Duster's Guide on How To Encourage a Bird to Bathe

 Most of us birds enjoy some form of bathing but we often have our own favourites.  Sometimes we need encouragement to bathe, and sometimes we might need to be taught how.

Me and my little blue lid playing in water

Some methods of bathing include:

• Bathing in our water dishes
• With a bird bath attached to the cage
• Showers in a human shower
• With friends - both birds and humans
• Playing under a dripping or running tap
• Under the hose or sprinkler outside
• Outside in the rain
• In a shallow dish
• Bathing in a dish of deeper water (which is kinda like swimming for a bird) 
• Misting
• Rolling around, playing or 'bathing' in wet salad leaves or wet grass
• Waterplay with our humans
• In cupped human hands
• Or with little water fountains especially for us

Remember not all of us birds will enjoy all of these options, and we may need to be offered an option many many times before we will even get close to the water or enjoy it.  Although we should be offered opportunities to bathe we really shouldn't be forced to unless it's essential for our welfare.

My first way of bathing was showering with my human, but my human wanted to help me learn how to bathe in water so that I could enjoy water play.  She used a large dinner plate and filled it with some luke warm water.  Now, I trusted her so I was willing to come and investigate but for further encouragement she also used my little blue lid.  Here's a video to show my experience...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc3sCrjDiwE

 I believe that bathing is just another form of play for us birds and it should be enjoyable and fun.  Here are some of my thoughts and suggestions to help my bird friends try fun bathing experiences...

Safety:  It is important that where possible we should be supervised especially if you're using deeper water, or a dish where we can't just walk out of it - wet feathers can be heavy and jumping out of water can be hard.  For example, a dinner plate with water is easy for a bird to exit; a plastic container with sides, even if only filled with a little water, is much harder for us to exit.

Security:  We will need to feel safe to be willing to get our feathers wet as it can effect our ability to fly and that makes us feel vulnerable.  This may be why many birds like to bathe in their water dishes in their cage as it is where they feel their safest.  If you want us to have some form of bathing in places in the house suitable for water - like the kitchen or bathroom - we might need to get introduced to these rooms enough times to feel comfortable there before we will even consider bathing.  Introduce new locations and experiences as slowly as needed for your bird - some of us may need things to progress very very slowly.

With a friend:  I like showering with my human, and this is quite a popular way to bathe.  Even if your bird doesn't wish to join in under the water, having them nearby is a good way to show them how safe and fun bathing can be.

Cecily and his Tiny Human

Here's Cecily the Hyacinth Macaw with his Tiny Human enjoying a bath.  Bathing is always more fun with a friend!

Photo used with permission.
www.facebook.com/cecilythehyacinthmacaw











Timing:  Generally it is a good idea to offer us bathing opportunities earlier in the day so we have the warmth of the day to get dry in.  However I've seen lots of my cheeky bird friends who like to bathe in their water dishes even late at night!!!  I imagine their homes are probably nice and warm and most importantly draft-free.

Sound:  The sound of the rain, a vacuum cleaner or running/dripping water can help encourage us.

Here's Benji the Budgie Extraordinaire in 'Benji the Budgie - Wash the Budgie' - you can see how much he loves having a dribbling tap!  He's also got a perfect shallow dish with a reflective surface and mirror to make the bath extra super duper fun.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVAtol3sWBk

This video has been used with permission.
www.facebook.com/BudgieExtraordinaire  
www.youtube.com/user/sparklplenti1

The water:  Some of us may prefer warm, luke warm, cold, or freezing cold water.  You may want to try water of a different temperature to see if yours might have a different preference.   

Depth of water:  Generally a shallower dish of water is a good place to start.  Some species of bird like deeper water, for example some conures seem to love almost swimming.  Unless absolutely certain go for shallower water.

Alternative water sources:  Wet leaves and grass are popular with some birds who use the moisture that clings to the leaves to moisten their feathers.

Salad Bath

Salad Bath

My friends at Bobbi der kleine Wellensittich love their salad baths.  And salad baths look super fun - I hope you enjoy their video

Photos and video link used with permission.
www.facebook.com/Bobbi-der-kleine-Wellensittich-1417340545179781

Temptation:  A favourite water-safe toy, pieces of our favourite veggies, salad greens etc can be used to help entice us into water.  For example, salad greens or grass etc can be placed into shallow dishes of water.  I myself like to have a toy (a little blue lid of course hehe) with me when I bathe in a shallow dish and even in the shower - either way it makes getting wet much more fun!!!

Misting or Spray Baths:  Misting and spray baths are a great way for birds to bathe and the can even be used for birds who stay in their cages and aviaries.  It is important not to squirt the water directly at them (unless of course they love it).  Instead aim above your birds and let the light mist drops fall gently onto them like misty rain.  You don't have to totally drench them as even a light moistening will help soften the dirt and/or pin feathers to help us get extra pretty clean feathers when we preen.

Cecily Mid-Spray Bath

Here's Cecily the Hyacinth Macaw mid spray-bath - he super duper loves his spray baths as you can see!  Positive and excited body language as demonstrated by Cecily will let you know if your bird is enjoying it.  It's a good idea to take it carefully and slowly if your bird is less enthusiastic.

Cecily also loves showers in the shower and playing under a hose outside, oh and even bathing in his tiny water dish hehehe!
Watch this fantastic video to see Cecily having a blast in the shower!

Photos and video link used with permission.
www.facebook.com/cecilythehyacinthmacaw










This is me bathing under the running tap with a shallow dish of water just the other day...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n_QnzWKePU

You can see how over the last year (since my first bathing video) I have gained confidence and independence when bathing.  I'm happy under a running tap instead of just a few sprinkles from my human's hands and my little blue lid.  I even let my human know when I want her to set up my bathing spot for me because it's so much fun.  And I don't even need to have my little blue lid with me every time!!

A BIG THANK YOU to my friends who let me share their photos and videos so that others could see how fun bathing is.  I wish you all lots of safe fun in the water my friends, Duster xx