How often do budgies needs bathing/spraying water?

[blade100]

As the title says really.
cedric doesn't like his bird bath so I bought a little spray bottle and sprayed him with water yesterday it was a fine mist that came out and he seemed to enjoy it. He just sat there taking it all. Very cute.
so yeh just wondering how often I should do this for him?
i remember my dads aviary budgies used to love it when it rained they'd often sit out in it ruffling there feathers and preening.

[BudgiesBuddy]

Leave a some water in a shallow dish for few days. He will soon start to explore and enjoy it. If not, he is one of those who don't like baths

[lousette]

I am no expert and a relatively new budgie owner, so cannot give advice but will share what happened with my budgie. When we just got him we noticed that he tried to bath himself in lettuce. If I have just washed the lettuce and leave it relatively wet he gets all excited and tries to rub his body on the wet leaves. He was never interested in getting into a dish with water, but if I put a lettuce leaf in the water he gets in and baths himself. No lettuce, no bath

I always make sure that the water is tepid too and not ice cold, especially now in winter.

[BudgiesBuddy]

Yes dripping vegetables is a good idea as well

[bubs7]

This thread made me think of Toni and how I now she wants a bath lol.

I bought one of those "hook on" bird baths that you hang on the door-opening, but all she did at first was to try to chew the plastic edges. So I took it away again. A few days later I saw her trying to literally climb in to her water bowl (one of those that sit on the outside of the cage with roof/lid on)and trying to clean herself. I was laughing so much but I put the birdbath back and left it there the whole evening and eventually she would dip her tail in it or quickly jump in and out again. I try to do this about once a week, whenever she's crawling in the waterbowl lol

[Hezz]

They are all individuals. Some love a bath, some like a leaf in their bath, like Lousette's Hob, some love a small branch/twig washed and hung up wet to throw themselves at, some like misting, ........ and some simply don't like getting wet at all! And there are times when no matter what you offer no one will indulge ........ so my advice is offer one or all, but don't worry if it isn't taken advantage of. Misting is good when their pin feathers are coming through, though, as it helps soften the keratin and allows the birds to rub the sheath off more easily. Pin feathers can be itchy.

[samwiseg]

Agree with Hezz, our birds like a basil shower:



Just wet the basil and hang up! In our case they started to eat it and discovered it was wet and started to shoulder shimmy

[lousette]

Aww, a basil shower. I am going to try that as well.

Found a picture of when we only just got Hob, he was mistrustful of a larger bowl and wouldn't go near anything if I just left it (never mind for how long). He needed constant encouragement and I ended up using the lid of a small plastic dish and held that in my hand (with the leaf in of course ). Now he gets into a much larger dish without me having to hold it - but it was small baby steps to start off with for us.

 

[Hezz]

That's a great photo, Lousette. I love Hob.

My first budgie was a bit like that - he needed to be shown what to do, but in the end he would sit on my shoulder while I had a shower and walk up and down my arm to get the water at the right misting for him - not too hard and not to misty, somewhere in between known only to Bluey. Once he had had enough he would fly off and sit on the basin tap nozzle waiting until I had finished. Ah, dear Bluey.

[lousette]

Hezz, that is in incredible. I had a conure who used to love going into the shower with me, but he was super confident in general. I didn't think you would be able to get a budgie to do that. Bless little Bluey

[Hezz]

Blue was special, Lousette. He thought he was human.

[samwiseg]

I miss Bluey too, he was definitely one in a million x

[Hezz]

He was, Sam, he definitely was.

[blade100]

So how often should I mist him and offer him a shallow bowl of water?

Thanks

[Hezz]

It is really up to you. There are no hard and fast rules for this, and in the cooler weather, if you do give him a mist, make sure it is in the middle of the day - he will need plenty of time to dry off before the evening chill starts to seep in. He certainly won't appreciate one every day. I don't know what others do, but I rarely give mine a mist or a bath more than once a week, the exceptions being the middle of summer - then I would offer them a bath each day - and when they are full of pin feathers; then I would give them a misting.