Bathing is a natural means for a bird to maintain its health and well being. It removes dirt, accumulated oils, feather dust and parasites like mites and lice. After bathing the bird preens to remove the water and dirt. During this preening damaged feathers are smoothed and the barbs re-attached along the feather shafts.
Wild birds bathe in standing water, dust or rainfall. Captive raised birds don’t have access to puddles, rainfall or dust piles and should be provided with some means of taking a bath. For larger birds a shallow crock or bowl placed on the floor of the cage works well. If the access door to the cage is large enough one of our squat style Beastie Bowls are great for this. Watching an Amazon parrot splashing around in a bowl is entertaining, although not as funny as seeing one try to cram his whole body into his drinking dish.
Some people will even use the kitchen sink, or the family bathtub. Simply fill the sink or tub with a couple of inches of room temperature water and place Polly in the tub. Other people find it more convenient to use a plant mister spray bottle to spray the bird. Use lukewarm water and give the bird a good soaking. In any case keep the bird in a warm room until they are dry.
Smaller birds can be accommodated with a smaller, shallower bowl placed in the bottom of their cage. The water shouldn’t be too deep. A bird should be able to stand on the bottom of the bowl to avoid drowning. Our shallow economy bowls or the 2GR bathtubs work well in this capacity.
For many bird fanciers the best solution is to use one of the bath-houses that we carry. These bath-houses attach to the cage over the access door. Since they hang outside the cage they don’t take up space inside the cage. Because the bath-houses are totally enclosed they reduce the splash outside the cage to a minimum.
It may take some birds a little time to figure out how to use the bath-house. You can shorten the learning curve by floating a few pieces of leaf lettuce or unsweetened breakfast cereal like corn flakes, rice krispies or cheerios in the bath water. The birds will eventually get in the water trying to reach the treats. Once they figure out what the bath-house is for, you can discontinue floating the treats.
You can further enhance the benefits of bathing by adding Quiko Bath Salts to the bath water. These Bath Salts simulate the minerals that are found in natural water. They help to condition the feathers and the skin as well as acting as a cleansing agent.
Bath time once a week is entertaining for you and fun and healthy for your birds.
