My Bird Does Not Enjoy Showers

[AJarosz]

My 5 year old African grey really does not enjoy showers. He usually runs from the water and makes no noise at all. I've tried holding him while taking a shower, but all he does is try and climb on my shoulder and holds on to the point that his claws make me bleed. I got him about 4 months ago from a private breeder, but she didn't say anything about showers. Yes, he is hand trained and is very happy when i play with him and pick him up, but only lets me pick him up. Any suggestions?

[Dragonlady2]

Welcome to Precisely Parrots! Try misting him with a spray bottle first. A light mist above him and then reward him after. My eclectus didn't like showers/baths either. He loves them now. Your bird may be frightened of your shower. He may just need some time to get used to the idea of water being directed at him. The amount of water coming from a shower may be intimidating.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Casper hated water when he first came to us age 25. We tried him in the sink with the tap running, in the bath under the shower, an ordinary trigger bottle: all that happened was that we got wetter than him. :)
Then we were recommended to try a plant mist bottle and at last we had success
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Yes, I like this! ([Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]) by Jean-Pierre Declemy ([Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]), on Flickr

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Casper enjoying an al-fresco shower ([Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]) by Jean-Pierre Declemy ([Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]), on Flickr

[Lady]

Welcome to P.P.!

My Lady doesn't care for a shower either. She prefers to bathe in her water dish. I have tried to give her a larger dish but no luck there either.
What is the name of your bird? We would love to see some pics if you want to share some.

[AJarosz]

I would love to share some pictures, but i don't have the permissions to. Is there any way I could post them?

[Dragonlady2]

You should be able to post pics. Did you check the the "Help and Support" forum. There are instructions there in a "sticky" on how to attach and post pics. I am probably the least competent person here for technical stuff, but if you are still having difficulty I will help the best I can.:th_biggrin:

[Lady]

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Try the link, it is the thread Dragonlady2 is speaking of, or at least something close to it, :th_smile:

[bill-e]

My Nike hates misting....or the bottle. She takes baths in her bowls though she is not a regular bath taker. What I do the stimulate the bath is I turn on the shower, go get her and put her under for a second or two to get her wet, then bring her to her favorite bathing bowl. Without fail, she will finish her bath in her bowl. She does not particularly like the shower and I have to hold her toes to get her to stay but it always stimulates bathing.

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[Dragonlady2]

Wow...that is one wet birdie!

[Lady]

All I have to do is run the vacuum cleaner and Lady is in her dish splashing all over the place!

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Haha I hope it is one of those wet and dry vacuums :)

[AJarosz]

Thanks for the support! The last few days i got Avi to bathe under the shower. He looks very happy and makes lots of noise while bathing!

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

That is excellent news, they eventually realise that we are not as daft as they first thought :)

[JAYDEE10]

A plant mist bottle works wonders. Try it out.