Effective showers

[Doug]

Question: is a shower still effective if the bird doesn't get soaked to the skin everywhere?

 

Background: I take Ellie into the shower with me every day. She sits on the shower curtain rod while I do my thing and then I hold her in the spray for a while. I hold her on my finger and put her in the shower's spray, keeping her face out. (Of course, she ducks her face in and bites at the water and drinks...)

 

This mostly gets her back, of course. I try to turn her some, but without lifting her wings (she does lift her wings just a bit on some days) or scratching everywhere, I can't get her wet to the skin all over her body. Of course, most of the water simply rolls off the feathers. Her back and neck are definitely soaked to the skin.

 

Is this still a worthwhile endeavor if I can't completely soak her?

 

She doesn't mind this at all...

[Dave007]

It's a worth while indeaver plus if you have one of those detachable tube heads which is actually the shower, you can take that tube and just aim it under her. Doing this just a tiny bit will go a long way. The underneath feathers aren't waterproof so they get immediately wet/soaked.

Usually, that tube is about 5 ft long

[Doug]

I have a shower head similar in concept to this one, so I can use the "hand shower" simultaneously with the shower head. Tomorrow, I'll see if I can use that without freaking Ellie out...

 

Is it a problem to give a shower every day? It doesn't take any extra time or effort since I bring her down to the bathroom with me anyway...

[Dave007]

Well, the type you just showed in that pic was the type I was talking about so good luck.. I use it on my birds all the time.

[Doug]

Just to be clear, the type in the pic has two parts that separate, leaving the outer portion as a shower head (fixed position) and the inner portion as a hand shower (with the hose). You can select it so the water goes to either the shower head, the hand shower, or both. (Both is the "normal" selection when the hand shower is latched into the shower head.)

[Talon]

My greys act like they are being murdered when I try and give them a shower. Rikki almost pops the blood vessels around her eyes, so I gave up on that idea. I do spritz them with a spray bottle when they are not looking, but mostly they prefer to do their own baths in water bowls.

[aerial.2000]

I did a small little spritz bath with Marco today and she kinda runs back n forth on the little bath perch we made her but she doesnt appear to mind it ... I will try the shower tho see how that goes soon. She like Ellie has yet to be "soaked" specially on the underneath so I will try the removeable shower head as well good thead thanks

[Doug]

With Ellie, I gradually introduced her to it. I let her sit on the shower curtain bar a number of times before I brought her into the shower. Then, for a few days, I brought her close to the shower stream and she would bite the water. Then, for a few days, I'd put her partially in the shower stream. Initially she'd try to climb away (up my arm), but now she just stands on my finger. (I hold on to her feet, though, since the pressure from the shower can make her feel unstable.)

[judygram]

Josey tolerates showers and I do it with a handheld nozzle, she does try bathing in her water dish but she does not accomplish much except for getting the floor wet around her, she doesn't scream when I do it but does a little grumble as it is going on.

[Talon]

With Ellie, I gradually introduced her to it. I let her sit on the shower curtain bar a number of times before I brought her into the shower. Then, for a few days, I brought her close to the shower stream and she would bite the water. Then, for a few days, I'd put her partially in the shower stream. Initially she'd try to climb away (up my arm), but now she just stands on my finger. (I hold on to her feet, though, since the pressure from the shower can make her feel unstable.)

 

You are lucky, cause Talon has been in the shower with me for the past 7 years almost daily, she will perch on the shower rod, or mostly on top of the shower head which does have a hose like the one you showed us, and she will stick her head under just enough to drink the water that comes out over and over again, but OMG! DON'T GET HER WET!!!!

I've spent 7 years trying all kinds of different and gentle ways, no way will she let her precious feathers get wet by anyone other than her!

[katana600]

You have such a good relationship with Ellie. She just gets more beautiful and self confident every day. I look forward to the day when I can give Gilbert a shower unscathed. You work so much with her that it is great to hear how you are doing together.

[Life is Greyt]

I have a shower head similar in concept to this one, so I can use the "hand shower" simultaneously with the shower head. Tomorrow, I'll see if I can use that without freaking Ellie out...

 

Is it a problem to give a shower every day? It doesn't take any extra time or effort since I bring her down to the bathroom with me anyway...

 

Doug, I'm no expert, but my breeder told me that the more I bathed Chickie the better. She gets a bath almost every other day. Some days I bathe her in the kitchen sink and others she showers with me. I get her completely wet in the shower by stretching her wings out. To get her underside wet I actually hold her in my hand upside down, keeping her head out of the water obviously, and soak her that way. If she's already had a kitchen sink bath that day and I shower at night I still take her in there with me and just let her sit on her perch and have some sauna time.

[Doug]

I lifted Ellie's wings during her shower today but she wasn't really fond of that and tried to pull away a bit. I used the hand-held shower and got her chest and belly thoroughly soaked. She was very well behaved!