Bath time and diet questions

[Hammons]

While my baby bare eyed was still being weaned and staying at the store, I noticed she always slept in the same place in her cage with her tail sitting in her water dish. As a result her tail feathers have a water mark going across them and look quite dirty. Is it ok to bathe her yet? I don’t believe she has ever done that before. I understand it probably won’t go away until she molts.

Also, she has been eating Zupreem fruit blend and a mix they have at the store that has sunflower seeds, various nuts, banana chips, dried peppers, and some other things I don’t know what they are. Possibly other dried fruit? When is it ok to introduce fresh veggies to her? And when can I change her pellets? I am deciding between Tops and Harrison’s. Any preference on either and why?

Thank you for your advice in advance.

 

[Fia Baby]

Star right away with fresh veggies and some fruit - the sooner the better. And the same for a bath or shower, though use her reaction to gage how fast you should proceed. She may love it right off the bat or she may take a few times to warm up to it (though I suspect she'll take to it right away.) Offer her fresh veggies and fruit cut into manageable sized pieces and offer it along with her normal diet until you see her actually eating it. As for the pellets, I'd do it slowly by mixing the 2 together, watching to see what eats. I feed my birds (cockatoo and macaw) both TOPS and Golden Oobles (from golden feast). I don't care for Harrison's, but others do.

Once she's accustomed to baths/showers, you could try gently washing her tail with some baby shampoo. I've done that with mine with great success. Just rinse it thoroughly and don't "scrub" just massage it into the stain.

 

[Mizzely]

You can start introducing new foods (both pellets and fresh foods) right away Just don't take away the foods you know she is eating until she is eating the stuff you are offering.

The pellets will depend on other factors. TOPS does not contain added vitamins like Vitamin D3, so you will need to supplement with another multivitamin, or unfiltered sunlight (ie, not through a window) several times a week to make sure she does not become deficient in that vital nutrient. I have never been able to get a bird to eat TOPS and have had very limited success with Harrison's, but of the two I prefer Harrison's just because it has more research behind it and I can't get outside 6-9 months out of the year!

 

[Hammons]

I tried giving Chloe a bath by filling up a Pyrex dish and placing it in the bathtub, but when I lowered her down and wet her feet in it, she started freaking out and bit my arm to help herself climb out. So I took her back to her cage to calm her down. A few days later she was trying to give herself a bath in her water dish, so I got my spray bottle out and sprayed it lightly above her head to mist her. She seemed to enjoy this way more, so I will continue with the spray bottle for now. She did a good job cleaning her feathers; the dark water mark is definitely lighter.

I have introduced finely chopped veggies, and she does try them but keeps wiping her beak off. Maybe they are chopped too fine? She tries them each day but does not eat very much of them. I have her try the chop first thing in the morning and once she loses interest in those I give back her pellets and the seed mix. I put some Harrison’s in both of those bowls and she has eaten some but still prefers the Zupreem and the seeds. She leaves the purple and red pellets in the bowl but eats the rest lol.

 

[Fia Baby]

Have you tried putting her in the shower with you? Mine only shower that way, and they love it. Have her watch you from the shower rod - she may decide she wants to join you the first time, or she may take a couple times. As for introducing new foods, she'll be more inclined to try new things after she's satisfied her immediate hunger. So give her a little of her tried and true first, so she's comfortable and open to them. And just keep offering them. She's just a baby, and these things take time. Eat some of them with her. My macaw loves ice cream, and it's because she sees everyone else enjoying it so much. My cockatoo loves cheese for the same reason. My cockatoo (an elenora) does like to hold things in her foot, so yours may like things a little larger as well. She sounds like she's doing great - I'd love to see pictures of her!!

 

[Hammons]

Have you tried putting her in the shower with you?

No not yet. I just used the spray bottle today and gave her her second bath. She had more fun this time. She is currently preening herself now.

 

[Fia Baby]

She's adorable!!