|
|
Post by embracethefall on May 29, 2015 11:18:33 GMT -5
Hey all,
The Dude is growing up so fast, hehe. He's fully feathered and starting to drop weight for his debut flight! I was wondering when it was alright to start introducing him to showers?
|
|
|
|
Post by easttex on May 29, 2015 12:04:06 GMT -5
I've never raised a parrot from babyhood, so I'm open to correction, but I would wait until after fledging. It is a very good idea to expose him to new things while he's very young, but fledging would be the absolute earliest he would be able to bathe in the wild, and my inclination is to try to keep things as close to natural as possible.
|
|
|
|
Post by siobhan on May 29, 2015 12:20:36 GMT -5
I got two of mine as babies, a cockatiel and a starling. Both were fully feathered by the time they came home, and Ringo (the starling) knew about baths by instinct, I guess. I offered a bowl and she dived right in. Freddie had not been well taken care of at the breeder's and had big globs of formula dried on his face feathers, so he had to have baths to get that off and it turned him off baths for a while, but he likes being misted. He still doesn't want a tub bath. Once your baby has all his feathers, try offering a shallow dish and splash and play in it and see if he shows any interest. Or get a new spray bottle and put lukewarm water in it and spray it over his head so if falls on him and see what he thinks of that. Different birds have different preferences.
|
|
|
|
Post by julianna on May 29, 2015 13:57:32 GMT -5
Siobhan is correct they do have different preferences. My Oscar loves a bath the same way birds do in the wild. I put warm water (not too warm) in the bathroom sink and he will let me know if he wants to go in. I never force the issue. And he will tell me when it is time to get out. I offer my finger and if he doesn't step up then he isn't ready.
The other day we had our water cut off due to the men working on the street and Oscar decided he wanted a bath. When he wants one... he wants one bad. I took him to the bathroom and showed him I had no water... but that didn't work he was going in the sink anyway.
The only water I had was a pot of water which I had taken earlier that morning as I knew the water would be shut off. When Oscar saw that pot of water he almost jumped right into it. I was carrying the pot of water using both hands to the bathroom and Oscar was on my shoulder. By the time I got have way to the bathroom he had crawled down my shirt in the front and was just hanging there trying to get into the pot. It was hilarious. I yelled for my husband to help me and finally he grabbed the pot and I grabbed Oscar and we finally made it to the bathroom.
The water was a bit on the cool side but Oscar did not mind. He dove right in and splashed around. It was quite cute.
|
|
|
|
Post by embracethefall on May 29, 2015 16:10:27 GMT -5
Haha, I love the stories! It would have been priceless to snap a picture of the little green chicken in the pot of water.  Unless it was too deep, of course. Thanks for the replies, I just didn't want to start tryi g to offer baths until it was safe. |
|
|
|
Post by aaron on May 29, 2015 16:15:36 GMT -5
Cupcake loves showers, but we introduced them not long after we got her, maybe when she was around 1 year old or so. Unfortunately I don't have much knowledge of what would be the best age to introduce them. I think Easttex has the right idea with keeping things as natural as possible as far as the timing goes. That's a funny story, julianna... Cupcake is similar in that she will quite suddenly decide that she urgently needs a bath. Then you will find her dipping her face in your cup if she doesn't get a bath immediately.  And in those cases we just pull out a pyrex dish for her to flap around in. I shower her generally once a week, on the weekend when I have the luxury of taking long showers... under normal circumstances she just sits on her shower perch that is positioned away from the water--she likes to just sit there and stay dry when I take showers and enjoy the warmth and practice various noises... But on shower day, I will pick her up from her shower perch (usually she comes willingly but sometimes needs a little encouragement) and carefully wash her under cool water, keeping her face out of the stream. To keep her from hating it I have always held her against my cheek and sung to her before and after, which she likes so much that she just accepts the getting washed part. Usually she gets one shower and requests one bath per week. |
|
|
|
Post by aaron on May 29, 2015 16:25:13 GMT -5
Haha, I love the stories! It would have been priceless to snap a picture of the little green chicken in the pot of water. Unless it was too deep, of course. Thanks for the replies, I just didn't want to start tryi g to offer baths until it was safe. Nice! Another person that calls them "little green chickens" Sometimes we call Cupcake "Chicken McChickeness". |
|
|
|
Post by grimtheparrot on May 29, 2015 16:54:46 GMT -5
I call my Quaker "chicken lips"
|
|
|
|
Post by siobhan on May 29, 2015 17:56:44 GMT -5
What I call mine depends on their behavior that day. "Babies" and "pumpkins" if they're being good. Unprintable if they're being naughty.
|
|
|
|
Post by embracethefall on May 29, 2015 18:29:22 GMT -5
So most days have at least a LITTLE unprintables. |
|
|
|
Post by siobhan on May 30, 2015 13:10:48 GMT -5
True enough. Somebody always misbehaves. LOL Rocky's been a naughty, naughty boy the last couple of days and bit his daddy several times, though he's been good for me.
|
|
|
|
Post by embracethefall on May 30, 2015 15:15:51 GMT -5
Darwin definitely likes to "test" and nibble with his beak, but I'm fairly sure he's not biting, because there's no aggression attatched to it.
|
|
|
|
Post by julianna on May 31, 2015 13:12:31 GMT -5
You will definitely know when it is a bite... trust me... blood and guts... lol
|
|
|
|
Post by embracethefall on Jun 18, 2015 19:20:41 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by biteybird on Jun 19, 2015 2:58:25 GMT -5
We play 'Good Cop, Bad Cop' in our house. Hubby swears at her and I sweet-talk her - needless to say, she behaves much better for me and bites hubby. On the bath front, Bonnie still only has a bath once per week or so and doesn't like being sprayed or being in the shower. It's a work in progress. |
|
Unless it was too deep, of course. Thanks for the replies, I just didn't want to start tryi g to offer baths until it was safe.
And in those cases we just pull out a pyrex dish for her to flap around in. 
