Question:
: Every so often we decide it’s time to hose off Ronnie, whether she : likes it or not. Pie-face puts on a terrycloth bath robe then Ronnie hops : onto Pie-face’s shoulder. I grab the mister and spray down the dirty bird : — and Pie-face. Perhaps you are just being silly, but a bird that does not bathe in water is not necessarily, in fact probably, *not* a dirty bird. Barring falling into the spaghetti or something, birds keep themselves quite clean without misting or other bathing. We give the birds baths because 1) it helps keep down the dander in dander birds, 2) some of them really like it, 3) the extra post-bath grooming keeps feathers in good condition. In the wild, for instance, tiels probably don’t get a bath very often and depend on self-grooming. On the other hand, chicken "bathe" in dust–their version of fun. : We’ve come to accept the fact that Ronnie is our grundge bird. She’s : like the neighbourhood kid who always has torn clothes, skinned knees, and : a dirty face. Like that kid, Ronnie gets into everything and will try : anything at least once. And we absolutely love her. She probably isn’t dirty or grungey. Just herself. Laura C.– Where does creamed corn figure into the workings of the universe? [Margaret, the Log Lady. Twin Peaks, episode 9]
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > :>I found my baby tiels take awhile to get used to a bath. It sounds as if > Have you had any that absolutely and intensely disliked bathing or > misting even into adulthood? We purchased a small cockatiel bath for our > ‘tiel a few months ago, only to discover that he was positive that the water > was some type of bird mugging device. Then we tried lightly misting him. > The first time he hissed, squaked and ran up my arm. The 2nd time a few > weeks later he spread his wings and behaved in the silliest manner until > finally my fingers couldn’t pump the mister any longer. Encouraged, we’ve > tried misting him again a few more times but he makes every effort to escape > and seems to dislike it a great deal. Do you think there might be much > chance of him learning to like a short misting?
Hi Patty, No, we don’t think there is any chance that your ‘tiel will learn to like mistings, baths, showers,…. We speak from experience. Our lutino cockatiel Ronnie hates getting wet. On the other hand her cagemate Paddy O’Conure, a maroon bellied conure, keeps himself immaculate. Paddy will have a bath, or shower in the kitchen sink, every day. Ronnie won’t have anything to do with that. We’ve tried everything to entice Ronnie into taking baths or showers. She won’t take baths. Every once in a while Ronnie used to perch on the rim of her and Paddy’s bird bath and drink from it. Once while Ronnie was drinking from the bath Paddy tried to push her in — and failed. Now Ronnie won’t perch on the rim of the bath if Paddy is anywhere nearby and she only drinks water from her water dishes. We’ve taken Ronnie into our bathroom so she could watch one of us — one of the "big, featherless birds" — take a bath. Ronnie looked on in horror. When we put wet lettuce leaves on her cage Ronnie waits for the lettuce to dry off, then eats it. Ronnie hates mistings and showers. If Ronnie sees a mister in my or Pie-face’s (my babe’s) hands she runs away and hides. We’ve tried the sink method, so popular with Paddy. No luck. Every so often we decide it’s time to hose off Ronnie, whether she likes it or not. Pie-face puts on a terrycloth bath robe then Ronnie hops onto Pie-face’s shoulder. I grab the mister and spray down the dirty bird — and Pie-face. Ronnie hates this because she can’t hide from the spray (she does try). After the heavy spraying we cuddle Ronnie in a soft towel, not only to dry her but to also help cool down her anger. We’ve come to accept the fact that Ronnie is our grundge bird. She’s like the neighbourhood kid who always has torn clothes, skinned knees, and a dirty face. Like that kid, Ronnie gets into everything and will try anything at least once. And we absolutely love her. — o< >>>0<<< Cakes .!"!. "If you cut down all the trees birds will have no place to sit"
Response:
es) writes:
:> No, we don’t think there is any chance that your ‘tiel will learn to :>like mistings, baths, showers,…. We speak from experience. Drats. I was afraid someone was going to say that. The one time that he was amenable to a misting he was so silly that I’m not certain who enjoyed his bath more, he or us. :> We’ve come to accept the fact that Ronnie is our grundge bird. She’s :>like the neighbourhood kid who always has torn clothes, skinned knees, and :>a dirty face. Like that kid, Ronnie gets into everything and will try :>anything at least once. And we absolutely love her. hehehe. Fortunately Spike does keep his feathers in immaculate condition but he can be the most contrary creature at times, particularly in regards to bathing and dietary changes. And, like your Ronnie, he does get into absolutely everything. I think sometimes when we let him out of his cage to play in the mornings that he greets the day with the singular thought of "What can I possibly get into today." But again, like you, we absolutely love him and feel fortunate to have our affections returned. Patty Morris MSG Resources CompuServe: 70363.753 PO Box 52183 FidoNet: 1:380/0 Shreveport, LA 71135-2183
Response:
>Do you think there might be much chance of him learning to like a short misting?
