Hey people, my two budgies seem to not want to take a bath.. i tried putting leaves in their bath but nothing they just ignore it.. any alternatives???? I'm worried for their hygiene.
when was the last time they bathed? Different birds don't like to bathe in certain ways, some may love a bath in a bowl and others may hate it and prefer a tap under sink.
If they're desperate for a bath try one of the 2 (if they're not hand tame) put the hoover on, it seems to send birds into bathing frenzy though not all. Or try misting them, get a misting bottle fill it with some slightly warm water and spray it above them so it gently falls on them like a very light rain
I also second misting them. My female cockatiel does not like getting wet, not like my male who loves it, and so I just have to mist her or else her feather quality diminishes.
Bumble likes to perch on my hand while I hold her next to the running faucet. Once she gets into it I can mist her at the same time. She has no interest in bathing in bowls, her water dish, lettuce, or while the vacuum is on (I think that’s because the first time I ran it after I got her the dogs were over, and one of them barks his fool head off at it so she thinks she should yell at it as well 🤣🤣). Anyway just try lots of different ways until you find one they like.
The Rb doesn't want to bathe more than once a month or so... and then, only in a big shallow wok. Hates sprays. In Patagonia, I susoect they dust-bathe as much as they water-bathe, though I can't be sure.
Even so, my woniderful avian vet said I should mist him about once a week, so I do. Yeah, Bird hates it but hey, I hate eating my vegetables.
Beeber's says he is allergic to water,runs from everything. But at times he'll jump into the kitchen sink and bang his beak on the bottom ( he does weird stuff like that) I turned the water on to a luke warm trickle and all of a sudden he face-planted himself,started waving his arm frantically ( I honestly thought he was having a seizure!) and chirpin' his fool head off.
Other times I had to be a mean Dad and hold him under the faucet,he wasn't too happy about THAT
Years ago I had a Budgie who just loved to sit on the sink board under the faucet of a lite trickle and go to town.
Think you'll just have to experiment.
My Amazon loves to shower with me!
Berry (♀ Cockatiel) hatched June 2017
Opal (♂ Budgie) hatched 13 August 2017
Pearl (♀ Budgie) hatched 15 August 2017
+ an aviary of 16 other budgies! all hatched 2014-2017
Definitely give them a shower with a misting bottle as others have suggested! In my own flock, Pearl loves bathing, but Berry and Opal prefer showering under a misting bottle. It is just a preference thing I guess... just like how some humans prefer soaking in a bath, and some prefer a hot shower!