Why does my canary refuse to bathe?

[Kathy Marie]

A little while ago I had a question about my canary and several forum members were very helpful with their responses. Now I have another question about the same bird and wonder if someone could offer their opinion.

I adopted Sunny from a lady who was unable to keep him. She definitely loved him but I'm not sure she was really bird savvy. She originally purchased him from a pet store. If I'm to believe her, she only had him for about 9 months. In that time she attempted to give him a bath in what would be described as a toy that was shaped like a human type bathtub. There wasn't anyway that this bird was going to take a bath in that deep tub.

When I brought him home I immediately tossed out the little tub and attempted to offer him a bath in a shallow saucer. He has, a few times, gone into the saucer and attempted to splash around. But he seems to get frightened when his feathers are wet and then he just sits on the bottom perch for over 20 minutes. He will fly to his upper perches once he, I guess, thinks that his feather are dry enough.

I've had this bird for over 3 years and I could count on one hand how many times he has gone into the saucer to bathe. I put the saucer in his cage almost every morning and he just refuses to bathe in it.

What he does everyday is splash himself in his water bowl. He gets his head wet and them seems to spread the water around his feathers. I'm not concerned about the mess he makes in his cage but I am concerned that he doesn't get his whole body wet. I know how important it is for them to have nicely preened feathers.

My last canary who passed away at 14 years of age always loved taking his baths. He would splash around and just have so much fun. Of course, I purchased him from a breeder when he was young and I never had any problems getting him used to anything. I even switched him to a pelleted diet, something I've never been able to do with Sunny.

I would welcome any and all opinions or suggestions on what I could do. Other than the bath situation he seems to be a happy and healthy canary.

 

[AutumnRain]

Bump

 

[Yoshi&Raphi]

My bird (not a canary but may be helpful) doesn’t like bathing in shallow dishes he will however bathe in bowls like your canary.

I recently found out he loves running tap water so maybe you could try that out with your bird? Maybe some wet grass to rub up against or a mist bottle?

 

[Adam21]

Make sure you give them their privacy. They will bathe when you're not in sight. Make sure the water isn't too deep and barely cold. I put water in a plastic container thing that's about three inches high or less. They start bathing their head and then get in the bath to wash their body. If you are staring at them they will only wash their head unless they are comfortable with you around them.

So try that and see if it works. He may bathing in his water dish on his own when you aren't looking.

 

[Kathy Marie]

@Adam21 and @Yoshi&Raphi Thank you very much for your replies. I do have a small saucer that I've been putting into his cage and slowly he is starting to go down and hop around the saucer. The other day I noticed that he stood on the edge and dipped his head into it. I really appreciate your advice about not being in the room while the bath is in his cage. He does not like me to stand by his cage for more than a few seconds. I do have his cage up on a stand that makes him a little higher because I know they don't like to be at the same level as I am.

He's such a sweet little bird and he has such a wonderful song. When I tell people that I have a bird they immediately ask me what type of bird. When I tell them I have a canary they aren't impressed. I think that's sad because he may be small but he means the world to my husband and I.

 

[finchly]

Canaries (and finches) won’t bathe thoroughly if there’s a perceived threat, like a cat in the vicinity. Or a dog if it wants to eat them.
Does the bath have a clear bottom? I find that mine don’t like clear things. They also don’t like the one black container I have.
Water level shouldn’t be over an inch or so, and if he’s ever steppped into too-deep water he may not step into it again.

My male canary loves to bathe on a wet lettuce leaf.

 

[Kathy Marie]

@finchly Thank you for your reply. We don't have any other pets except for two guinea pigs. The saucer that I use is not clear, it's a light green stoneware saucer. I do keep the water level very shallow. He's just finished up his molt and he's back to getting very active again so maybe he'll discover how much fun it is to take a bath. What I've found funny about this bird is he continues to sing throughout his entire molt. My last canary would stop singing for the entire time and then start back up after his molt was finished. Keri would stop singing but continue to take his daily baths. Sunny continues singing but refuses to bathe. Keri was almost 15 years old when he passed away so I hope that Sunny lives just as long or longer. He's a little character.

 

[camelotshadow]

Shallow dish small amount of water & put in a fav veggie or toy...

 

[finchly]

@finchly Thank you for your reply. We don't have any other pets except for two guinea pigs. The saucer that I use is not clear, it's a light green stoneware saucer. I do keep the water level very shallow. He's just finished up his molt and he's back to getting very active again so maybe he'll discover how much fun it is to take a bath. What I've found funny about this bird is he continues to sing throughout his entire molt. My last canary would stop singing for the entire time and then start back up after his molt was finished. Keri would stop singing but continue to take his daily baths. Sunny continues singing but refuses to bathe. Keri was almost 15 years old when he passed away so I hope that Sunny lives just as long or longer. He's a little character.

Awww he sounds wonderful!

If he continues to refuse baths, maybe try some other color, size, or something. My canaries (who always stop singing during molt, btw) are not picky at ALL. They even bathe on wet lettuce leaves.

 

[SamanthaAV]

I've never had a canary but I have had a lot of different birds who liked to take different kinds of baths. I used to have a Golfin Cockatoo who preferred to take a shower on the shower floor. (Not a tub a walk in shower) but most bigger birds tend to love showers. With my smaller birds, I noticed many of them are afriad of sinks, not sure why. So to combat this I cleaned out a Gatorade bottle, poked tiny holes in the cap, and filled it with lukewarm water. It doesn't really poor out, it drips, so you have to lightly squeeze it over their head to get the water to come out. I do this over the sink or bathtub while they are perched on my hand, which seems to be far less scary than being under the faucet. Another thing you could always try is getting a spray bottle and putting it on the gentle mist setting, you can spray near Sunny instead of directly at him to see how he feels about the idea. It's usually a winner for even the worst bathers.