I'd like to get some advice about my cockatiel. He's about 3 years old and smells bad. I thought it was just the cage, but it's the bird! He's always hated baths, and the only way I can get him to bathe is to spray water over him while he's in his cage, but it doesn't really get into his feathers. Any advice on how to wash my bird, please?
You could try getting a small heat lamp and putting it near him after you spray him off, just make sure he can runaway from it so that he won’t over-heat and that he cant touch it and electrocute/burn himself. Many birds find the heat from the lamp (after a cool bath) enjoyable. Also, if you wait till a thunderstorm or rainstorm (if they are frequent where you live (and if your bird isn’t scared of them)). Bathing during a rainstorm may bring out your birds natural “I WANT A SHOWER.”
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"God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages." - Jacques Deval.
if the bird smells bad, then he is probably ill and needs to go to the avian vet. A healthy bird should never have a foul odor.
Some birds appreciate a bath, some do not. I lightly (or not so lightly, depending on the bird) spritz all my birds with warm water at least once a week. Some it took several months to really get into it. A few, still don't appreciate it. My quaker runs into his Happy Hut and yells at me. Some go into the shower with me and perch on their little gym while I shower.
But again, if your bird smells, he likely has a yeast infection, which is very common in cockatiels and needs to be treated by an avian vet.
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Takoda http://www.featheredfrenzy.com
Severe Macaw, Cockatiels, Plum headed Parakeets, and one green squawker- I mean quaker!!
I would have him checked out to make sure he it totally healthly. This way you will know that it is not because he is sick. I've seen some birds who have smelled bad and they were sick.
I hear the statement "My bird hates showers!" more often than I would like to admit. Since many of the behaviors of parrots are learned from the parent bird I will take the liberty to assume that many of our hand-reared parrots were not properly socialized to the bathing procedure as chicks and fledglings. With the proper approach many parrots that hate the bath can be encouraged to accept what its ancestors simply took for granted.
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