• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

How do I get my Cockatiels to bathe?

honkwee

Meeting neighbors
Joined
12/22/20
Messages
23
Real Name
ava
My cockatiels refuse to bathe! I am very inexperienced with birds, so any advice would be greatly appreciated! They hate getting misted, refuse to use a bird bath, refuse to use a shallow bowl, refuse to use a plate and I don't know what else to do. Does anyone have any ideas? Thank you!!
 

Ripshod

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
12/6/18
Messages
7,529
Location
UK
Real Name
Linden
My cockatiels refuse to bathe! I am very inexperienced with birds, so any advice would be greatly appreciated! They hate getting misted, refuse to use a bird bath, refuse to use a shallow bowl, refuse to use a plate and I don't know what else to do. Does anyone have any ideas? Thank you!!
A lot of tiles never bathe so don't worry about it. Just leave them a dish of water in case they suddenly decide to take a dip.
 

Sunni Tiel

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
1/18/21
Messages
1,201
Location
Missouri
Real Name
Rachel
My cockatiel Sunni only accepts baths on warm days with slightly above room temp water from the clear spray bottle on fine mist inside his cage on his favorite perch. Don't ask how long it took me to figure that out lol. He only sometimes accepts baths in the shower.

It totally depends on the bird. Offer baths in every way you can think of, but many cockatiels are just too picky and will never like baths.

Edit: forgot to mention it has to be darkish or cloudy outside for sunni to accept baths. He only bathes on the rare occasions that all of his requirements are met.
 

Sylvi_

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/27/15
Messages
4,244
Location
South Florida
Real Name
Sylvi
All I’ve ever done is offer Mimi a shallow dish of water every day, but each bird is different and some won’t try bathing for ages. When she was younger, I remember putting on rain sounds to try to introduce her to the idea.

But I’d just keep offering!

The mist bottle can be a bit scary if they aren’t actively taking a bath. I only use it whenever she’s already in the pool of water and putting her wings up.
 

Mark & Da Boyz

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
5/19/17
Messages
2,256
Location
Tampa, Fl
Real Name
Mark
Good luck. Before I was forced to rehome my Tiel 3 out of 3 hated baths as a rule. I could every once in awhile I could get Nibble to take one but Piper and Dodger...no way!
 

Veritgo01

Strolling the yard
Joined
7/20/20
Messages
126
Watch for bathing behaviors when they are at the drinking bowl. If they are using their beak to splash the water around then it is a good sign that they want a bath. I would try to mist them and see if they open their wings and fluff up. If they walk away then stop and don’t press the issue.
 

Skum

Walking the driveway
Joined
7/11/19
Messages
294
Real Name
Bruce Bergeson
My cockatiels refuse to bathe! I am very inexperienced with birds, so any advice would be greatly appreciated! They hate getting misted, refuse to use a bird bath, refuse to use a shallow bowl, refuse to use a plate and I don't know what else to do. Does anyone have any ideas? Thank you!!
Give them a shower in the kitchen sink or shower. Simply hold them under warm water in the sink or stick them under the shower with them on your finger. When I got my 1 yr. old tiel I stuck her under the shower, she spread her wings in shock but realised she liked it. She takes a shower at least once a week
 

Msmonroe

Checking out the neighborhood
Joined
6/26/20
Messages
1
Real Name
Emma
My cockatiel doesnt like misting or baths however he often splashes water from his bowl over him and on hot days will let me splash water over him.
 

Amber2018

Meeting neighbors
Joined
6/29/18
Messages
43
Real Name
Amber
I find the running water can sometimes put my cockatiels in the mood for a dip or a spray. Sometimes I bring them in the washroom with me while I take a shower so they can get some of the humidity. Like others have said, leave a very shallow bowl around your tiel and see if he takes a dip!
 

Pearly

Meeting neighbors
Joined
11/1/20
Messages
44
I have been using the shower head to bathe the birds in a bath cage. This ensure a thorough wash rather than waiting for them to bathe themselves.

Regards,
 
Top