Bathing Grey/Biting Grey

[CuteMandaPanda]

The previous owner said that Baby wouldn't bathe in his cage. Supposedly, he enjoyed being in the bathtub with a little water.

 

Baby has been with us a full week, and took a bath on his own in his water dish one day while we ate breakfast. I haven't seen it since.

 

Considering "before-mommy" said he enjoys the bathtub, I had him in the bathroom today for his first time. I showed him the tub filled with a little water. I tried to place him in the water, and he ran/flapped up my arm, each time I tried. I decided to put his perch stand in the water and splashed my hands in the water saying encouraging words and phrases. He didn't want any part of it. And since he won't step up off of his perch stand, I couldn't really interact with him from there. If you could describe it, what would you say is the body language of a Grey that enjoys water? Weather it's in the tub, shower, or a water bottle. What's the typical reaction?

 

As of right now, he will only step up onto the stick to be removed from his cage, and today is the first day he did it willingly. He allowed the stick after receiving a neck scratch/rub. (That's the other part of my story) Is it normal for the bird to be more willing to leave his cage after the positive interaction like a neck rub? Once he's on the perch stand, you cannot get him to step up. He bites and bites and bites =( He steps up willingly onto the stick though. I wish his "before-mommy" didn't get him accustomed to the stick method, but there's nothing I can do about it except to keep working with him and praising him. Once he's on the stick, he'll step up on our hand or down to the floor. He'll step up from the floor to hand. But he won't step up from any of his perches. He bites, big time.

 

He's only biting when you approach him specifically to try to pick him up. We can have our hands in the cage, touching stuff, adjusting stuff, changing stuff, hand feeding food, etc. Is that common?

 

In other news, yesterday Rob and I gave Baby an empty toilet paper roll. We were using it as a pocket to stuff a peanut in it. Shook it like a rattle. I tried to show him to rip the cardboard and that there was a peanut inside it. He doesn't seem interested in it as a toy. However, every time I showed it to him, he put his head down and fluffed his neck feathers out. Finally, I asked if he wanted a scratch and I used the cardboard roll to approach him. He got his first scratch by me, and let me keep coming back to try again. He was loving it, even though it was the cardboard. Eventually, I got courageous and began using my own hand to give him the scratch. He still enjoyed it. I'm so glad to be able to touch him.

 

I hope to hear back. And thank you in advance!<br><br>Post edited by: CuteMandaPanda, at: 2009/11/16 04:49

[ecodweeb]

You know I thought mine liked the shower.

 

Phoenix will scream bloody murder. If I put him in the tub he'll fall over on his back screaming in fear of the rain.

 

He hates rain storms (no idea why).

 

talula is much better. Sometimes she sits under the stream. She usually is OK so long as I dont hold her head-first in the stream. She'll walk around the tub clucking like a chicken, it's kind of funny.

 

I'd say a grey that likes water won't scream, flap to fly away, or bite you while you try and hold them in the shower stream / put them in the water.

 

Phoenix likes to bath in his water dish but he can't get his back. He's been extra birdie (ie he's extremely hormonal, tempermental and dusty) and he HAD to have a full on bath this weekend. I coudn't take the dust.... he hated me for it, but such is life.

 

Parenting isn't all kisses and candy.

[CuteMandaPanda]

Thank you so much for the response. I really appreciate it. I haven't been getting many responses to questions I've posted since Friday? Maybe they are just too long. Haha. But thanks again.

 

I have used the spray bottle on him. He doesn't scream. I ducks down, puts his wings out, puffs out his feathers and opens his beak. It seems as if he is trying to catch the water. He makes a noise each time the water touches him, and I can't decide if he likes it. He doesn't run from the spray bottle, or even the water? Once, he sat on the edge of his water dish and had the same reaction to the spray, but I still can't decide if he actually likes it, or is at least tolerating it? Or if he hates it? I wish I knew.

 

I'd really like to coax him into the bathtub. "Before-mommy" says she used to fill the tub up with some water which he really liked with a little bit of "rain" from the shower while he's in it? I don't think he appreciated our visit to the bathtub. I could have introduced it to him too quickly. It was his first time in our bathroom after all?

[ecodweeb]

Few things to try:

 

Get some Aloe Juice, it's a branded product you can get at walmart. if you can't find it, get regular aloe and mix it 50/50 with water. Spray that on them, helps the feathers and can soothe dry skin.

 

Install a second shower rod and let him hang out on that rod and take in the steam. Perhaps you can work it so that it's a shower perch and he can sit just on the other side of the shower curtain while you take a shower.

 

bathing is a tough subject. they gotta do it but not all birds like doing it.