Bathtime

Hi,
I was wondering how often should u shower an eclectus?
Thanks:60:

ParrotLover7 said:

Hi,
I was wondering how often should u shower an eclectus?
Thanks:60:

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We shower our girl every second day if we can [emoji1]

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Thanks.

Same here. Every other day is a good frequency. If your bird particularly enjoys, and you have the time, every day works as well.

Ok. Are any of your eclectus parrots cuddly?

ParrotLover7 said:

Ok. Are any of your eclectus parrots cuddly?

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Our ekky girl is moody! Sometimes she likes a cuddle and scratch on the back of her head and sometimes she's like a crocodile and snaps at fingers and whatever else she can sink her beak into. But she never snaps at our 10 year old son he can do what he likes and she takes it. She loves him. We think she has bonded more to him than us.[emoji1]

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I let Maxx figure out when he baths all of my readings about this say at least once a week they need a total soaking. I seem to catch him in the water dish every 3 or 4 days. he flys away from the shower along with the countertop when I turn on the water, but he just loves standing on a ladder I have going across his cage and letting me spray him down with a water bottle from all sides wings spread he turns around to get his backside done to. and he really loves when I wonder back with the blow dryer a little later. to each their own but I do find this the easiest way so the 3 bigger birds all get this treatment. I put a small pan of water in with the little guys a couple times a week.

as for the cuddly part Maxx will tolerate a head scratch and a neck rub sometimes and back stroke and even let me pull wings out a little
but I can tell by body language and sounds he is not really happy with it. he loves hanging out with me but he just strikes me as a lot like myself as just not playing up to all that touchy feely kind of stuff.

Thanks for all of those wonderful replies.

Wrangler isnt a water fan. Bathing was a real challenge when I first got him and I quickly figured that chasing him around his cage with a mister wasnt winning me any bonding points. That "gentle rainfall" concept was lost on him. I finally resorted to forced soakings in the kitchen sink, using a sprayer. Once he was wet he calmed down a good bit and stopped fighting it. He also loves the blow dryer so I use that to my advantage. Now he gets bathed a few times a week, I take him in the shower with me if I have time. He still isnt getting wet with ease, but he no longer tries to fly off or avoid it. We start with him perched on the faucet while I turn the shower on, then when it's warm we go in, and I hand him up onto the shower head pipe to perch. He can catch some steam and moisture while I bathe and then I bring him down to my arm and he sits in the crook of my elbow while I slowly turn him into the spray. This seems to work well since he accepts getting wet and then relaxes into it. Once he's done we go to his favorite--the blow dryer, so it's a reward of sorts. Getting him into the kitchen sink for a quickie is more of a challenge, but he's learned that water isnt going to hurt him and it's more protest than fear. He could do a lot of damage to me when he kicks up a fuss, but that's all it is--hollow protests, I dont get bitten. Take your cues from your bird.

I can give you Gizmo's answer (my male Eclectus), he will do loops, flying to the bathroom and then back to me if he hasn't had a shower and he wants one.

For Gizmo it is a minimum of 3 times a week, and then during moulting its once a day. When he is moulting he will go right under the water, wings drooped until he is soaked through, when he isn't moulting he does like to get fully soaked, but his priority is to run around having fun.

For those struggling with getting their birds to accept the shower, my suggestion would be introduce them gradually to the shower head (no water), my two are fascinated by the reflection. Once they get interested and start deciding "hey I wonder if I can chew this, start introducing them to it with the shower dripping. Once they start playing with the drop, or drinking it, you can increase the volume of water slowly. Obviously as the parront you will know best how quickly to proceed through the steps.

Depending on your birds feathers I don't think a sprayer is going to get them wet enough to the point that Gizmo seems to want during moulting, Pebbles can be drenched through in about 30 second under the shower, but Gizmo beads water for some time before it gets through (that would be a lot of water through a sprayer).

So the advice I would give, is try to shoot for daily if he is moulting, and during this period try to get him as wet as possible, if Gizmo is prioritising getting soaked through over running around like a fool, it must be important.

Lastly (and thus should go without saying), I am careful not to leave my birds wet on a cold day. They love the hairdryer, and I stopped using it when some suggested it might dry the skin out, but during winter I still use it, as I worry more about them getting a chill. I haven't noticed any skin issues with using the dryer during winter, but the area I live in tends to be humid, so perhaps that helps.

the spray bottle with Maxx and Lilly is a full force thing both of them just want blasted
I spray them down hard with a mist from 6/8 inches and both seem to love it. I use between 8/10 ounces on each both get sprayed groom,and sprayed a couple more times. now the U2 will only do a light mist from above this takes some time to finish with him at least an hour. and I to only will use the blow dryer in the winter, summer there on their own. and I try not to use it on the U2 at all nature creates enough dander for them they need no help.

Alright thanks