Bath Time Help

[birdmumz]

Hi everyone,

 I'm new to this forum and I have two new pet budgies, (I've had them about a week). They're babies. Still have button eyes and lines on their heads. We are almost certain we have a male and female. We've made excellent progress with taming. They spend a lot of time outside the cage flying around. They are nearly finger-trained. They will sometimes step up without any enticement, but will always step up for millet. They also recall-fly back to me (but only for millet). I think this is pretty good for one week! Also, they really love their chop in the morning. Here's my issue. We are actually pretty new to owning birds, and I've read that it is important to bathe them at least a minimum of once per week. They get SO MESSY after eating chop and have little yellow-green stains around their beaks from the veggies!   But they just won't bathe! I've tried leaving shallow bowls of water, leaf water, wet leaves... nope. So I'm thinking of using the spray bottle mist-shower option. Because they're dirty! lol. 

Question: HOW do you do the mist-shower for them without losing their trust??? Any advice on this would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you so much! (And the birds thank you, in advance, I'm sure.)

-Olivia

[blue48]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

My boy will take a bath only when he feels like it. I usually put something green in and maybe a plastic ball but it's always on his terms. My breeder uses a spray, and I have used one occasionally. My boy seems to like it and usually has a good preen after. I use it on the finest mist setting and spray it up into the air so it falls like rain. I never spray it directly at him, that would feel like budgie abuse.

I'm not sure they actually need a bath, and the chop round their beaks will either dry and flake off, or they will wipe their beaks on their perch or cuttlebone which is how birds usually clean their beaks, or they may pick it off each other.

I really wouldn't worry about it.

[Deleted]

If the feathers are stained, they're stained. The stains may fade over time but it's like when furniture gets stained. It may have been washed and clean, but there's still a mark.

My little one keeps getting a green beak and had red stains above his cere from hus veggies. They've faded now.

My two aren't fond of misting but I was doing it during the hot weather anyway. Great advice about making it fall like rain.

[birdmumz]

Ira and Blue48,

Thank you so much for the advice. Makes me feel better. I will try misting over them like rain and see if they like it, I'll make sure they can fly away if they don't. It's hot over here right now (I live in Washington, US) since its summer, so maybe they'll like it. But I won't stress about it too much. Thank you again!

-Olivia

[tweetiepiesmom]

Congratulations on your new budgies birdmumz! Budgies love the sun. If you have them near a window, they should also have some shade to escape to if they need it. If you live in west Washington where it starts getting overcast in September, you might want to have a light for them. I've been told a good full spectrum LED will be good. Enjoy your new birds!

[Hezz]

Budgies have not evolved to bath on a regular basis - they are a desert bird. Generally, any marks left from food will either wash/preen off themselves or gradually wear off. If you really want them to have a bath, try hanging up sprigs of foliage, wet it down and see what happens. Presenting them with water to bath in will work sometimes but not always and there is a plethora of baths out there to entice you to spend up big. A simple casserole lid or a pie dish with a sprig of favourite greens work just as well as anything. They will most appreciate the ability to bth when the pin feathers need softening.

Never entice or allow them to bath at the end of the day if they don't have time to dry off before the night cools.

[Barry]

For some reason they love getting dirty

Can vouch for the mist bottle approach, they (hopefully) will see it as a fun game where you try to tag 'em. My hen hates it, cock is indifferent. Avoid giving them tomatoes, which leave the worst stains, unless they love them of course.

Oh, for the senior staff, I was told that occasionally moistened feathers are more healthy (whatever that means), and that daily spraying would be specifically important for moulting birds. Any truth to this?

[birdguhl]

Can any other budgie beat Luee's need for a bib?!

This is an old picture but I was reminded of it when reading this thread. It was from eating a grated carrot and beetroot mix.

Before it faded I had to take him to the vet and the poor woman gasped in horror when she first saw him before I could explain.

[birdguhl]

Struggling with postimage again - just about worked

[Hezz]

I could never get mine to eat beetroot, and I have never had a problem with carrot stains! My only guess would be that grating it releases the juice, whereas my budgies have always preferred the chunky approach.

[Hezz]

barry, I've not come across many budgies who enjoy being misted - chasing them around with a spray bottle doesn't give them a choice. Not even all budgies will happily jump into a pie dish, but they do all enjoy a sprig of wet dripping foliage.

Misting while moulting simply softens the keratin sheaths of the pin feathers, making them not only less itchy also easier to remove with their own preening.

[Deleted]

I've never had any that would give rubbing against foliage a go, but maybe I need to find something with bigger leaves for the purpose.

[jellybean]

Basil ALWAYS works for my two @sillycat84 😃
In fact they both had a bath in basil leaves I hung up in the cage this morning....Great fun was had by both 😀

[Deleted]

jellybean Do you hang them against the sides or from the roof?

Maybe I should start growing basil...

[jellybean]

I hang it from the top of the cage @sillycat84, I tie a bunch with a cable tie then secure it from the top of the cage with a clothes peg, then from the cotton rope perch they both get to share it.