Cockatiel who doesn't like baths but desperately needs a clean

[hexenbeast]

Okay this is probably the dumbest question lmao
I the super smart bird parent I am gave my flock strawberries as a treat. Forgetting one of my lovely babies is all WHITE.
It was like a horror show.
his white beak? Red
His little mowhawk? Also red
Feets? Red
His entire little face? RED
Any of my other birds I would not worry, but Squid is still entirely too nervous and hates baths, hates the spray and pretty much just about tolerates my existence. How do I clean my cockatiel so he doesn't look like he just commited a crime

 

[expressmailtome]

Honestly? If he is afraid of being bathed, I would let him molt the feathers naturally. Cockatiels can be prone to frights (even nigh frights). It should not be a health risk, so if bathing stresses him out too much, I would wait.

 

[hexenbeast]

Honestly? If he is afraid of being bathed, I would let him molt the feathers naturally. Cockatiels can be prone to frights (even nigh frights). It should not be a health risk, so if bathing stresses him out too much, I would wait.

I'll just offer him a large bowl when he's out and hope for the best
Hopefully it'll fade on it own or with a moult he's only around 22 weeks old currently

 

[expressmailtome]

At that age, I believe that he should be coming close to a first light molt. @sunnysmom may know better.

 

[MommyBird]

Many birds suddenly feel they are in the mood for a bath when you run the vacuum cleaner.
And if it is a sunny morning after a number of cloudy days, then even more so.

 

[sunnysmom]

He should be getting ready for a big molt. However sometimes you have to experiment with bathing. I had a cockatiel who would not bathe in the morning but loved them in the afternoon. You want to do early afternoon though so they're dry for bedtime. I try to make bathing fun. I do use a spray bottle. Warm water. I shoot it up so it falls like rain. I spray my hand first so they can see what I am doing. I sing a silly song. If they still don't like it, I stop and try again later. You definitely don't want to force it. Sometimes the size of the bottle matters too. One of my foster birds was terrified of the big spray bottle so I switched to a small one. Some birds like a shallow dish to bathe in. Just keep trying but again, don't force it.

 

[Aestatis]

I have had two tiels that prefer the faucet if they could perch on my arm or in my hands. So you could try that. Go to a sink and set it to warm water at a trickle. Cup the stream in your hands so it can collect and make a fun splashing sound. Your tiel might at least get curious. If all he does is go down to the stream and peck at it once then still praise him for it.

It might help to wear long sleeves that you don't mind getting wet so your tiel doesn't end up slipping on your wet arms.

 

[hexenbeast]

He should be getting ready for a big molt. However sometimes you have to experiment with bathing. I had a cockatiel who would not bathe in the morning but loved them in the afternoon. You want to do early afternoon though so they're dry for bedtime. I try to make bathing fun. I do use a spray bottle. Warm water. I shoot it up so it falls like rain. I spray my hand first so they can see what I am doing. I sing a silly song. If they still don't like it, I stop and try again later. You definitely don't want to force it. Sometimes the size of the bottle matters too. One of my foster birds was terrified of the big spray bottle so I switched to a small one. Some birds like a shallow dish to bathe in. Just keep trying but again, don't force it.

I've been slowly trying to desensitize him to a spray bottle as that's what my other teil prefers. (Spraying it up so it falls like rain, or spraying away from him and rewarding with millet when he moves closer or shows bathing behaviours. But we're still not 100% there and not enough for him to clean his strawberry mess

 

[hexenbeast]

I have had two tiels that prefer the faucet if they could perch on my arm or in my hands. So you could try that. Go to a sink and set it to warm water at a trickle. Cup the stream in your hands so it can collect and make a fun splashing sound. Your tiel might at least get curious. If all he does is go down to the stream and peck at it once then still praise him for it.

It might help to wear long sleeves that you don't mind getting wet so your tiel doesn't end up slipping on your wet arms.

I have one of those toy sinks in the room for the birds, my kak loves it and my other tiel has started to get curious (she prefers spray bottle to baths) but he's still not sold on it yet

 

[sweetwillow]

I bought the best spray mister (inexpensive) that works well for my birds from the Birdtricks online store. It produces the finest mist that holds a few minutess, and you dont have to keep pumping it like the regular squeaky plant spray bottles that my birds shy away from. My tiel loves it.