Need some advice/help

[goatteeth]

Nothing too extreme, but my 4/5 month old Witkin is growing in feathers on his backside near where his neck meets his back. He's overall healthy, but sometimes i'll 'itch' these places and he loves it so much that he closes his eyes and becomes really calm. Are the new feathers causing him to be itchy or something???? I don't want him walking around in a desperate need of an itch when I can't give him one D:
If i give him a bath, would this help? And speaking of baths, how many baths do you give your bird weekly? He really enjoys them, doesn't stay in the water for long, and I usually use warm water because my apartment is kind of cold. I do this about once a week.

He's also making this sort of "hhuhhhhh" sound, almost like a hiss? Not really a growl though, although sometimes he makes this "rraaaggg" sound and hauls butt at something then attacks it. I think it's mostly playful but I also don't know? could he be doing something like that because he's genuinely afraid or does he just wanna play?

One more thing, how do I potty train him? He squats when he's about to do the thing, and I know that putting my hand over his tail and moving him into the cage will help, but is there a different approach that I should do?

Any overall advice would be helpful as well! Sorry these questions are all about random things, haha.

 

[expressmailtome]

Bump.

 

[macawpower58]

Birds love certain areas 'scritched' just like we love our backs scratched.
I'd not worry he has any itch problems. No bathes, they are only needed if he'd fall into something needing washed off.
You can get him use a natural bath, try using a mister to simulate softly falling rain. Most parrots grow to love it and will turn, twist, hang upside down, and open their wings to catch every drop.

I'm not too familiar with Quaker noises, but parrots make many, many sounds. From squeaks to growls.
In play, in fear, in irritation, etc.... Your baby sounds like it's a mock play attack, and not something to worry about.

Don't potty train him. It can cause health problems down the road. Birds need to evacuate upon movement to lighten their bodies for flight. He will train you in when he needs to go, and you can just place him in a spot you'd like for that reason. Many of us buy those pick-a-size paper towels just for the reasons we use them A LOT!

 

[goatteeth]

Birds love certain areas 'scritched' just like we love our backs scratched.
I'd not worry he has any itch problems. No bathes, they are only needed if he'd fall into something needing washed off.
You can get him use a natural bath, try using a mister to simulate softly falling rain. Most parrots grow to love it and will turn, twist, hang upside down, and open their wings to catch every drop.

I'm not too familiar with Quaker noises, but parrots make many, many sounds. From squeaks to growls.
In play, in fear, in irritation, etc.... Your baby sounds like it's a mock play attack, and not something to worry about.

Don't potty train him. It can cause health problems down the road. Birds need to evacuate upon movement to lighten their bodies for flight. He will train you in when he needs to go, and you can just place him in a spot you'd like for that reason. Many of us buy those pick-a-size paper towels just for the reasons we use them A LOT!

Thank you!

 

[macawpower58]

Any photos?

 

[Quakerlady]

Quakers parrots LOVE taking baths in a shallow dish of water. My blue Opaline quaker is not quite 4 months old and she takes a bath a couple of times a week. This is absolutely necessary for good feathers for a quaker. Your bird might be molting and growing in new feathers. These feathers are in a sheath and they can be itchy until all of the pin feathers are open. Taking a bath is essential especially when molting. I put small plastic toys in my birds large bath and she loves playing with them. This also encourages her to step in and take a bath. You can always GOOGLE these things to find out all you need to know, and then some. Is your Quaker talking yet?