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Post by Holly on Apr 10, 2016 3:55:58 GMT -5
Hi Everyone, Since last I posted, Norman and I have made great progress. He is now trusting me so much more and is becoming more comfortable sitting on my hand or arm or even my head haha I have been reading though that he should be bathing weekly and so far he hasn't been doing this. I have only had Norman for two weeks so I don't want to ruin any of our new found trust but I'm wondering how to best bathe him... Should I just provide him with a shallow bowl of water and hope he washes himself, should I be training him to wash in the sink or shower and if so how should I start doing this? Norman is a cautious little bird and I don't want to scare him and undo any of the progress we have made together. Any advice would be great! Thank you  |
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Post by easttex on Apr 10, 2016 5:58:16 GMT -5
It sounds like things are going swimmingly! I would go with with the bowl first. You can try splashing your fingers around in it to make it look a bit more enticing. Peppy demands a bowl at least every few days, so I don't have to worry about his bathing. My grey is more reluctant, so there are a couple things I do with her. I bought a shower perch, but she doesn't like to be in the shower. I leave it on the bathroom mirror so she can benefit from the humidity while I shower. If you try a shower perch, just go very slowly. Try putting it on the mirror for a while so he gets used to the environment. When you move it to the shower, if Norman shows signs of distress, stop and put him back where he is comfortable. Keep trying to come a little closer very day. He will probably never like to be in the direct spray. On a side note, I try to be careful about the products I use when Allie is in the bathroom. I save the strongly scented things for another time. I also give Allie spritz baths with a fine mist sprayer every other day. Spraying directly can be scary, so in the beginning I sprayed up and let it fall on her. As she got used to it I was able to spray more directly, and can now get her under-carriage. She hates being sprayed on the underside of her tail!  The only problem with the spraying is that it's impossible to soak a bird that doesn't want to get wet. |
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Post by beccilouise on Apr 10, 2016 6:36:40 GMT -5
I offer Maya a bath every couple of days. She's normally pretty good at jumping in her water bowl if she needs a bath. I enticed Maya into it by heating the water to just below body temperature (I tested this by putting my finger in it), water for your bird should NEVER feel hot to the touch, but lukewarm water is fine and Maya took to bathing much more quickly with her baths a little warmer. Sometimes you need to train them to bathe, start by making it a game, offering a bowl and just letting the bird explore, splash about in it and make a fuss as if it's the best thing ever. As your bird approaches, reward him with a treat or some affection. That way, the water becomes something fun. It might take a few tries, but he'll get there eventually |
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Post by Caseysmom on Apr 10, 2016 8:05:00 GMT -5
Casey stands on the shower door every day while I shower, sometimes she comes down on my arm to get the spray. She doesn't always get a bath dish, and if I forget, she will jump in her water dish and make a big mess! Norman might surprise you one day and have a bath by himself!
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Post by zim on Apr 10, 2016 13:20:54 GMT -5
With Yoshi, I first offered a pyrex dish filled with water on the kitchen counter. I just set him on the edge, he perched there but wouldn't go down in it. This wasn't too long after bringing him home tho, and he was still very afraid of being away from his cage.
So the next time I tried, I simply put the dish on top of his cage. He jumped right in and threw water all over the place!
After a couple times of that, I put the dish in the sink. He was hesitant and nervous at first, but he got used to it. After a while, I now place the dish in the bottom of the shower. Again, he was nervous at first, but now he has no problem with it. I try to let him take a bath every 2-3 days. I know when he's ready, as he will perch on my glass of water and try to take a bath in it, lol. Doesn't seem to bother him that it's ice cold, interestingly enough.
Yoshi also takes a shower with me every morning. I built a shower perch for him, but it won't work on my tile shower, so he just perches on the shower head. He doesn't like being directly in the spray, but loves to just soak up the steam and be with me I guess. If he for some reason thinks I'm going to take a shower without him, he throws the biggest fit, you'd think someone was trying to murder him.
