Bathing Parrots: Shower Perches & Misters

Bathing and showers are important for any parrot! In the wild, parrots must have excellent feather condition to stay alive. Without perfect feather, they don’t survive so keeping feathers clean is crucial. Feathers provide several functions for birds. They insulate the body while controlling body temperature and protecting the bird from the elements. Feathers are waterproof. And, feathers are used for concealment and 'flirting'. It is a natural behavior for our pet birds to keep their feathers in top notch condition. Wild birds bathe every day.

Wild parrots bathe daily. Parrots bathe in the rain, in running water, and in streams. Remember, birds shower daily. Give your small bird, such as a parakeet, a large sopping wet leafy green such as collard, turnip, mustard or kale to offer a pleasurable bathing experience while providing good vitamin A nutrition if your bird nibbles on the leaves! Several parrots, including African Grey Parrots and Caique's, enjoy a thorough saturation. You'll find a Bird Perch for showers a useful accessory.

For pet birds, a bird shower perch is important for physical and mental health. Poor feather condition can be caused by a variety of problems from malnutrition to disease. Unfortunately, it is often caused by of bad grooming and hygiene. Lack of routine bathing opportunities contributes greatly to poor feather condition. Parrots are "programmed" to bathe daily so bathing or showering your pet bird on a bird shower perch should become part of your daily routine.

Most parrots love to bathe.Some parrots like to take baths in their water bowl! Unfortunately, this leaves a big mess and gets food particles in their plumage. Our Lixit Bath offers a nice alternative. This shallow, wide dish is fun to splash in.

If your parrot is afraid to bathe, slowly model how getting wet in the shower can be fun. We like to place new parrots on the shower door or shower rod in a place away from the water jets. Make sure that the water that sprays on your bird is not too overwhelming for it's small body. If the bird perch for the shower is placed on the same wall as the shower nozzle, the water lands on your parrot is less intense. We reassure our fearful birds or liven up time the shower with fun antics as if it were playtime for our more assured birds.rrot like a mist. As your bird becomes more accustomed to showers, place your bird where it can be drenched for topnotch feather health.

Once your parrot is comfortable with a good bird bath, you will want to use parrot shampoo approximately once a month to remove excess dander, dust, oils and debris from the plummage.  Parrot shampoo is specially formulated to protect and enhance sensitive parrot skin and rinse easily, as you don't want your parrot ingesting remaining parrot shampoo.

Misting your parrot is also important for quickly rinsing feathers and encouraging healthy preening. The law of the jungle is to 'preen until your clean' and a very dirty bird may pluck to try to get his feathers clean. We like to mist our parrots when they are on their bird stand. Spray your parrots torso thoroughly being careful not to get water in his eyes, ears or nostrils. Most daily bathing and misting should be done with plain water. Dry your bird with a towel and place him in a warm area making sure he does not get chilled, especially in the winter.

Most parrots love taking a shower with their owners so it is a great time for bonding and interacting with your bird. It will be one of the best investments that you make for your bird. You can place the bird shower perch in various places in your shower to monitor the intensity of the water stream. Like bathing is essential for a child, it is also essential for your bird.