teaching your bird that bathing is fun?

[Jepri]

hello all. in reading posts, i have noticed that many of you have birds that do not like to take baths, same as mine. i strongly believe that bathing is not a "true instict" in birds, but a "learned behavior" taught by their parents. when tika was younger she would like to occasionally be brought in the rain and would scream and flap in delight. no more. it has been raining here alot lately, and we have been sitting outside under the breezeway. she sits on the railing while i talk to her about the rain--rain is fun(whee). while on shoulder we would walk in and out of rain together, this has been going on for several weeks. today she started running on the railing past the breezeway, flapping and talking in the rain as well as tasting it. do you think this is a learned behavior? anyone with similar experiences? later, tika

[hobbitlover]

I would have to disagree with your belief that bathing is not instinctual, but learned. I base my position on the fact that I have raised many parrots that were incubator hatched, or hand-raised from just hours or days old when parent-hatched. Virtually all took to bathing , without prompting or instruction about the same time they started to fly. Like flying and feather preening, I think bathing is instinctual, and birds will do these things even they have never been in contact with another bird.

When raising parrots in a home environment, we have to provide the proper environmental elements to stimulate the birds natural drive (and need) to bathe. Unfortunately, the "right conditions" are not always provided.

When my babies (from lovebirds to parrots and macaws) are ready to fledge, in the morning, I will provide an appropriate basin, or bowl of lukewarm water - and set this in a warm room. If possible near a sunny window, if not under a light -- then I back off a bit (close enough to supervise - but far off enough to not distract the bird), and stay still and quiet. Most start splashing about right away.

If its not possible to set-up a bath, you can introduce your bird to a spray bottle--again, a warm, bright setting is best. Start by misting lightly, from a distance to let the mist kind of "drift" over the bird - you can increase the volume of the spray as the bird responds positively. If you do this at a consistant time every other day, the bird will get used to it pretty fast -- in fact after a few of these "scheduled" shower sessions, you may find your bird "starting without you", splashing himself with water from his water bowl. Many birds soon start bathing as soon as they are given fresh water.

[hobbitlover]

I would have to disagree with your belief that bathing is not instinctual, but learned. I base my position on the fact that I have raised many parrots that were incubator hatched, or hand-raised from just hours or days old when parent-hatched. Virtually all took to bathing , without prompting or instruction about the same time they started to fly. Like flying and feather preening, I think bathing is instinctual, and birds will do these things even they have never been in contact with another bird.

When raising parrots in a home environment, we have to provide the proper environmental elements to stimulate the birds natural drive (and need) to bathe. Unfortunately, the "right conditions" are not always provided.

When my babies (from lovebirds to parrots and macaws) are ready to fledge, in the morning, I will provide an appropriate basin, or bowl of lukewarm water - and set this in a warm room. If possible near a sunny window, if not under a light -- then I back off a bit (close enough to supervise - but far off enough to not distract the bird), and stay still and quiet. Most start splashing about right away.

If its not possible to set-up a bath, you can introduce your bird to a spray bottle--again, a warm, bright setting is best. Start by misting lightly, from a distance to let the mist kind of "drift" over the bird - you can increase the volume of the spray as the bird responds positively. If you do this at a consistant time every other day, the bird will get used to it pretty fast -- in fact after a few of these "scheduled" shower sessions, you may find your bird "starting without you", splashing himself with water from his water bowl. Many birds soon start bathing as soon as they are given fresh water.

[Jepri]

interesting....i believe that preening is instinctual and this does appear to be in the bathing catagory. tika occasionally enjoys showering with husband but hates the spray bottle. she gets baths(in bathtub) but can`t wait to get out. i give her the bath, and your "back off" comment is well taken. will try this. also not given baths on a set time schedule, will try that. i think flying is definately instinctual, parents would accompany babies on "practice flights" not to teach, but for safety reasons.(i`m assuming this from observing wild birds) so here comes the question. what behaviors are "learned" from parents, as opposed to "true instincts"???? later, tika

[NSYNC AND BRIT FAN]

We spray our 15 week Cag everyday from a bottle he hated it at first but now opens his wings and really enjoys it he especially loves the blow dry after.

[Jepri]

i tried a blow dryer once on tika when she was younger, and ahe did not appreciate it very much! later, tika

[Jepri]

yes, i know and admit this, that why i asked for opinions. so do you have an opinion on the "true" subject matter? tika

[tube69]

Birds will bath if and when they please, they will learn to tolorate our interventions if we must. They are not taught to bath by their parents as several of my house mates will verify, hand raised birds do not have bird role models, example, BCC Boo Boo will bath in his water dish every and I mean every time he hears a vacume, mommy did not teach him this gee where did he learn it?

[Jepri]

ok, ok, but please remember that I am not a breeder and have no experience raising baby birds. so bathing is an istinct, but what`s up with the vaccum? what would trigger a bird to bathe every time he hears it? Behavior in parrots is interesting to me and I would like to hear opinions on this matter from people with real experience as opposed to just reading an "article" on the net. later, tika