alex2014 Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Alex and I have been together 2 weeks now. He seems to be adjusting well, 4 years old and was re-homed. My question is about bathing, if i even pick-up the spray bottle and he sees it he freaks out in his cage. I know from reading the forum that bathing is important but will i lose all the progress I have made to date earning his trust by spraying him in his cage? He only bites a little now and will not step-up from his cage yet. He will step-up from the floor when he flies off the cage. I put a perch on the outside of his cage and he readily comes to the perch for a treat so I have been working with him from there so as not to invade his cage territory and to have him below me and not on the top of the cage where he is higher than me. He is also using the outside perch to sit on so he can see me when I am in the other room. Any thought on whether i should bath him yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quirky Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 I wondered the same thing when we first got our grey Jake. Even coming to us with relatively little to no issues I didn't want to damage what trust we had started building. The first time Jake tried to bathe himself in his water dish was about 3-4 weeks after coming to us. We tried a spray bottle then however after him freaking out after the first couple of sprays we stopped. Instead we changed his water dish repeatedly until he was done. The second time he tried bathing himself we filled a large ceramic bowl with water and placed it in the bottom of his cage. He tried it out a little but seemed to prefer his water dish. By the third time he tried we had built a shower perch, so once he started again we put him on the perch and once we started the shower he took off freaking out again. For a couple of months after this I let him bathe in the water dish, recently though I thought I would try again with the spray bottle as we are 6 months in now and I know he will forgive me after a bit. So out came the distilled water and he was thoroughly soaked... He was mad at me for two days... So yesterday he started bathing himself again I proceeded to spray him and this time he was much less frantic. As he was a bit calmer I decided to immediately follow up his soaking with an spraying of Aloe Vera juice under his wings an on his legs. This time he was only mad for half a day... I'm convinced the aloe made all the difference in how he felt afterwards. All of this is to say we really experimented with how receptive he was at the time and pushed a little harder when it felt like the right time for us. Of course this is only my experience and I'm still very new at being a parront to a grey. I'm sure others will be along with their experience and advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerial.2000 Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 I like to take Marco in the shower with me, she will sit on the curtain rod until Im done then I'll bring her into the shower with me ... but shes always loved the water. She is great if you spray her front not so happy on her back but she tolerates it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex2014 Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 I hope I eventually get to that point and know it will take time. I'm concerned about what I should do in the meantime. I don't want to loose the trust I an building Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brat Birds Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Try the dish on the bottom of the cage. If he won't go near it, try putting some large green leaves in it. If he has a favorite green use that. Sometimes they will start playing with the leaves and end up taking a bath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisC Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I actually spray bathed Mama Mia today for the second time ! for about 10 seconds she squawked & ran around the cage avoiding the water then suddenly she started to really like it when she was quite wet even bobbing her head, she seemed to forgive me quite quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inara Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Initially, HRH Inara did not like to be spritzed at all. Period. Then I got a bird mister that really hits her with a super fine spray (basic pet store model) mist. That helped. I also mist her daily because we live in a high, arid climate -- but I soak the living bejeebuz out of her at least three times a week. This all takes place in our open shower. I put her on my arm, we walk into the shower area, and I pick up the mister (that lives there and is always filled with filtered water) and I commence misting. When she has had enough, she scootches up my arm to my shoulder, and I respect that. Then we head "home" to her cage, and often after a good soaking, she has become stimulated to take a bath. She heads for her 2nd water dish that she uses exclusively for bathing. How she manages to fit herself into it is beyond me - but she does. She completely ignores any bowls and/or bigger dishes that I've tried to entice her into on the bottom of her cage. I'm going to try Brat Birds' suggestion about putting some edible greens into the bowl and see if she will go for that. The point of my rambling? Just do it, and eventually you and your sweetie will become used to the routine, and eventually Mama Mia will come to accept and enjoy it because it feels great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex2014 Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 Thanks for all the advice. My dilemma is I have only had him 2 weeks and he is still bites except when i give him some food. Am i being overly concerned about loosing his trust I am trying to build by spraying him? I'll try the bowl method for a week, then spray him if that doesn't work for his health of being bathed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Thanks for all the advice. My dilemma is I have only had him 2 weeks and he is still bites except when i give him some food. Am i being overly concerned about loosing his trust I am trying to build by spraying him? I'll try the bowl method for a week, then spray him if that doesn't work for his health of being bathed You've had him for 2 weeks. Is there any particular reason why you wanna bathe/spray him? A 4 yr old rehomed grey needs a lot of work in order to fit into a new environment. Bathing should be on the bottom of your list of things to do especially with a bird that bites a little or bites alot. Don't believe everything you read or hear about bathing greys. They can go a long time without bathing. Stick to the more important issues here. Don't irritate him or you'll get no where with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisC Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Good point thanks ! Mama Mia's toe nails ( claws )are a bit long & sharp but I dare not consider doing anything just yet ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muse Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 You've had him for 2 weeks. Is there any particular reason why you wanna bathe/spray him? A 4 yr old rehomed grey needs a lot of work in order to fit into a new environment. Bathing should be on the bottom of your list of things to do especially with a bird that bites a little or bites alot. Don't believe everything you read or hear about bathing greys. They can go a long time without bathing. Stick to the more important issues here. Don't irritate him or you'll get no where with him. ^^^Seconded! Good advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex2014 Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 Thanks, That's the advice I was looking for, I'll put a water bowl in the bottom of his cage for him everyday in case he wants to use it. I read conflicting opinions about him needing a bath. I would rather work on gaining his trust and learning not to bite. Good to know bathing should (spraying) should not be a concern at this time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbsmomto1 Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Storm usually goes in the shower with me, but if he is impatient and just cannot wait he will fly to the kitchen sink when I am doing dishes and wait for me to turn the codl water tap on, then he is content to play in the water for 30 mins or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 I agree with Dave. Showering or misting should be at the bottom of the list! As Sophie will NEVER accept misting or showering... but otherwise is the BEST bird,trusts us all, I'm ok with just showering her, when it needs to get done. I'm no longer punished for long. Of course, the trust has to be there. Work on diet, stepup and trust. Then work on misting and showering issues. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex2014 Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 I started using a spray bottle to clean and wipe down the seed catcher just to get him used to the sight of it. He doesn't freak out when he sees it now. Guess that's a good start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inara Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Am glad to hear that! Yes, I certainly didn't mean by "just do it" to leap right in and scare your bird. Really, I'm an advocate for not even handling a bird during the first 3-5 days and just allowing them to scope out their new environment, become used to the sights and sounds around them, to be able to watch the new humans from afar, and then things are not so freakishly strange for them. Trust is critical and what you do in the early days sets the pace for the rest of your relationship with one another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I like your thoughts alex to get your bird use to seeing the bottle. Inara... we know you didn't mean to " just do it!" No worries! Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now