My oldest tiel (4 yrs.) enjoys it only very occasionally. But I try everytime the others get misted anyway. Once in a while he surprises me by spreading his wings and really getting into it. Most times he just runs the other way. However, during molting and times when I know it would really do him good, but he’s being real stubborn, I found a tried and true way to get him going is to mist him while sitting on my shoulder! He seems to enjoy rolling around in my hair like some birds enjoy rolling in wet grass. At least he gets a good bath. So do I in the process. But hey, we do a lot of crazy things for these little guys, don’t we? Robin
Response:
: >Do you think there might be much chance of him learning to like a short misting? : > : My oldest tiel (4 yrs.) enjoys it only very occasionally. But I try : everytime the others get misted anyway. Once in a while he surprises me : by spreading his wings and really getting into it. Most times he just : runs the other way. However, during molting and times when I know it : would really do him good, but he’s being real stubborn, I found a tried : and true way to get him going is to mist him while sitting on my : shoulder! He seems to enjoy rolling around in my hair like some birds : enjoy rolling in wet grass. At least he gets a good bath. So do I in the : process. But hey, we do a lot of crazy things for these little guys, : don’t we? : Robin —
Response:
>I purchased a cinnamon in April >I am concerned because I understand that the bird needs a bath. >I have tried using a spray bottle on fine mist but as soon as >the water leaves the nozzle and gets into the air, it seems as >though the bird knows its going to get wet and gets the heck >out o’ the there.
I found my baby tiels take awhile to get used to a bath. It sounds as if she’s out of her cage at the time. Try leaving her in the cage at first so she can’t get away. Don’t force her to get soaked but just give her a few light sprays each time. Sooner or later she should discover it’s fun and start spreading her wings to get good and wet. Some of my birds like a bath when it raining outside. Others seem to prefer one on a nice sunny day. So see if that makes a difference. Also my birds don’t generally want a bath every day. A couple of times a week seems to be best appreciated and keeps them looking great. Hope this helps. Robin
Response:
My 1st bird didn’t bathe for months–and it didn’t seem to hurt her. Then one momentous day, she decided to bathe in my bowl of Cheerios. Ever since, she’s bathed in a cereal bowl of water once a week. My second bird (14 months old) watches these baths with great confusion. She’s pretty sure that if the other bird is enjoying herself, then she needs to get in on it. But she just wades through the bowl and jumps out the other side. She just can’t see the attraction. Last week, I tried a spray bottle on her, and she loved it. The first bird, however, wants nothing to do with the spray and continues to go with the bowl. Maybe you need to give your bird several bathing options over the course of a few weeks. I’m sure she (he?) will find an acceptable medium. Good Luck
Response:
:>I found my baby tiels take awhile to get used to a bath. It sounds as if Have you had any that absolutely and intensely disliked bathing or misting even into adulthood? We purchased a small cockatiel bath for our ‘tiel a few months ago, only to discover that he was positive that the water was some type of bird mugging device. Then we tried lightly misting him. The first time he hissed, squaked and ran up my arm. The 2nd time a few weeks later he spread his wings and behaved in the silliest manner until finally my fingers couldn’t pump the mister any longer. Encouraged, we’ve tried misting him again a few more times but he makes every effort to escape and seems to dislike it a great deal. Do you think there might be much chance of him learning to like a short misting? Patty Morris MSG Resources CompuServe: 70363.753 PO Box 52183 FidoNet: 1:380/0 Shreveport, LA 71135-2183
Response:
I purchased a cinnamon in April and it is a great bird. This is my first bird and I think we have the feeding part down now but I am concerned because I understand that the bird needs a bath. I have tried using a spray bottle on fine mist but as soon as the water leaves the nozzle and gets into the air, it seems as though the bird knows its going to get wet and gets the heck out o’ there. Its 4 months or so old and is hand fed and quite tame so I don’t know if I should spray it down and make it hate me and then where would we be? Can anyone offer a good way for me to get this bird clean without risking our friendship? Please Help. DaveB14140
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