Giving Your Bird a Bath
Birds love baths and it’s your duty to provide the necessary items for them to enjoy themselves since they don’t have the luxury to choose from a multitude of rain puddles! Not only is a bath enjoyable for birds, but it serves some very important purposes. First of all, it is considerably drier in your temperature controlled home than where your bird would live in nature. The bird’s skin is made for humid conditions so the air in your house can really dry out their skin. Baths can help keep their skin moist and healthy. Baths are also important to remove dust, extra oils, dander, loose feathers, and insects from their plumage, as well as help maintain the insulation properties of feathers.
There are many options of how to bathe your bird – it’s just a matter of finding the one your bird likes the most. Your bird can bathe inside the cage with a low profile bath bowl on the bottom of their cage or you could mount a bird bath on the side. Make sure you are ready for some splashing and are able to clean your bird’s cage after his bath because they may make a mess.
Another option is bathing your bird outside his cage. You could put a perch inside your shower and allow him to bathe there, in the kitchen sink, or by using a spray bottle to mist him down. Do not spray him directly in his face or use a hair dryer. Hair dryers can easily burn your bird and dry his skin very fast. They can also produce toxic fumes, which if inhaled by your bird, can make him very sick.
Usually birds like the water lukewarm or at room temperature for their bath. If it’s too hot or too cold, it can shock a bird’s system or burn him. Another thing to keep in mind is the time of day when you bathe your bird. It’s a good idea to do it during the warm part of the day and early enough so that your bird has enough time to thoroughly dry off before the coolness of the evening. Make sure not to completely saturate your bird’s feathers because it will contribute to a loss of body heat.
Once you find which kind of bathing your bird likes best, watch him to find how often he wants to be bathed. If he is bathing in his water dish, it’s probably time for a bath and you should try to bathe him more often. If your bird is refusing a bath, you are either bathing him too often or it’s possible that he doesn’t feel quite right that day. Make sure to watch him for any other odd behaviors that could be a sign of sickness.
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