Water phobia!

My Red Bellied has a profound dislike for anything wet.

Can't spray him, hates it, tried a tray, nope, tried a tray with wetted vegetation in it, nope, he even puffs up, sneezes and shakes his head when I run the kitchen tap.

I read that he should be sprayed or bathed a few times a week otherwise his skin will dry out and become itchy leading to feather plucking.

Is it necessary to spray him or not? He obviously doesn't like water, and I don't want him to resent me doing it.

Or will he just have to squark and bear it for his general health? :red:

Our original GCC, Tango, would take baths. But if you went to pick her up with wet hands, you got nailed!

You need to keep in mind what your parrots natural environment is like. Africa is for the most part dry so nature and instincts are a huge part of what they do and do not like. My African grey hates a shower but will bathe in his water bowl when and only when he wants to. Birds from the rainforest areas are more apt to love the shower.

I think there might be some truth to what ChrisWink mentioned above. While my Pionus doesn't love showers, he'll accept one more readily once it gets going, and spread his wings. His ancestors aren't from the rainforest, but South American mountain forests, which I assume gets rains too. He also tries to bathe in his water much more often than the Pois. Raven prefers a mister bottle rather than more harsh water drops from a shower head or regular sprayer. He doesn't like that.

Robin my Red Bellied absolutely hates baths. He's hated them for 21 years now. These days, he gets them all the time (or at least once a week) whether he likes it or not. Easiest and least stressful way for him I've found is to cover his dometop cage with a bath size towel with him sitting on top of it, and use a spray bottle. I know how to position my hands and lift each wing without getting bit and sneak a spray under there too.

I have another Poi Griffin, who's ancestors are also from an arid region, but this individual happens to love baths. He gets a bath in his cage, and he'll just sit there relaxed when the water spray comes.

Although my Griffin is an exception, I think that many Poicephalus such as your and my Red Bellied, prefer the "watering hole" method instead of a shower, since that is how they usually bathe in the wild. It's just that they do it when 'they' want to, so when you set out the bowl, it's not the right time in his mind. Try spraying him where he's comfortable (his cage, favorite play stand, etc). Just remember if you have a powder coated cage, and it gets wet regularly, you need to wipe it down or else it will start chipping and rusting quicker than if you keep it dry. He might never "like" it, but it's good to keep feathers in condition. If you don't ever bathe him, he's not necessarily going to get itchy dry skin and pluck, no, but it IS good for his health nonetheless.

I have birds on all range of the spectrum, from my cockatiel that will fly into the shower with me, two new amazons that love the spray bottle and hate the shower, to my Sydney who will "tollerate" spraying or the shower but dunk his head only in the bowl, to my Grey that hates water completely, though once he has bathed in his waterbowl.