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Post by biteybird on Apr 14, 2016 4:38:24 GMT -5
Bonnie is a Stinky Bird too. Recently she hasn't even had a bath once per week and when she does have one she doesn't spend very long and doesn't get more than half wet. We don't know why. I'll have to try some different tactics - she does sit on the shower curtain rail, so perhaps I should take her into the bathroom and go the 'humidity' angle. Hmm, it's confusing.  |
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Post by Jan and Shah on Apr 14, 2016 5:23:49 GMT -5
Shah tells me when he wants a bath - but he is getting one tomorrow whether he likes it or not. I have a ceramic casserole dish - it is smallish but there is plenty of room for him. White on the inside and light yellow on the outside with handles at each end. I fill it with lukewarm water - he stands on the handles and tests the temperature with his foot. He also doesn't like me to watch him bathe so I have to leave the room. He also likes being misted. I do have a shower perch which I will try out when I move in July.
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Post by Holly on Apr 22, 2016 6:03:31 GMT -5
So bathing still isn't going that great. I tried misting and Norman tolerated that, I think deep down he actually kind of enjoyed it but wouldn't quite let himself because he was nervous. I would really love him to use the shower perch I bought him so I have been regularly taking him into the shower (without the water running) and letting him use his perch so it isn't too 'scary' or 'new' but he still isn't that keen. I would really like to teach him while he is still young that having a bath is fun, so I tried filling a small shallow container of luke warm water on top of his cage but NO WAY! He did not appreciate that, he didn't want to go anywhere near it or even look at it haha So I guess the battle continues... I think we will stick with misting for now and try to work on the other bathing methods slowly but surely! |
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Post by zim on Apr 22, 2016 11:54:14 GMT -5
He may be scared of the dish. Maybe try leaving the dish within site of his cage, and try again each day?
It's easy to forget that birds are animals of prey, and are usually scared of everything new. Just last night I decided to introduce Yoshi to a strawberry for the first time. I wasn't even thinking, I held the strawberry up to him and he quickly ran away, scared. I had to eat half of it slowly while he watched before he'd come back near me. Once he got brave enough to try it, however, he now loves strawberries!
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Post by Jan and Shah on Apr 22, 2016 17:21:44 GMT -5
I actually mist above the birds' heads so it falls down like rain. I get a better reaction when I do this. They spread their wings and stick their tiny little butts up in the air.
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Post by aaron on Apr 23, 2016 12:01:16 GMT -5
If he for some reason thinks I'm going to take a shower without him, he throws the biggest fit, you'd think someone was trying to murder him. Oh man, if Cupcake learns that my wife or I are taking a shower without her, she goes absolutely nuts. That is totally unacceptable behavior to her. She will not put up with it. |
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Post by Holly on Apr 25, 2016 3:58:20 GMT -5
Yay! I was just walking past Norman's cage and noticed Norman was standing in his water bowl... I thought thank god its time for a bath so I quickly went and got a shallow dish and filled it up with warm water and BOOM he went straight in and had a massively drenching bath! He looked so cute afterwards, all soggy and tiny! I wish I could attach photos to this post but I can't workout how?! Oh well, you'll just have to take my word for it, he looked adorable! Now with misting and with this new bath, I am happy to say he is no longer a 'stinky' bird! |
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Post by aaron on Apr 25, 2016 9:05:44 GMT -5
Glad to hear Norman has finally decided to have himself a bath!! So, to upload photos, you have to host them elsewhere and post them using a link here. Photobucket and Facebook both work. Here's a post with instructions: www.quakerparrotforum.com/thread/31/post-photos |
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Post by julianna on Apr 25, 2016 17:20:32 GMT -5
That is great news for sure. Quakers love water.... so you can expect this much more often.
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Post by Holly on May 1, 2016 4:55:13 GMT -5
Norman was standing in his water dish again today so I offered him a Luke warm bath in a large container and boom he dove right in! The he only problem was it was about 4:30pm and it's starting to get cold now... so after some research I decide to blow dry him a little. I put the blow dryer about a metre from him set on really low and my god did he love it! I know hair dryers can dry out his skin so I will only use it occasionally, I just didn't want him to be too wet overnight. Now he is all fluffy and looking very pleased with himself! |
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The only problem with the spraying is that it's impossible to soak a bird that doesn't want to get wet. 
