Meliawen
Weaned Todd
Joined: June 2005
Posts: 52
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Post by Meliawen on Jun 2, 2005 8:00:21 GMT -7
Hi everyone! I'm pretty new to this site, but I thought I'd get everyone's advise/opinion on this. I currently have an African Grey living with myself, my fiance, and his eight year old daughter. (his name is Chivalry) We are all very new to the world of grey's, so it's very exciting territory for us, and I've been reading up on what I can and informing them of what I've learned. I read somewhere that the best way to train a grey to bathe is to either put a bowl of water down with a toy in the middle to encourage them to enter the water. I tried this, and Chivalry just sat on the edge and looked at the toy bitterly as if it were avoiding him. The site also said that if you take them into the shower with you and gradually adjust them to the water, they'll soon love showering. Unfortunately, Chivalry completely freaked out when I tried this. My theory is that he developed some sort of water phobia at the petstore we bought him from. He's also less than a year old. Can anyone offer some advice on how to get my stinky birdy to bathe?  Thanks! Meliawen |
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Post by Jane on Jun 2, 2005 8:20:09 GMT -7
Yes, it is fairly common for Greys to dislike water. Some won't go near a bath and hate to be sprayed but there are others who do enjoy going in the shower with their owners.
Neither of mine will actually go into a bowl on the floor of the cage but both sometimes try and have a bath in their drinking water bowl.
I use a very small sprayer, it fits in the palm of my hand and is the sort used for airplants but everything you do with a Grey has to be introduced gradually.
I currently have a transparent heavy dog bowl on the
floor of their cage and Monty will put toys in it and splosh them around. He has always been much keener on water than Mitzi.
Jane
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Post by JK on Jun 2, 2005 12:30:46 GMT -7
I have one who loves to be sprayed and the other who runs for cover ;D after a year you would think she would like it. But they do play in the water dish. I am looking for a clear one like Jane has mention so maybe Irma will like that better.
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Post by lidiam on Jun 2, 2005 14:24:25 GMT -7
Joshua avoids being sprayed, won't bathe (stopped years ago), but if I turn my back he goes to his water bowl and has as much of a dunk as possible, leaving water everywhere. So it's not a phobia for him, but he just won't enjoy being sprayed, or bathing in a large bowl, and he doesn't seem to be bothered by being on the shower rail every morning. Strange, the birds. Strange. Lidia  |
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Post by Karen on Jun 8, 2005 4:48:58 GMT -7
Should they be bathed? (Meaning sprayed, or show or bath, or even have a water bowl). I have only medium sized bowls in my baby’s cage, but I don’t think she would fit into them. What I have noticed is when feeding her, her baby food, and wiping up her face afterwards, she does not like this. The cloth is not very wet. I wander if she is scared of this. Or if she just does not like the “wet” feeling.
Another thing I have noticed she is very vocal, what age do they start "talking" or mimicking us?
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Post by Jane on Jun 8, 2005 5:16:14 GMT -7
Spraying them is to help keep their feathers in good condition, especially if they are indoors in a dry environment, but many Greys just don't like it so you can keep humidity up, if necessary, by leaving bowls of water in the room or putting water containers on radiators in the winter.
The age for starting to talk varies, some start at a few months while others are much later. Some of course never do but most will mimic something or whistle even if they don't talk.
Jane
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Post by Karen on Jun 8, 2005 5:26:16 GMT -7
Hi Thanks again Jane I never knew that they might never talk; well I’m sure mine will as she is always making noises. She sometimes sounds like a chicken or a duck squawking (This is very loud). And always makes a noise if we are in the same room as her. She has also learnt, that when I get home, and I don’t greet her right away, she start to make very loud noises and really scratched at the bottom of her cage. She is getting so cute  |
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djwp
Just Hatched
Joined: June 2005
Posts: 3
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Post by djwp on Jun 19, 2005 9:04:14 GMT -7
Boris hates, hates, hates to be sprayed. Hates the shower. But, as others have said, when my back is turned he will empty his water dish by trying his best to take a bath.
Regardless, I bath him (both spraying and bringing him in the shower, plus sometimes putting him in the sink and spraying him all over with the faucet sprayer - he hates it all). Should I not be doing this? He is an extreme feather-picker (looks like a plucked chicken) and I am in the process of trying everything under the sun right now to change this behavior?
The vet says spraying him is a must. But could this be contributed to his feather-picking? Should I abandon all bathing?
Would you recommend I stop bathing
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Post by Jane on Jun 19, 2005 10:12:42 GMT -7
I don't think spraying him with water would be contributing to the feather picking. You could also try one of the special sprays for feathers (I use Canopy Bath Time) as these get them wetter more quickly so it is all over and done with sooner.
Jane
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Post by spookyhurst on Jun 20, 2005 0:57:01 GMT -7
Have you tried an aloe vera spray? It's supposed to help soothe the skin of a feather plucker.
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dwee
Weaned Todd
Joined: August 2005
Posts: 28
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Post by dwee on Aug 23, 2005 14:15:14 GMT -7
About that Aloa Spray thing..I've read something about it somewhere on this forum (but can't find it anymore). If I want to make my own mix (take some gel from the plant and mix it with water), does anybody know how long I can keep it in the bottle? Will it get rotten or something?
Thanks
Dwee and Gazoo
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Post by lidiam on Aug 23, 2005 14:21:43 GMT -7
I bath him (both spraying and bringing him in the shower, plus sometimes putting him in the sink and spraying him all over with the faucet sprayer - he hates it all). Should I not be doing this? He is an extreme feather-picker (looks like a plucked chicken) and I am in the process of trying everything under the sun right now to change this behavior? I was thinking about this. Since the bathing (especially the forced soaking) means that he has to preen, he may indeed pluck feathers while doing it, as he may be annoyed or frustrated by the bathing. Perhaps if you encourage him to sit on the shower rail, and watch you bathing, he might not get so eager to preen and pluck. However, I am not sure about this, and have no experience with a plucking bird, and am saying it only in passing, since you are experimenting with ways to deter him from plucking. Lidia |
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Post by Jane on Aug 23, 2005 14:33:54 GMT -7
Dwee
I am not sure but I don't think it would keep very long. I use the pure plain aloe vera juice from health food shops and add that to water.
Jane
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Post by Hana on Aug 24, 2005 12:08:16 GMT -7
hi guys,
I love this forum, i've learned so much!
I sometimes take Susu with me while i shower and actually put him and his portable perch in the tub. He groans (the way i do when i'm fed up lol),but then just stands there and shakes the water off. I'm afraid to take him out of the bathroom immediately incase its too cold for his wet feathers because his sibling died after bathing 20 years ago. My family know nothign about birds and said he caught a cold (can they?). So i started to use a blowdryer on very low heat to quickly dry him. He doesn't mind the blowdryer, tho he bobs his head up and down in the motion I move the dryer lol But then i notice he takes another bath in his own water bowl and im beginning to wonder whether the dryer is too hot for him, and he tries to cool down. Can they really catch colds? Is it ok to take him out and let him dry normally?
Thanks!
hana
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Post by Jane on Aug 24, 2005 12:24:26 GMT -7
Sudden temperature changes and draughts are bad for them and can lead to illness. He can dry naturally as long as neither of these conditions apply. You have to be very careful with hairdriers because birds skin is very delicate.
He might be bathing in his own water bowl because he wants to get wet again or just for the fun of it. Mine will sometimes go and have a bath in the water bowl after I have sprayed them.
Jane
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