New blue and gold macaw hasn’t bathed in a while

[rio_]

Just yesterday I brought home a blue and gold macaw, Rio. He’s a 4yo sweetheart and he’s really confident and loud. He steps up and gets onto my shoulder but if he’s up too long he starts biting. I was told by the previous owners that he hasn’t had a bath and they’ve been spraying some bath spray on him. He’s really dirty and irritated that he’s constantly preening. I can’t get him to stay on me long enough to get him washed. He’s really chilled out with the music but I’m concerned he’s gonna panic if I try to get him to some water.

Also, his wings have been clipped and he doesn’t like going too far down. He keeps flapping them like he wants to take off. I’m hoping he regrows them soon.

He also doesn’t like spray bottle either

 

[Cottonoid]

Welcome home to your new baby! He's beautiful!

I also have a bird who wants nothing to do with bathing so I can't tell you what's worked for me but i've gotten a lot of good ideas to try.

One thing that seems to work well for a lot of people here is to play the sound or video of a thunderstorm and heavy rain.

When you've sprayed, are you spraying up into the air and letting the most fall on him? Sometimes that's less scary to them.

I also just keep trying different sizes and shapes of dishes - a pie plate, a shallow bowl, the stainless steel cage bowl, even a dog water fountain I had and a full size (very cheap) outdoor bird bath.

If he's ok being carried from one place to another with you, what about running the kitchen sink while he's with you?

I wonder if he gets scared of falling when he's on your shoulder too long, if his clip is new to him. Maybe he doesn't know how to climb down. My parrot can't fly and will climb up anything but is way more hesitant to go downward since he can't use his beak or wings to help him balance.

If he learns to step up onto your forearm or the side of your hand, and gets used to you slowly moving him while there, you could offer him your other arm/hand to climb to from your shoulder. Or same with a perch instead.

I bet as he gains confidence and gets to know you it will all come together - he sounds adorable already!

 

[WakaWaka]

Just yesterday I brought home a blue and gold macaw, Rio. He’s a 4yo sweetheart and he’s really confident and loud. He steps up and gets onto my shoulder but if he’s up too long he starts biting. I was told by the previous owners that he hasn’t had a bath and they’ve been spraying some bath spray on him. He’s really dirty and irritated that he’s constantly preening. I can’t get him to stay on me long enough to get him washed. He’s really chilled out with the music but I’m concerned he’s gonna panic if I try to get him to some water.

Also, his wings have been clipped and he doesn’t like going too far down. He keeps flapping them like he wants to take off. I’m hoping he regrows them soon.

He also doesn’t like spray bottle either

First, congratulations on your new baby !!!
I'd like to suggest taking Rio in the shower with you if both of you are up for it.
Keep the water slightly warm, not too much pressure and take your time.
It may take a few times just getting in the shower without getting him wet but try to slowly introduce him to a light spray. Hopefully he will realize how nice it is and get more excited about getting wetter (and cleaner).
We used to give Arika baths in a plastic tub when she was really young but she grew out of that pretty fast. We put pieces of kale in there so she would start playing with it and eventually get herself wet. Also drizzled some water over her with a paper towel.

Now she gets in the shower with Kelly. Sometimes it takes a little before she starts flapping her wings and has some fun. This is followed up by a blow dry

The key is to take it slow. It may take weeks or months but be patient.

As for other behavior issues, check out Birdman's posts. He knows his stuff when it comes to Macaws and offers very good advice.
https://www.parrotforums.com/threads/big-beak-o-phobes-guide-to-understanding-macaw-beaks.56384/

 

[WakaWaka]

First, congratulations on your new baby !!!
I'd like to suggest taking Rio in the shower with you if both of you are up for it.
Keep the water slightly warm, not too much pressure and take your time.
It may take a few times just getting in the shower without getting him wet but try to slowly introduce him to a light spray. Hopefully he will realize how nice it is and get more excited about getting wetter (and cleaner).
We used to give Arika baths in a plastic tub when she was really young but she grew out of that pretty fast. We put pieces of kale in there so she would start playing with it and eventually get herself wet. Also drizzled some water over her with a paper towel.

Now she gets in the shower with Kelly. Sometimes it takes a little before she starts flapping her wings and has some fun. This is followed up by a blow dry

The key is to take it slow. It may take weeks or months but be patient.

As for other behavior issues, check out Birdman's posts. He knows his stuff when it comes to Macaws and offers very good advice.
https://www.parrotforums.com/threads/big-beak-o-phobes-guide-to-understanding-macaw-beaks.56384/

Just bumping this to see if you've had any luck getting Rio to bathe.

 

[rio_]

Welcome home to your new baby! He's beautiful!

I also have a bird who wants nothing to do with bathing so I can't tell you what's worked for me but i've gotten a lot of good ideas to try.

One thing that seems to work well for a lot of people here is to play the sound or video of a thunderstorm and heavy rain.

When you've sprayed, are you spraying up into the air and letting the most fall on him? Sometimes that's less scary to them.

I also just keep trying different sizes and shapes of dishes - a pie plate, a shallow bowl, the stainless steel cage bowl, even a dog water fountain I had and a full size (very cheap) outdoor bird bath.

If he's ok being carried from one place to another with you, what about running the kitchen sink while he's with you?

I wonder if he gets scared of falling when he's on your shoulder too long, if his clip is new to him. Maybe he doesn't know how to climb down. My parrot can't fly and will climb up anything but is way more hesitant to go downward since he can't use his beak or wings to help him balance.

