Conference 7.286::pet_birds

    Hi calliope's Dad,
           
          I would suggest that you try to give her a shower, since she
    seems to enjoy being sprayed. In the wild these Amazons get rained
    on every day and a shower is the nearest thing to a rain shower.
    I also have an Amazon only he is an Orange winged and he loves to
    get in the shower about every 10days to 2 weeks. I put the shower
    on and piont the water twards the drain and I have the temperature
    luke warm; then I put Sampson in the back of the tub and he just goes
    wild spreading his wings out and running in and out of the falling
    water. As for drying, I usually keep him warm by having the heat 
    turned up an extra 5 degrees and I like to keep him on me so that 
    the heat from my body will keep him warm. I have blow dryed him but
    you do have to be very carefull not to burn him. If the shower don't
    work for her you might try getting a large heavy pan put it in a sink
    and leave the water running slowly and see if she'll take one that way.
    Spraying her with the bottle is also very good just make sure she is
    kept warm while she is drying. My Sampson won't tolerate being sparyed
    as he totaly hates it and tries to bite me and grab the bottle away
    from me. Also make sure you watch her if is near standing water as they
    can drown very easily. Come on all you other noters, write and tell us
    how you clean your birds. I love the way they look after they are dry
    as thier feathers are so clean and neat it really makes them look
    pretty.   
    
           Mike and Sampson

    Hi - 
    
    My birds (2) are only tiny little Zebra Finches but they love their
    bath!
    
    I have a bath tub that hooks right into the doorway of their cage.
    It is meant for parakeets, so for two tiny birds it is huge!
    
    They often try to get into the tub before it is secured to the cage!
    They like the water deep and warm.
    
    Max seems to enjoy his bath more than Maggie!  Often times she won't
    take a bath!  Depends on her mood!  The next night though, she is
    first in - and really makes the water fly!  Guess she doesn't like
    to be called "a smelling old hen"!
    
    Spoiled birds?  No.........................!
    
    Peeps and Chirps,
    
                Susan 
    
    
    
    

    warning:
    	I tried to give my macaw a bath/shower this weekend and almost
    lost my thumb. He's not too crazy about being sprayed with a mist
    bottle either. Any other ideas? he's domestic if that helps.
    
    
    
    b.

    
    
    
    
    
       Haven't written in here in a while!
    
       I've got two conures, a nanday and a gold cap. The nanday
    bathes in it's water dish, which is far too small to do any
    serious cleaning, so I spray it with a mister, and it's not
    appreciated one bit! Lots of screeching!
    
       The gold cap, Bonsai, loves the kitchen sink! I fill it with about
    3 inches of warm water and leave the faucet running. Bonsai spreads his
    wings and runs under the stream of water, and bobs up and down getting
    his whole body wet. I've taken him in the shower with me, too. I just
    put him on the shelf and aim the water at him. He loves it!
    
    
    
    
                -Jennifer!

    In the FWIW category, our Amazons LOVE spray baths, the conures about
    half and half (half love it, half prefer terra cotta dishes with water
    so *they* choose when to bathe), the lovebirds hated it, so they now
    all get the terra cotta dishes once a day, the canaries prefer a 
    bathing dish as well, as do the finches.  When using a spray, make
    sure the water is warm and spray an arc of water over the bird's head
    at first--don't aim the spray at the bird...once the bird starts 
    fluffing up his feathers, you can direct the spray to the bird himself.
    If the bird just sits there and clamps the feathers down, he's not in
    the mood, so stop.  Our Amazons usually go nuts with the spray bath,
    but occasionally they will not be ready for a bath and just sit and
    glower at me if I continue the spray, so I just stop and try it the
    next day.  If you use the terra cotta dishes (the ones you can buy
    for under a dollar at most nurseries and plant places...they are the
    red clay ones used under flower pots...give a good surface for little
    feet so they don't slip)...make sure you remove and clean the dish
    within the day because it gets really grungy if you leave it...and
    they DRINK out of it!!  Ugh.  /Linda

    
    We have a Blue crowned conure that takes his bath in anything he can!
    We put a large bird bath (plastic) in his play pen so he can take it
    anytime he is out of his cage. (He doesn't like to mess up his cage).
    He also likes to be sprayed. Now - the two cockatiels are a different
    story. The do not like being sprayed - nor will they bathe on their
    own. So - I take them in the shower with me and they seem to Tolerate
    that. They do like to sit on the side of the tub with I am taking a
    bath - bit won't venture into the water. I guess all birds are
    different - but that is what makes them neat!

	I guess it depends on the bird, and what he/she is used to.  During 
	the winter, I put Avalon in the shower about once a week, and towel
	dry him...

	He is sort of ambivalent about the shower, but loves the towel.  we
	used to use a hair dryer, but since his happiest thing in the world
	would have been to KILL the hir dryer, the towel seemed a better idea!

	During the summer, generally he gets "hosed" twice a week...this is
	the garden hose in the backyard...he still gets his towel thou, to
	play with and of course, eat.

	-dick

    I don't have a large bird -- like the ones in the previous notes.  I
    have two cockatiels.  Should I spray bottle them?  I did when I first
    got Pookie, but he never seemed to "love" it.  I never tried it on
    Pookette.  Am I being neglectful?

	There is an excellent article on Bathing your bird in the newest
	Bird Talk.  I just go the issue yesterday, and I looked at it
	quickly, so I don't remember much about the article, but I believe
	the bird was a gray.

	Anyway, there were several good article in this issue, especially
	one about a 106 year old amazon!  And of course Pat Walz' column
	was excellent as usual...

	-dick

    I always have to see if my cockatiel is in the mood for a shower first.
    I will run the water warm in the bathroom sink, then put my hand under
    the stream and flick water drops onto Bananas.  If he starts spreading
    his wings then I turn on the shower, plop him on his shower perch, and
    we take a shower!
    
    After this I gently blow dry him with the dryer on low warm - he loved
    it.  Fluffs up his feathers and bobs and screeches at the hair dryer. 
    Then he'll turn himself around and shake his tail at it.
    
    Dick - do you always read "Living with Birds" first?  I enjoy seeing
    the pictures of everyday pets people submit for the back page.  I
    submitted a bunch of pictures and comments about my grey cheeks when
    they asked for letters about pocket parrots.  Hope some comments make
    it in!

    Cockatiels will often enjoy a bath dish, although some of them like
    to be sprayed.  If you spray with warm water and do it just a little
    each day, it will help keep the cockatiel dust down and they may
    get more used to it.  Some birds are afraid of the spray bottle...
    others are afraid of the 'hiss' sound the spray makes, so go slow
    at first and let them adjust at their own speed over several days/weeks
    if necessary, otherwise they'll just get upset every time instead of
    enjoying the bath.  The ceramic 6 to 7 inch flower pot bases are good
    and cost very little if you want to try putting a fresh water bath
    on the bottom of the cage each day.  Do it right before changing
    papers (maybe a couple of hours ahead) to save double work!! /Linda

    
    	Yup.....always read "Living with Birds", and then I check out the
    rest of the magazine....Hey it isn't often that you really know a
    "famous" (well sorta famous) person.  Plus Pat's column is always fun,
    and I've personally met all Pat's birds except Phoebe, and I plan to
    remedy that when I am in Texas next week.
    
    	-dick