya, in true Diva fashion, prefers a gentler spray). And also, some parronts have found that it helps to get their birds "in the mood" for a shower by turning on a vacuum cleaner, as this apparently mimics the sound of rain in a forest and such.

Great suggestions everyone, I will try and introduce some of those to Wrangler over time to see what his preferences are (besides not bathing--a true boy!) Wrangler used to hate water and spraying him only traumatized him more---not ideal to be chasing your bird around inside the cage trying to get him wet. Even when I have him outside while im cleaning the cage he still doesnt want to be wet. I tried grabbing him and putting him under the sink spray but it's a bit messy because he protests a lot.. Flaps, screams, tries to get away except Im holding on to a foot--not ideal. He could do a lot of damage to me, but surprisingly doesnt, he is just angry about it, and scared. He sees me coming with a towel and the race is on.

I finally started to take him into the shower with me. At first he hated it, same as in the kitchen...but he's confined so there is really no place to go. Once he realized that I started putting him up on the shower head/arm while I showered, then brought him down onto my arm and gradually got him wet. We've gone from hating it to actually kind of liking it. He doesnt relax completely like gizmo, but he doesnt fight it at all AND i can put a towel over him when we get out and he really likes that. It keeps the heat and moisture in a bit. We finish off with a light blow dry. He ADORES the blow dry, and now associates bath with blowdry so it's not the terrifying ordeal it was a few months ago. I keep it on low setting and a good distance away--Im a bit leary of high setting not only for the burn factor but because I dont know if teflon is used in my dryer so low heat is safer. I dont dry completely, just enough so he isnt soaking and wont get cold--and is starting to fluff up a bit. Right now we still dont have outer body feathers, just a down coat but they're on the way. A wet bird is the best way for me to see what/where they are coming in so I can monitor him for more plucking. I know this isnt your issue, but it might help other parronts with their fids