Jump to content
NEW ADDRESS FOR MEMBERS GREYFORUMS.ORG ×
NEW ADDRESS FOR MEMBERS GREYFORUMS.ORG

bathing and growling??


Ronda477

Recommended Posts

Well hello ya'll lol. I have a question actually a couple but will post more in a bit. SweetHeart of course needs to have a bath every once in awhile. I have read on this on here. She seems to try to do it herself in her water dish but can't fit in it lol. She gets her belly wet and some of her head from dunking it in there. My question is and I've asked this before and got the answer to spray her with a bottle every once in awhile is, when I do this she gets all mad! She growls like crazy at me! I don't want to ruin anything I have built with her which isn't much to begin with, should I keep spraying her? Like I said because she has this reaction I only do it like twice a month cause I don't want her to hate me. I have tried the bowl of water (shallow) on the floor of the cage, on her playstand on the counter and she won't go near it. The breeder supposibly sprayed her and she was suppose to be used to this but I guess not! So do I keep doing it and let her get used to it or what? Thanks!

 

african_grey_image-b989f1a03eeb3badd456fb7863804e0f.gif

african_grey_image-b989f1a03eeb3badd456fb7863804e0f.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

She really needs a bath about twice a week and spraying her would probably accomplish more than her trying to get a bath in her water dish. Get some of that aloe vera juice and spray her with that, undiluted, it is soothing to their skin. Josey does not care for it either but I do it anyway, I just do it real quickly and get it over with and she is fine with it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Judy! Like I said she does somewhat take a bath in her dish but she doesn't get soaked like our quaker, our quaker loves loves loves to bath. But SweetHeart just doesn't care for it unless it's her idea and I have even waited till it was her idea stuck her in her cage and tried to spray her so she could get pretty wet and she hates that too. But I will go ahead and do it, just wanted to know if I was doing wrong but doing it and having her growl at me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok well here is the thing she is sitting in her cage and not preening she's just kind of shaking which was going to be another question of mine but anyway she's not preening. I just used the mist on the bottle but of course it just seemed to roll off of her for the most part, but she is somewhat wet. Should I have kept spraying? It seems until they kind of spread their feathers slightly they don't get all the way wet. What should I do?????? lol:S

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They don't get too wet on the back, it kind of just rolls off of that, but try to get under the wing where it joins the body and get her pretty wet.

 

So after her bath she does not preen herself, just sits there on her perch? They usually go to preening themselves but she is probably a little mad and she will do it when she calms down.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

lol no I told you guys she was a brat! lol She is sitting there on her swing all fluffed up. But like I said she's not really wet just a little. I was spraying sort of at her which I guess could cause a prob lol, but she was running around her cage! Kind of hard to hit her on the top lol. But yes she is just sitting there giving me an eye mumbling lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Try to make the spraying something fun, at least you pretend it's fun! After a couple of years of putting up with showers, Kali now asks for one - want a shower? I use a very fine mist, spray overhead and let it fall like a gentle rain, all the while saying very enthusiastically, "good shower!" "wow! shower!", etc. I really wouldn't worry about getting her completely wet at this point as much as gradually getting used to the showering process. I would stop after 30 seconds in the beginning, increasing as she acts more comfortable or at least less distressed. The more you go after her and keep spraying, the more she is going to hate it. Don't worry about under her wings, her head, etc. right now. You are trying to get her used to showering, and going slowly is the best way. Just let the fine mist fall down on her back. If she's not flighted you can put her on a stand. Keep it short, keep it enthusiastic, keep it fun.

 

Personally I use only plain, non-chlorinated water, not aloe vera juice. Water to me is the natural substance their feathers are meant to receive, rainfall or splahing in puddles.

 

Kali now fluffs his feathers up when he asks for a shower, and then the water can go between the feathers and get him wet. If the feathers are clamped down tight, the water is just going to roll off. So, try going very slowly and getting her used to it. Two or three times a week is good. You also can take her in the bathroom when you are showering, and just let her sit on a stand or on the rod and have that extra humidity. Kali does NOT like the human shower, and I don't make him shower there. We do misting or he jumps in a bowl.

Reta

Link to comment
Share on other sites

;) chapala you apparently have no idea how this bird is with us lol. She had a very rough flight to get to me and this was months ago, but she's still trying to get over it. TO take her in the bathroom or any other room is just a big no no with her and the flighted thing lol she is clipped but can still fly, that is another long story lol. But I will try gradual thanks!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"chapala you apparently have no idea how this bird is with us lol. She had a very rough flight to get to me and this was months ago, but she's still trying to get over it. TO take her in the bathroom or any other room is just a big no no with her and the flighted thing lol she is clipped but can still fly, that is another long story lol. But I will try gradual thanks!"

 

Hi Ronda, no, I'm not familiar with the story of how you got your Grey, how friendly or scared she is in her everyday life. But the fact that it sounds as though she is still making an adjustment to your home after some kind of traumatic experience, I would back off even more on the spraying that is scaring her. She needs to feel secure in your home more than anything else right now, and upsetting her by spraying when she clearly is afraid or doesn't like it, I don't think is the right direction to go now. When she feels secure and the two of you have developed a bond of trust is when you can begin encouraging her to expand her horizons on the bathing issue (and others). In the meantime, maybe you could put a larger water bowl in the cage where she actually can get a bit wet? I have a pretty big SS bowl on a ring in the aviary, and Kali will hop into that.

Reta

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...