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Teaching my bird to bathe?

katrenia

Strolling the yard
Avenue Veteran
Joined
10/24/18
Messages
118
Hi all, so I have tried sink bath, the basic one that connects to the cage, and a pet fountain. Tzitzit is still a baby and he has no interest in any of them. He really seems to dislike being wet, when I tried the sink out he was very worked up because my sink is deep (his wings were clipped by the breeder) and couldn't climb out. I just put my hand in there and he stayed on my shoulder after for like 2 hours.

I'm afraid to try the spray bottle and have it be like the sink. Any bath time suggestions?

Also any suggestions for out of cage fun? He gets bored after about three hours out and demands back in his cage. He does play a lot in his cage, I've been millet training him with toys and it's been very successful!
 

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Miss_sj

Jogging around the block
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10/11/18
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909
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Australia
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stacie
He is very very cute!

I have a budgie who is a little averse to bathing, and I've found if I have him on my hand in the sink or bath and run the water very lightly so it trickles onto my hand, he will become interested and eventually ducks under and has a shower. The water pools in my hand and he will bathe in it.

Weird but works for us!

I bought a little bird bath that attaches to the cage, and put some spinach leaves into the water and that attracted him and he actually has started bathing without being on my hand. In the wild they bathe in leaves, so if he has a lettuce leaf or some greens to bathe with it might entice him.
 

MommyBird

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I agree with Stacie completely.
Our budgie would bathe in our hands under a trickle of water. It is so sweet to have them do that.
Any kind of wet greens also made him just "have to" take a bath in them.
 

Toy

Rollerblading along the road
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Many years ago I had a budgie. He liked to bath in the sink on top of a large bowl. I turned the bowl upside down, so he'd have a flat place to stand & let the water drip onto the bowl.

Another thing you can try is a stand perch. I use "Polly's Portable Stand", made by Polly's Pet Products, for my CAG & U2 in the bathtub. They also make them for smaller birds. I found them here, Polly's Pet Products Portable Stand Small but many sites sell them. Just Google "Polly's Portable Stand".
 

Mybluebird

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Anne
Nothing I did would coax Tweetie to take a bath so I spritz him with a water bottle that has a fine mist. The first couple of times, he was afraid of the bottle but now he loves it. I read somewhere tht you need to be careful about spraying the nostrils so I spray his back. I keep offering him a water bowl but he hasn't used it yet.
 

katrenia

Strolling the yard
Avenue Veteran
Joined
10/24/18
Messages
118
He is very very cute!

I have a budgie who is a little averse to bathing, and I've found if I have him on my hand in the sink or bath and run the water very lightly so it trickles onto my hand, he will become interested and eventually ducks under and has a shower. The water pools in my hand and he will bathe in it.

Weird but works for us!

I bought a little bird bath that attaches to the cage, and put some spinach leaves into the water and that attracted him and he actually has started bathing without being on my hand. In the wild they bathe in leaves, so if he has a lettuce leaf or some greens to bathe with it might entice him.
I tried the bath in my hand In a smaller sink and he seemed to tolerate it a little. I've tried some spinach but he's not used to veggies yet. He likes carrots, raspberries, and kiwi.
 

Birdie Mama

Rollerblading along the road
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Mine would never take a bath and was scared of the spray. One day I hooked up a table top fountain, and he beach me a fish instantly. I think the water sounds also drew him in. Now every bird I’ve had since, loves the fountain.
 

Melli

Strolling the yard
Joined
9/10/19
Messages
101
Real Name
Melli
One of my four will use the bath in the side of the cage (though they ALL drink from it!). Two will use a bowl of kale and water. But Oops! doesn't like ANYthing... and of course she is the dirtiest... I spritz her from time to time but I hate to because she really does NOT like it! I'm going to go look for a fountain and see if that attracts her! Thanks for posting this thread! :heart:
 
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