# Dirty Tail Feathers



## lolaby2 (Mar 8, 2014)

For some time now we have noticed that Borneheld has a habbit of dipping his tail feathers in his water dish and then drags it through his food and what not at the bottom of the cage. earl: I would like to know what kind of home changes can be made that will keep his feathers clean. His yellow feathers are almost brown and they look permanently wet.


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

Haha, don't worry. My budgie is mostly white, so his copper tail sticks out like a sore thumb. Try to move the cage around so you know his long tail won't dip into the water. I changed everything around in my budgie's cage, but he likes the look so much he goes out of his way to dip his tail in there . Borneheld will molt out this "wet" tail feathers soon


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## lolaby2 (Mar 8, 2014)

One more question  Is it normal for them to get cranky when they know it is bed time?


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

Yep! Nobody likes birdy bedtime


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## Amz (Apr 10, 2013)

I can second that. I have the grumpiest tiel ever when it comes to bedtime. He frequently draws blood when I try to move him into his sleeping cage.


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## tmdonahue (Apr 6, 2014)

I get yelled at every night by 2 of mine.


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## TamaMoo (Jan 12, 2014)

Joey has a messy tail too. I am hoping he will grow out of it. He does preen it more than he used to, so I am hoping he is taking more interest with age, but he still has a long way to go before it is truly beautiful.

He is also one of the grumpy ones at bedtime. He is currently going through a phase where he is hissing at his cover while I am covering him, but is otherwise just grumpy. Then he pouts. Even if he is dozing prior to bedtime, he still fights it like a toddler who wants to stay up and play.


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## Tisena (Sep 28, 2013)

My three are pretty good at bedtime. Sam and Blizz go in themselves when I turn the light off at their end of the room. Mack isn't out before bedtime at the minute because we're downstairs at the time with the bunnies and birdies, can't wait for him to join them in 4 weeks


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

You could try a lixit bottle instead of a water dish. I use it with my birds. They learned to get their water there very quickly.


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## Tisena (Sep 28, 2013)

I found Blizz having a nap with his tail in their water... Already trying to ruin his new tail feather


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

lolaby2 said:


> One more question  Is it normal for them to get cranky when they know it is bed time?


You might try putting him to bed a little earlier then. If he's grumpy, he's probably tired and it's past the time he wants to go to sleep.


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## lolaby2 (Mar 8, 2014)

TamaMoo said:


> Joey has a messy tail too. I am hoping he will grow out of it. He does preen it more than he used to, so I am hoping he is taking more interest with age, but he still has a long way to go before it is truly beautiful.
> 
> He is also one of the grumpy ones at bedtime. He is currently going through a phase where he is hissing at his cover while I am covering him, but is otherwise just grumpy. Then he pouts. Even if he is dozing prior to bedtime, he still fights it like a toddler who wants to stay up and play.



Thats what Borneheld does  He even strikes at the bars of his cage. Then if you walk past his cage he does that as well.


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## lolaby2 (Mar 8, 2014)

dianne said:


> You could try a lixit bottle instead of a water dish. I use it with my birds. They learned to get their water there very quickly.


What is a Lixit bottle? Is that the kind that is used for hampsters? With the metal ball in the nozzle?


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## lolaby2 (Mar 8, 2014)

tmdonahue said:


> I get yelled at every night by 2 of mine.


:rofl: I love that.


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## lolaby2 (Mar 8, 2014)

Tisena said:


> My three are pretty good at bedtime. Sam and Blizz go in themselves when I turn the light off at their end of the room. Mack isn't out before bedtime at the minute because we're downstairs at the time with the bunnies and birdies, can't wait for him to join them in 4 weeks


Borneheld has only attempted to go back to his cage twice since we have gotten him. It doesn't matter how long we leave him out.


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