# Can you bathe a cockatiel?



## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Duh I know you can give a cockatiel a bath (spritzing, shallow bowl of water) but can you give them a bath like with gentle shampoo or something? My wf lutinos are getting FILTHY because of the white feathers. They have staining from the formula on their face and staining on their wing tips and tail from walking through the feed bowl and junk. Is there anything I can do to make them look cleaner? I took a wash cloth and tried to wash off the staining that way, but it didn't really help. I know people who show cockatiels use a special whitening shampoo for their white birds. Is that safe, and where can I find that shampoo? Thanks!


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## Mentha (Jul 11, 2010)

I don't know if it's safe, but what came to mind is bluing. That's what I'd use for my white show chickens. This is information for poultry, but it may be something to look into for parrots. http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/WashingChickens.html


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Also...if you have any hydrogen peroxcide you can wet a cottonball and blot the stained areas to see if this help. This works best to remove any blood stains from the feathers.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Dawn dishwashing liquid is used to clean up seabirds when there's an oil spill. But washing birds with anything other than water usually isn't recommended unless there's a safety issue, like potentially harmful gunk on their feathers. If it's just food stains it's safer to just let them be.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Before implementing the shower (which works wanders on cleaning off stains because they clean themselves after, even the white one!!!) I used to bathe, using johnson and johnson baby soap and a really soft toothbrush. It got most of it out and the rest they would preen out afterward but I don't do that anymore because I was always afraid of using it on them.


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## Jess (Jun 20, 2010)

Hi srtiels, I have some hydrogen peroxide 6% is that too strong, does it need diluting? My white face cinnamon pearl has got a poo stain on her wing and lipstick mark where I kissed her


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Jess...the strength oos fine. I have found that the hydrogen peroxcide works best on organic matter. I'm not sure if it would work with lipstick. Dawn dishwashing liquid would work best for that. Take a cottonball and moisten it with water. Wet the area. Use the same cottonball to blot the area with Dawn...full strength. Work it into the lipstick stain. You can rinse the soap off under the faucet, using warm water and massaging the stain working towards the tip of the wing. Blot dry with some paper towels.


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

I think I will try plain water first and then go from there. I don't want to make the little guys sick. The younger one hasn't started preening itself like the others do so maybe once it gets the hang of it then the stains wont be so bad. I will probably go ahead and wash their tails with baby shampoo and peroxide because that where the most prominent stains are, but the rest I'll let them take care of. Thanks!


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## ShakeQPC (Jun 26, 2010)

Umm silly question....how on earth do you get the birds to sit still long enough to get any of this done??? I tried to wipe poo of Sarvey's foot yesterday cos he was putting it EVERYWHERE, and he went mental. I also would like him to get Vet ready, so how do I get him to let me 'touch' him.


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## luther349 (Apr 5, 2010)

you can get store bought solution's to clean a birds feathers with. soap is to strong for a bird and removes the waterproof layer from there feathers. in a sea bird that can = drowning. why its only used in oil spills and there kept in cages for a few days for that layer to get restored. its still a bad idea to do it to any bird unless they are in real danger aka oil covered.


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