If he learns to step up onto your forearm or the side of your hand, and gets used to you slowly moving him while there, you could offer him your other arm/hand to climb to from your shoulder. Or same with a perch instead.

I bet as he gains confidence and gets to know you it will all come together - he sounds adorable already!

Thanks so much for your suggestions. I’ve been playing the rain sound effects and spraying him from above and he’s alright with the spray for a minute then he has enough lol. His feathers are looking better already and he’s not as bad with his over preening anymore. He looks unsteady when he steps up on my arm but I’m hoping with time his confidence will grow, along with the rest of his primary feathers. His old owners clipped him unevenly so it’s no wonder why he’s struggling to say steady. He’s regrowing most of his tail feathers now because he was preening them so much he lost chunks out of them

Welcome home to your new baby! He's beautiful!

I also have a bird who wants nothing to do with bathing so I can't tell you what's worked for me but i've gotten a lot of good ideas to try.

One thing that seems to work well for a lot of people here is to play the sound or video of a thunderstorm and heavy rain.

When you've sprayed, are you spraying up into the air and letting the most fall on him? Sometimes that's less scary to them.

I also just keep trying different sizes and shapes of dishes - a pie plate, a shallow bowl, the stainless steel cage bowl, even a dog water fountain I had and a full size (very cheap) outdoor bird bath.

If he's ok being carried from one place to another with you, what about running the kitchen sink while he's with you?

I wonder if he gets scared of falling when he's on your shoulder too long, if his clip is new to him. Maybe he doesn't know how to climb down. My parrot can't fly and will climb up anything but is way more hesitant to go downward since he can't use his beak or wings to help him balance.

If he learns to step up onto your forearm or the side of your hand, and gets used to you slowly moving him while there, you could offer him your other arm/hand to climb to from your shoulder. Or same with a perch instead.

I bet as he gains confidence and gets to know you it will all come together - he sounds adorable already!

Thank you so much for your suggestions, I’ve been using the rain sounds and spraying him from above. He accepts it for a while but he eventually has enough but it’s cut down his over preening. His old owners clipped him unevenly so he’s not very steady even when stepping up on my arm and I think it’s why he rushes my shoulder whenever he does step up fully instead of stepping off. He’s had a few scares of losing balance already but luckily he’s caught himself (he won’t let me touch him and even blames me like I’ve touched him when his tail hits my face lol). He’s broke his tail feathers off recently so he’s got to regrow them. He must have been irritated by them or just generally over preening because they are missing chunks out of them and have been since I got him but I’m hoping with misting him he’ll get better.

 

[rio_]

First, congratulations on your new baby !!!
I'd like to suggest taking Rio in the shower with you if both of you are up for it.
Keep the water slightly warm, not too much pressure and take your time.
It may take a few times just getting in the shower without getting him wet but try to slowly introduce him to a light spray. Hopefully he will realize how nice it is and get more excited about getting wetter (and cleaner).
We used to give Arika baths in a plastic tub when she was really young but she grew out of that pretty fast. We put pieces of kale in there so she would start playing with it and eventually get herself wet. Also drizzled some water over her with a paper towel.

Now she gets in the shower with Kelly. Sometimes it takes a little before she starts flapping her wings and has some fun. This is followed up by a blow dry

The key is to take it slow. It may take weeks or months but be patient.

As for other behavior issues, check out Birdman's posts. He knows his stuff when it comes to Macaws and offers very good advice.
https://www.parrotforums.com/threads/big-beak-o-phobes-guide-to-understanding-macaw-beaks.56384/

Not had any luck getting him out of one room yet. He’s been on the floor before but didn’t want to leave the room and hasn’t been back on the floor since (think he was looking for the box where I hide his treats lol). His old owners clipped him unevenly so he struggles to balance when stepping up and then panics and rushes my shoulder and then I get the blame. I’m taking things a lot slower with him to get him used to exploring and so far he’s gone right up to the door but never past it so I don’t think I’m getting him near a shower or sink for while. I’ve been misting him and his feathers look brighter now than when I first brought him home but he’ll only tolerate it for a little bit. When his confidence grows more, I’ll be sure to try having him in the bathroom while the showers on and slowly work him up to it. I’m just glad to not using that bath spray because it makes his feathers that he’s molted feel icky so can’t imagine how irritated he must be.

 

[HeatherG]

My Quaker is afraid of many things, including the cute heart bath bowl I bought him. But he is willing to hang out on the shower curtain rod while I shower until I’m ready for him. Then I let him get misted by indirect spray from the shower bouncing off my body or hand.

I had a blind conure who was rescued from a terrible situation. When I first got him I DID bathe him in the sink with baby shampoo to get the tar off his feathers (which he was ripping out). But after that I took him in the shower in the same way I do with my Quaker and he enjoyed it. He liked to be cuddled in a towel afterwards, too.

If your bird is tame enough to step up, I think this method works well. At the very least, you could give him a really full water dish and he will bathe himself partway.

My Quaker Lucy could be enticed to take a splashy bath in a dish if I put the faucet on so it dribbled loudly, OR if I’d put my hand in a shallow bowl and let my hand take a splashy bath first.

With a macaw, I would try a cake pan filled with water, or maybe a big casserole dish. If your bird is very shy, you can put the dish in the cage bottom and LEAVE so the bird has privacy. Bathing is a vulnerable time so he may not feel comfortable doing that with you watching.

But get that yucky bath spray off! Poor bird. Once in a while spray might be alright, but not a coating of it!