Spray bath

[Claire87]

I rescued an African grey 7 weeks ago, he has been plucking all week and decided today to have a bathe in his water dish, I have tried to spray him before but I got the feeling he was not amused by it. Today I spray him again and got him quite wet. My question is, how do you know if they are enjoying it or hating it? He had his wings open and feathers up but he does this noise when he is going to bite and was also doing that. I’ve tried looking on YouTube but wasn’t that helpful.
Thank you

 

[LaManuka]

I rescued an African grey 7 weeks ago, he has been plucking all week and decided today to have a bathe in his water dish, I have tried to spray him before but I got the feeling he was not amused by it. Today I spray him again and got him quite wet. My question is, how do you know if they are enjoying it or hating it? He had his wings open and feathers up but he does this noise when he is going to bite and was also doing that. I’ve tried looking on YouTube but wasn’t that helpful.
Thank you

I'm not an owner of Greys, but it sounds to me like yours was enjoying the spray, or at least not hating it, judging by the fact that his wings were open and feathers raised to be able to take more water in. If he wasn't I'm fairly sure he'd move away, or be hunched over and giving you something of a stink-eye. All of mine (with the exception of my lorikeet who is a bit "special"!) LOVE a mist bath and open their wings and fluff their feathers like your Grey! If yours is a rescue he may not have had a bath or a spray in a long time, so it may take a little bit of getting used to. Just ensure though that you aim the water above your bird so that it falls onto him like a gentle shower of rain, rather than it being directed in his face.

 

[Claire87]

Thank you for your reply , I will keep trying it and I will make sure I keep it above his head 😊

 

[texsize]

Thank you for your reply , I will keep trying it and I will make sure I keep it above his head 😊

I can’t speak on what noise your bird was making.

My Bella doesn’t like to take a mist bath unless she’s in the mood for a bath to begin with.

If I get out the mist bottle and not in the mood.
out of cage she will fly away.
inside cage she will go to her hiding place inside her cage and pretend she is invisible.

If in the mood she holds her wings out, flaps them around.
She doesn’t make noises when bathing.

She usually likes to take a “red butt shower” with me.
those are her words that she speaks and understands.
sometimes the humidity and spray of water will coax her into the mood.

 

[wrench13]

Some times the colored tip of spray bottles bother some parrots. Yes, true. See if you can get one with a differnt color and see if he likes it more. My zon loves a spray bath, more when he is in the mood for one - then I get the happy sound too. And no matter how wet I get him, Salty always goes in and has a water bowl dip.

 

[Claire87]

Thank you both for the reply, I can definitely try a different bottle, it was when he was caged so might also try it while his out so he doesn’t feel like he can’t escape if that makes sense.

 

[cnyguy]

Because she was a chronic feather chewer, the veterinarian recommended frequent mistings for my CAG Scooter. She hated being misted and would growl and try to find a place where the water couldn't reach her. Her original owner said that Scooter never took a bath in the whole time she was with her, but she did sometimes splash in her water dish after she came to live with me. I think she learned how to do that by watching QP Ralph taking a bath. On the vet's recommendation, I misted Scooter at least twice a week, and she never did get to like it any better.

 

[Claire87]

I think some like it and some hate it 😂. I am going to keep spraying him ain’t he hoping he likes it. Thank you for sharing

 

[PetiteParrotLover]

Thank you for your reply , I will keep trying it and I will make sure I keep it above his head 😊

My Cape Parrot really loves the very fine mister that you can find on Amazon… I’m not sure which one you are using, but the fine mister is more gentle, IMHO.🥰

 

[kingkrab29]

I can’t speak on what noise your bird was making.

My Bella doesn’t like to take a mist bath unless she’s in the mood for a bath to begin with.

If I get out the mist bottle and not in the mood.
out of cage she will fly away.
inside cage she will go to her hiding place inside her cage and pretend she is invisible.

If in the mood she holds her wings out, flaps them around.
She doesn’t make noises when bathing.

She usually likes to take a “red butt shower” with me.
those are her words that she speaks and understands.
sometimes the humidity and spray of water will coax her into the mood.

I rescued an African grey 7 weeks ago, he has been plucking all week and decided today to have a bathe in his water dish, I have tried to spray him before but I got the feeling he was not amused by it. Today I spray him again and got him quite wet. My question is, how do you know if they are enjoying it or hating it? He had his wings open and feathers up but he does this noise when he is going to bite and was also doing that. I’ve tried looking on YouTube but wasn’t that helpful.
Thank you

Sounds like he's enjoying misting. They'll let you know when they need a spray when dunking their heads in water dishes My TAG does that all the time. Showering/misting is a serious business for greys lol.

 

[LoveMyFids]

I rescued an African grey 7 weeks ago, he has been plucking all week and decided today to have a bathe in his water dish, I have tried to spray him before but I got the feeling he was not amused by it. Today I spray him again and got him quite wet. My question is, how do you know if they are enjoying it or hating it? He had his wings open and feathers up but he does this noise when he is going to bite and was also doing that. I’ve tried looking on YouTube but wasn’t that helpful.
Thank you

All Greys are different & keep in mind 7 wks. isn't very long at all, as your bird will be adjusting for a few months to his new surrounding & people. Because they are dusty birds, they def. need a bath daily (per my avian vet) & according to him, if you are using a bottle, you gotta' get them REALLY wet-like dripping & soaked to the skin. You also want to concentrate on the nares & spray enough to make the bird sneeze to clear out the passages. Greys that don't bathe regularly will get feather dust built up in their nostrils very quickly & if it gets too bad, they'll need to be irrigated out at the vet because they can get inflamed. My Greys love either the shower or the spray bottle, but I recently switched to a fine mist spray bottle & all my birds seem to prefer the mister. Mine is all white, but switching the color or style can be met w/apprehension at first until they get used to a new bottle. What worked w/my young Grey to get her used to the spray bath is that I #1) always do it at the same time of day daily, so it becomes a routine & #2) I present it as a "fun" thing by dancing to music, laughing & verbally praising while spraying. I go into the "Wow! Look at you! Whoooo!" thing to make it fun & exciting. If you're excited & having fun, the bird will start seeing baths as a fun event of the day. It didn't take long at all for mine to like it. She doesn't really open up her wings & flap, but she'll wag her tail & talk a bit. Not sure what sound you are referring to, but if it's the typical Grey "growl" w/puffing up their feathers & kind of swaying their body side to side (that's an angry or scared pre-bite stance), then no-he's not enjoying it & is probably scared of the bottle. If it's the lesser growl, which sounds closer to a gravelly purr, which they often do when being pet, then it's not discontent. They can do the lesser growl when cautious or getting fussy, but you can tell the difference in the body language. There will always be the bird who just hates spray baths, or baths in general. I have a little Bourke's who hates being misted & literally never uses the water dish to bathe. Most birds do enjoy it & some really, really love it. Just stick w/it, daily, get a mister bottle in a neutral color like white or clear, do it the same time each day & turn it into a routine & make it fun. He'll probably turn around after a few times, but since your bird is new to you, it may take a little longer as he's still developing trust. You can give a little treat afterwards to reinforce the trust as well since he's new. Good luck!