Birdie Bath Time

[DebWhite]

What is your bird's favorite way to take a bath?

[senegal1]

Our green cheek is simple... she LOVES taking baths in the kitchen sink. She also lets you know when she wants a bath - very clearly!! If it's been a couple days since her last bath, she will sit on the side of the sink and look into it, bobbing up and down excitedly. Once we catch her discreet little hint, we put a half inch or so of water in the sink and then set the faucet for a VERY slow flow. She prefers to have the water running down the side of the sink like a little waterfall. When you put her in the sink, she runs around in circles and sometimes jumps with excitement. She likes to go to the "waterfall" and put her face in the flowing water. Watching her take a bath never fails to brighten my day. And seeing her come out looking like a soaked rat is a bonus!

The senegal... well he's another story. Louie is picky about most everything! He will only bath in the shower with me. I have to set him on his shower perch and he watches me take a shower. While I'm taking my "bath" he likes to whistle single notes to me and waits for me to answer in the same note (which is challenging in the shower). He's in charge of this little game and chooses the notes, much to his obvious pleasure! After I'm done with my "bath", I pick him up and hold him just right so that the water bounces off of my shoulders or back and creates a mist that falls over him. He will then either fluff up and play in the mist or he closes his eyes, slicks his feathers down and sits on my finger. It all depends on his mood. One thing is for sure, though - if I cut his bath short, he will promptly finish his bath in his waterbowl upon return to his cage.

They are soooo much fun, aren't they?

[DebWhite]

Watching my birds taking a bath never fails to bring a smile to my face. Thanks for the wonderful description of your green cheek taking a bath.

[ampit88]

my birds absolutely do not like baths. when i bath them i have to put them in the bath tub or their outside cages and mist them with a mister. jack (b&g macaw) jumps or tries to run away from me. bobbin (ycm) sits with her back to me and doesn't move and nellie (lovie) just sits there and you can tell that she is hating every minute of it. i feel like they get stressed while they are getting the bath, but after its done they are happy and seems like they feel so much better. how do you teach them to like getting a bath?

[DebWhite]

I don't know if you can really "teach" a bird to enjoy it, although I think they can learn from watching another bird enjoy a bath. My eldest grey HATED baths for 2 decades until I adopted a younger grey who thought it was absolutely the best time of the day. After watching the younger birds bathing antics and observing how much fun he was having the older grey actually started to enjoy getting misted.

Have you tried other methods of letting them bathe? For example, some birds prefer to wade in shallow water or to take leaf baths. Others are stimulated by the sounds such as running water or a vacuum. My eclectus goes absolutely nuts for a bath when the vacuum is turned on. I also know a macaw who loves running around the bottom of a shower stall when the water was running.

[ampit88]

i have tried to put bobbin in the kitchen sink to let her play and she jumped out of it, so i figured that wasn't a good idea. i have tried placing a shallow dish of water in/on the cages for them to play in........ bobbin wouldn't go near it and jack just dumped it over (boy that was a mess). bobbin and nellie take a bath in their water dish but jack doesn't. i don't think jack would ever get wet if i didn't give her a good misting every now and then. i am going to try and put a little water in the tub to see if shell play in it. i'll let you know how that goes.

[chmast]

My Quaker loves a bath in a shallow bowl. Me Ekkie doesn't take baths but loves to be sprayed with the hose (Mist setting only!) when she is outside in her aviary. I'm luck they both like to bathe since its an essential here in dry Colorado!

Deb it's funny, the only time my ekkie has taken a bath is when I ran the vacuum. Why is that? Do you know?

[DebWhite]

My Quaker loves a bath in a shallow bowl. Me Ekkie doesn't take baths but loves to be sprayed with the hose (Mist setting only!) when she is outside in her aviary. I'm luck they both like to bathe since its an essential here in dry Colorado!

Deb it's funny, the only time my ekkie has taken a bath is when I ran the vacuum. Why is that? Do you know?

I'm not sure, I hear it is common to several species but my ekkie is the only one in my house who seems to be triggered by sound into wanting a bath. He starts running around the top of his cage with his wings out. I've heard some people suggest maybe the sound is akin to a heavy rain in the rainforest.....

[beakerskyler]

My eclectus absolutely, but at least 2 other species in the house also think it's 'tub time' when the vacuum starts. It can also be triggered from running water in the kitchen sink or washing my hair, but I know it's good for them so I encourage any bathing they're up for!

[MarieandChirpy]

My Chirpy loves to take a dip and dunk her face in the bird bath. I also spray her down, but she does not get excited.