Question about bathing

[Ellen]

Hi again. I want to tell everyone thank you so much for allthe info on this site. I am new to all this and yall have helped me so much about learning what is best for my bird ( Joei ). My question - Joei is now with us about 3 weeks and doing so well compared to when we first got her. I dont think the prev owner bathed her at all. She seems to try and wash some in her water bowl. I have tred putting a flat bowl/dish type in the bottom of her cage filled with water. She has not bathed in it though. I have done it sev times because she is such a cautious bird with everything. I have also tried spraying her lightly but I think she gets very scared cause she starts to shake alot when I do it so I dont push it because she has been so much poor thing. Can any of you experts tell me if I should just lay off from spraying ? Should I just keep puttng the flat dish at the bottom until she gets used to it ? I dont dare even try to do the shower or sink thing. She is starting to like her new home I am sooooo happy and dont want to make her scared again.

 

Thanks Ellen

[Morana]

Hi Ellen and Joei! :-)

 

Don't be scared of new things as your Grey,as most Greys, probably will;-) She needs to bathe! That is a necessity and should not be ignored. Have you tried training a bit with clicker? I don't train Zak yet but do use clicker to introduce him to new stuff because he was scared of his own shadow not to long ago. With some things he is still scared because of the bed memories but we'll get through that too:-) So the clicker: I stand at the end of the room, about 2,5-3 meters away from him, present new object and when he stops being scared (for example stops to shake, settle down a bit) I click and then walk away with the object. In a 30 seconds period I come again, this time a step closer present the object, wait for the reaction, click and leave. You don't even have to go away, just go back few steps. Just remember to come closer every time and not back all the way back as you did the firs time. For every step, even when you back up, it should be closer (to your bird) than the previous backing up. Repeat the procedure till you get to him so close he can easily touch it with his beak. Let him. It can take up to half an hour, depends how scared your bird is. You shouldn't rush. If you see, you just can't get closer than few inches in first try, do repeat whole thing in a half an hour-hour. You could repeat it even few times to get better results. Usually it is enough to Zak to do it once slowly and then every next time I shorten the beginning distance and repeat the process. When he is not scared I put the object in the cage. With first toys I introduced he needed two or three days till he was comfortable playing with them on his own. When he started, in a day, there was no toy left ;-)

So, this is one way to introduce new stuff. Someone will maybe have another idea.

If it were me, I would buy a corner dish of some sort (you could mount in the cage) for her to bathe in. Someone (thin it is Ray) on this forum has a rabbit pooping dish for bathing, if I remember correctly.

If she is afraid of misting try going into a shower with her. Zak is afraid of misting every time I begin but I talk to him a lot, animate him, praise him a lot and rub his head so eventuality he calms down and begins to bathe. It actually depends on how much he wanna bathe. If he wants, he'll be afraid of misting in the beginning, but in a few minutes he'll stop being afraid. At that point he is having so much fun I don't need to do anything else to encourage him:-) when I start, I simulate the rain. If I spray him directly to his chest I do it gently till he gets used to. I even rub him with wet fingers. You just need to try, but as you describe it, I think Joei is more than anxious to take a bath so she might overcome her fear of bathing more easily than you expect:-)

Good luck and keep us posted!:-)

[munch]

My grey is terrified of getting sprayed. She goes into the shower with me; she hates it but it doesn't carry the same feelings of terror. I've done lots of searches on bathing and here's what I've read that other people do.

 

Choose the least evil:

1- spraying (with water, with aloe vera juice)

2-letting grey go into a bowl of water independently

3- filling a basin in the sink and making a game (this thread was detailed, I believe it is a sticky)

4- showering with your grey on a perch or as with me, on my shoulder

5- putting a perch in the shower and spraying lightly without you showering

6- putting your grey in a smaller cage or outdoor cage and spraying the entire cage (warm weather option)

 

There's more and people who use a particular method can give you more info if you ask

[Luvparrots]

The sprayer I use on my parrots is one I got from a beauty shop and it has a fine mist spray. I don't spray my birds head on but upward to the mist goes on their bodies or over their heads so that the mist comes down. My zon and grey both open their feathers and spread their wings so that they can be totally soaked. They will even turn so that their backsides can be soaked as well. I am grateful for my water birds!!!!!