Bathing in apple cider vinegar?

[TikiBird]

I put apple cider vinegar in my birds water bowls maybe once a week, and today Tiki decided to bathe in it... of course.... Now he smells awful.

Is this bad for him? Should I re-bathe him??

 

[jamie]

You can try bathing him again, but the scent will go away soon. My conures do the same thing occasionally. I don't think that there is anything bad about it. You might consider giving him two dishes ... maybe he will use one for drinking and one for bathing

 

[TikiBird]

Knowing Tiki he would drink the one without the vinegar and bathe in the one with vinegar

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

Squeeky splashes his water and I put ACV in it everyday. His feathers are fine.

 

[J*M*L]

You might consider giving him two dishes ... maybe he will use one for drinking and one for bathing

Yes, just make sure you clearly mark the bowls "Bathing" and "Drinking" so that he knows the difference.

 

[jamie]

You joke, but it can work. I've successfully done it with my conures and lorikeets It also helps if one of the dishes is smaller than the other one, and if you put the drinking dish next to the food dish. It may not work with all birds but it has worked for mine

I don't have to do it for my lorikeets anymore because they are all eating a liquid diet now. So, I give them a dish for their food and a second dish for water only- that they most often use for bathing. They rarely drink any actual water since they are on a liquid diet

Haggie has two bathing dishes in his cage & he will go from one to the other when he's taking a bath. hahaha

 

[J*M*L]

You joke, but it can work. I've successfully done it with my conures and lorikeets It also helps if one of the dishes is smaller than the other one, and if you put the drinking dish next to the food dish. It may not work with all birds but it has worked for mine

I know honey, I'm just messin with ya.

 

[Ede-bird]

Our Lovebirds do the same as Squeaky - bath in the water dish all the time - their feathers look great!

 

[Birdasaurus]

Is the smell like a week old gym sock??? 'Cause that's what Tango smells like after

I do like to spray him with an aloe mix (Avi Rain) in-between to avoid his skin drying out from the vinegar, but that's mainly because he had plucking issues before.

 

[prettyinpink]

i didn't know people are giving their birds vinegar? Is it good for them?

 

[J*M*L]

i didn't know people are giving their birds vinegar? Is it good for them?

Organic Apple Cider Vinegar is good for birds. It's good for us, too! Here is a link for you...
http://forums.avianavenue.com/holistic-avenue/333-apple-cider-vinegar.html

 

[Birdasaurus]

It helps fight bacteria especially, my vet prescribed it daily for the Grey who's battling a GI infection.

 

[jamie]

It helps fight bacteria especially, my vet prescribed it daily for the Grey who's battling a GI infection.

I just wanted to add to this ... the vinegar helps to acidify (lower the pH) of the bird's digestive system. This helps the "good" bacteria to flourish and to limit the growth of the "bad" bacteria.

 

[silvermuse]

I just wanted to add to this ... the vinegar helps to acidify (lower the pH) of the bird's digestive system. This helps the "good" bacteria to flourish and to limit the growth of the "bad" bacteria.

Good to know Jamie! Is this the same for Lorikeets also? Gillies does still drink water, but usually just to mix with his powdered nectar. He gets a high quality liquid nectar in the morning and fresh organic fruits and veggies for dinner and the powdered nectar for in between times.

Annemarie

 

[jamie]

Good to know Jamie! Is this the same for Lorikeets also? Gillies does still drink water, but usually just to mix with his powdered nectar. He gets a high quality liquid nectar in the morning and fresh organic fruits and veggies for dinner and the powdered nectar for in between times.

Annemarie

Yes, I often use it in my lorikeet foods ... the only issue I had was when I was still using Avico's nectar powder. When I added the vinegar, it would cause the powder to "floculate" and it would not stay mixed for very long (it will always eventually separate, but the vinegar caused it to separate more quickly). Now, I use Goldenfeast and I do not have that problem.

I mix up a gallon of water with the appropriate amount of Apple Cider vinegar added to it. It's easier for me to do that than it is to mix each dish individually.

 

[Ashley]

I use aloe juice in my birds water and they bathe in until i changed them over to waterbottles.

 

[prettyinpink]

oh, thank you! I did not know that, I'll have to pick up some!