Rocky came to live with us less than a year ago. In her previous home she did not get much attention and missed out on a lot of things. Fresh fruits and veggies, hanging outside of her cage, etc... She is a very picky eater. There are very few fruits she will eat. Mostly oranges and sometimes bananas and never any veggies. Besides being a picky eater, she hates showers. I have never taken her into our shower but have spritzed her with a bottle of water and she gets really mad! Is there something different I can do? She really needs a bath and I think she'd feel much better if she had one!
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Baths
- Thread starter saraz
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i would try setting her in the bath tub with alittle water see what she does i have a few birds that hate spray bottles but love showers or playing in the bath tub
Prudence hates the mister as well, but will bathe in her water dish....I think setting her in the sink or tub with just enough water to cover her toes might encourage her to investigate, LOL
Good Luck!
Good Luck!
Thanks for the info. My other problem is that I can't really "put" her anywhere. She'll hop onto my arm and shoulder but doesn't let me put her places. She'll run to the other side of my shoulder or hang behind my head on my back, ha ha! Any ideas regarding this secondary issue?
Hi Sara,
Sounds like your birdy could use a little "step down" training. With positive reinforcement, you should be able to get your macaw to step down from your arm onto a different surface.
A shower perch might be a good place to train her to step to (without the water, at first). It takes practice and lots of treats and praise, but it's a valuable skill for her to have. Now, that being said, it's very hard to get some of them into the shower or tub. My B&G hates the shower. So, I just have to give her a mist bath. She doesn't like it much, but she gets one regularly anyway, and she's pretty used to it at this point. So, if you can't train your bird to step down onto a shower perch or into the tub, you'll probably just need to continue misting her.
Try running a vacuum cleaner for a few minutes, and then try to spray her. Sometimes it takes a minute or two, before they realize "hey this isnt so bad" and she'll start to open up her wings, waggle her tail, maybe scratch her head with her feet, and you'll know she wants a bath
My scarlet macaw got VERY vocal during bath time.
My scarlet macaw got VERY vocal during bath time.
Anna was sprayed with a squirt gun to make her quiet in her previous home, it took me a year to get her to come in the shower with me and sit on her perch
motter1975
Sitting on the front steps
When we got Bam Bam (YCM) a few months ago, we tried a large dish of water (he was terrified), spritzing with a spray bottle (put up with it, but really didn't like it), and the sprayer from the kitchen sink (also wasn't crazy about). Then my husband decided to try to take him in the shower with him, and he LOVED it. Now they take showers together at least once a week. Strangely, the water has to be full force on him, and it has to be warm/hot (like the temp we would shower with). If it's cool, or even lukewarm, he won't go under, but when it gets hot, he climbs up my husbands shoulder, and positions himself on his back to where he's fully under the water, wings spread, and just a chirpin' away. And he wants to stay under forever...LOVES those showers...
Don't know if it would work for you, but you may want to try him in an actual shower.
Good luck!
Don't know if it would work for you, but you may want to try him in an actual shower.
Good luck!
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