Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had my first cockatiel for about two months now and the former owner has ask me if I have bathed her. Is this something most of you cockatiel owners do? I have noticed her little face could need a cleaning. (she is yellow and has a little discoloration around her beak from her food). Will she freak out if I try to wet her? The former owner said she puts her birds in a sink with a small amount of warm water.
Should I try this? and if so, how often?

Yes they definitely need a chance to bathe but at first they also may seem scared of the water. You can do several different things. You can place a small bowl filled with water in the cage so they bird can bathe itself. You could run about an inch of water into the sink and let the bird bathe in there although sometimes the sink is a bit slippery and this can cause them a fright. Lastly some birds like showers and you can take them into the shower with you or get a shower perch to let them bathe in the shower under a gentle mist.

My little girl is also yellow and gets dirty around her mouth. I found she hated water at first but I started to flick water at her while I was rincing dishes soon she was loving the water and now she plays in her water dish so I have to change her water almost twice a day. She gets dirty from time to time still but she deals with it. I found that the wheat germ I was adding made it worse but I like how it keeps her skin so we deal with it.

I didn't see anyone list the reasons to bathe so I will, cockatiels produce high amount of dander or dust, some people get lucky and dont seem to be effected by the dust and asn live happily with thier unbathed pets others become severly allergic to the point when they're in the same room with the bird they feel like they can't breathe, bathing helps controll the dander and along with vacuuming regularly can eliminate the threat of you becoming allergic, some people use air purifiers as well.
bathing also helps when they're molting, making them less itchy, never use soap on your bird though, just water.
the bird should be bathed 2 times a week, some do everyday but I think 2 times a week is good enough.

Thanks so much for the replys. One more question though, how do you prevent a chill from happening if she is wet? I hear so much about birds getting sick from a chill. Do you dry with a towel afterwards?

when it's cold here I put my bird under my shirt, obviously you'd want another shirt under that one to keep the birds nails from scratching you to pieces, but this does help keep her warm and after a few minutes she settles down, she also dries a bit faster because she's in contact with the clothing, I dont recomend blow drying as that can dry thier skin out, you could wrap the bird in a towel if it is okay with the idea, when it's not too cold out or the heat is set higher than usual I just put a blanket over the cage for about an hour, after that she's pretty much completely dry.

Daisy likes to sit on the shower curtain rod while we shower, and she also likes when I just let a little warm water trickle in the sink and she has a blast playing in it, I do hold her in a towel after I finish to let her dry off a little.

Many birds that have never experienced bathing will resist it, often vigorously or with fright. Others take to it almost immediately.

My routine was always to offer large, flat, shallow water dishes in the bottoms of the cages. I used both glass salad bowls and heavy duty plastic plant saucers, depending on the size of the cage.

To encourage bathers who'd never seen it before, I would float greenery (parsley, romaine) in the water to encourage investigation. Some would take to it, some would not.

Teaching them to bathe may be easier with running water in the kitchen sink, especially if you have an aeration attatchment on the faucet. The sound of rushing water, such as the faucet, or falling rain, often stimulates something within the bird's brain that is a mechanical response (rather than learned) and may help to break the Bathing Barrier.

Other people find that running the vaccuum cleaner will stimulate bathing -- this is also White Noise, the same as rushing water, which is evidentally what sparks this response.

If all else fails, I would try filling a plastic spray bottle made for misting plants and such (new clean one please) with warm water, and try spraying a gentle mist up over the top of the cage, so that if falls down and lands on the bird, rather than squirting it directly onto the bird. This often stimulates a bathing response; some of my hens would be so enthusiastic that they would be hanging upside down off the perches with wings extended to bathe every bit of their skin and would not want to stop even when they were sopping wet.

If you lower your house temperatures at night, it is better to bathe the birds in the morning, so that they are thoroughly dry before the temperatures lower.