# Bathing



## Dizzy (Oct 5, 2011)

I'm not sure if this should be else where or in this part of the forums but here it goes....

My 'tiel is dedicated to not take a bath. If I have him on my hands he will just climb up and try to go into my hair to hide (I have long and curly hair ) and if i try to put him in the sink he just climbs up my hand, and if I manage to get him in the sink he will be pacing back and forth trying to find a way out, and if the water comes near him he tries flying away/panicking 

Even with a spray bottle he will climb up my hand trying to hide. For other things that I think may come up : 
-I am his first and only owner
-He is parent raised but I have been taming him (well I hear )
-He's had one bad experience at the vet when the leg band was bothering him and it was stuck into his leg so he had to stay off it but I doubt that has anything to do with this

So how do I get him to bath, or get him to like baths (I hear tiels are supposed to enjoy bathing(?)) Any help is greatly appreciated! :blush:

Thats about all I can think of, if anything else might be an issue just ask


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## Mohawk (Sep 28, 2011)

I'm curious about this. Do cockatiels need baths in general?
I've been 'misting' Mohawk with a spray bottle and he seems ok with it. But I doubt I could get him near a sink or small tub. 

What do the experts think?


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## pink.snootchies (Jan 23, 2011)

Mohawk- its helpful for them to have baths, because of all the dander they produce. 

Dizzy- How i get my tiels to bathe is i put them in the bathtub with a wooden ladder laying in the bottom of the tub, turn the shower on half power with the water hitting the wall misting them. (They now like the ladder propped up against the wall and sit under the warm water  

This is just how i do it, And they both hated water at first, now they dont mind it at all.


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## DyArianna (Aug 7, 2011)

I can't get mine to take baths at all. However, they do love getting misted. My male will even beg for it. During warm weather, they will get spritzed almost every day. I just make sure the water is not cold and soak them really good. And I do this in the morning as the sun comes into that room where they are nicely and they can sit there and preen/shake and dry well. In winter, I do it less, but atleast once a week and make sure they are good and dry. I also put a shallow dish of water in their cage every couple of days and they will sometimes wash in that. I have more luck with bathing them in their cage than out. I think it might be a security issue for mine. Also, make sure if you spritz them or put a dish of water in their cage, that you have fresh lining in it and then change it again after. In the beginning, I made the mistake of not changing the lining before I spritzed them and my female found any seed/food possible on the bottom of the cage to try and roll around in when wet. We had to start from the beginning all over again. lol


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## chloe92us (Jul 12, 2011)

I let mine take a shower with me most mornings. I have a suction-cup perch (happy perch) that he sits on and the steam and mist bouncing off the walls & me gets him pretty wet. He loves it! But he doesn't like baths any other way.


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## Mohawk (Sep 28, 2011)

Thanks for the info and ideas.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I mist my tiel, although I plan to try getting him to take a bath soon. Some days he just doesn't want to be misted. So I don't force it. I usually start by misting my arm for him to see. (I know it sounds strange but it seems to help him feel that it's okay.) Then, I mist from above him for a little while. (I read somewhere to do that- that it's like it's raining.) Pretty soon, he's lifting his wings, etc. to be misted all over. That is if it's a day he wants to be misted. Some days he wants no part of it. I also noticed he has to be up for a couple hours at least. He doesn't like a bath first thing in the morning. Just keep trying. I'm sure you'll find some bath routine that he likes!


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## meowingaround (Mar 15, 2011)

I use a wooden clothes rack. I set it up in the tub, close the curtain.. and leave. Cause Windy will just look for me if I don't leave. 

Sometimes he doesn't actually shower, sometimes he does. Either way the steam helps with his molts. He doesn't like it when I mist him though, just runs away from it.


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## igottafeelin (Aug 29, 2011)

I got bell to take a bath by filling a plate with water. setting it on the table and leaving it there. I finished the dishes looked over and there he was. bathing away.


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## Spikers (Oct 13, 2011)

Spike hates being Misted, put in the tub/sink with a perch or have a dish in his cage for bathing... I am not sure what else I can do for him...


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Roo likes to bathe in her water dish, no matter what else I do. Even if I provide her a different bathing dish, she chooses her water dish. Sometimes she'll even bathe in it right after I've just misted her. Silly bird.


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