Do you bath your pet birds?

Do you bath your pet birds? Well I do.

I have two budgies. Every other day or so I put a small bowl of water into the cage, one of my budgies would jump in right away to get himself all wet. He really enjoys it. I am not sure if he really likes good hygiene or simply love to play with water, but either way the result is the same.

Check out the following video of my budgie taking a bath.






For those who are unfortunately on slow internet connection or unable to view Youtube for some reason, I have a screenshot from the video for you right here. It is a stainless steel bowl with about one inch of water in it.

Very cute video.

Sadly, not once I let my budgies taking a bath. They must have felt dirty after all those years lol... I always know some bird species would take baths if you provide them a bowl or a cup or a plate of water. I just never knew budgies also love bathing. It is cool to see your bird enjoying himself.

What water do you use for bathing your budgies?

I use bottled water for bathing the budgies. You need to know that these little budgies have the bad habit of drinking their bath water before/during/after their bath. Tap water is a big no since there is chlorine and possibly heavy metal in it depends on which area you are in. To be safe, it is a good idea to use either bottled water or purified water for bathing your birds. De-chlorined tap water can work too, but do not attempt to use the aquarium water conditioner to do the job as we have no idea how safe they are for birds to drink.

I mist Joey, my Jardines, with a misting bottle. Sometimes he takes a bath in his water dish.

I wasn't really aware of the dangers of using tap water for bathing or drinking as it were. So I guess it's rather fortunate that I don't have an birds. That said I use water from the Brita pitcher for the cat and the dogs and that seems alright - would it be okay for birds or are they rather more delicate in nature do you think? I'm thinking of getting a bird for my mom and I'd like to know these sorts of things.

Hi Esperahol,
Most water filters do not get rid of the chlorine very well. I believe they are better at removing heavy metal than removing chlorine and chlormaine. I don't know for sure how every one of them work, but once some of the aquarium hobbyists had done some tests with multiple water filters. The best one was only able to remove about 40% of the chlorine from the tap water. I don't remember the exact brand/model they were testing, so what I just said is inconclusive.

Yes, birds are much more fragile creatures than dogs and cats. Better safe than sorry, I recommend using purified water, bottled water, or boiled (then cooled) tap water for the birds to drink and bath.

I just aprayed the m mist from a traditional sprayer from the grocery. They bit me everytime i would put them near water. I guess it frightens them. But spraying some mist on the cage with them on the perchse is somethin gthat they love. They would spread their wings and will fly in place! I think it really depends on the attitude and likes of your parakeets. The most important thing is you should do whatever they love and do not do things that hurt or harm them.

(04-01-2014, 06:54 AM)DwightandSasha Wrote: They bit me everytime i would put them near water.

You don't need to "put" the birds near the water. It should be done the other way around.
You put a bowl of water near your birds. (or rather, just in the cage) If they are interested in taking a bath, they'd jump in themselves. If not, then tough luck lol.

Where did you get the idea people were "pushing birds into the water"? LOL! It's not happening.

i bath my bird in a few ways. I use a misty bottle , or i use a heavy dish in the bottom of the cage. they also love the sink with the water running slow. i have 2 conures and a African grey parrot

I have to bathe my Cockatiel, Kirby at least every week, or he gets dry skin and produces this powdery stuff that makes a dusty mess. I mist him at least once a week, and wash him in the sink twice a month. This keeps him nice and clean, and his feathers beautiful.

In the summer, I mist him twice a week to keep him cool, and he loves it!

My friend boils some water, cools it down thoroughly and puts in her parrot's water dish. Beaky does the rest of it on his own.
She sometimes uses bottled mineral water, or if she can, goes over to this nice, clean pond in the park and gets some water. Beaky's feathers practically glow after a good bath in those waters.

Mine do not seem to like it except in the summer. Our house isn't cold, so I don't know why. In the summer it's pretty warm so then they do sometimes get themselves wet to cool down.

I had a quaker parrot for a while and she did love to take a bath. She would jump in the bowl and shake herself in the water repeatedly. I had to make sure there was a large towel on the table around the bowl so she didn't make a big mess.

I got my cockatiel from an abusive situation and since I'd never owned birds before, I started reading and trolling the internet for info.
I tried putting a dish of RO water down for him, but he climbed to the very top of the cage and stayed there all night.
So, about a week later, since his cage has partial sunlight in it, I waited until it was nice and warm, then misted him. First time, it was a disaster, and I calmly, quietly told him I wasn't punishing him, but rewarding him. Of course, he doesn't understand.
However, the next time, he spread his wings, ducked his head and fluffed, over and over. He was so content for the rest of the day.
BTW, I'm jealous of other owners who can touch their birds and interact with them. My bird is much too frightened of me even after months....

Good for you for rescuing your baby! It sounds like you are very patient and kind with him. I have a cockatiel as well, and he is not scared,; He is just grumpy and spoiled. He absolutely will not take a bath, nor will he allow us to give him one! He's a real stinker, no pun intended.

Birds of all flavors tend to love splashing in water to get cooled off, and cleaned up. In fact, the preening that usually follows a good splashing is what distributes the bird's natural oils throughout his or her feathers, which keeps the plumage healthy. Without a good bath now and then, pet birds tend to accumulate loose flakes of dead skin within their feathers. Plus, the feathers get dusty and the oils don't always go where they are most needed. Some birds will preen for hours, bath or no bath, and when they do, watch out, because the bird dander will fly about, making the poor little thing look like it's stuck in the center of a dust storm. With regular bathing, the bird can oil himself more frequently and better manage his own dead skin situation, keeping the skin healthier as well as the feathers. In fact, some bird owners will simply get a squirt bottle and give the bird a shower. Usually the bird will respond to this by lowering his head, puffing out his chest and extending his wings to get more water into all the nooks and crannies. Once the shower is over, the preening will begin and a well-groomed bird is a happy one. In the wild, the bath ritual seems to be pretty much the same for all types of birds, no matter their size, shape, color or location. They lower one wing and splash water on themselves with it, and repeat with the other wing on the other side. They do that several times and then climb out on shore to preen, or fly to a tree branch to do so. So, yes, it is best to give your bird a dish of water to splash in, or a nice shower a few times a week. They will love us for it.