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Tring to find out if there's a time frame on giving babies there first bath/shower Thanks for your reply

My favorite breeder used to clean his babies after handfeeding them and finish with a full-body, wipe-down with a wet wash cloth. It taught them to enjoy being wet at a very early age and, hopefully, their new parronts continued getting them wet quite regularly from their first days at home.

Give your baby a very gentle spray and see how she responds. Spray upward and let it rain down on her. If she loves it, give her more -- and often! If she's scared, go slowly and let her get used to it at the least scary pace. Maybe turn on the vacuum nearby to get her in the mood.

Always spray early enough in the day that she has time to fully dry before bedtime. Never use the hairdryer on her. She'll fluff out all her feathers, downies too, to let in lots of air to dry herself. It might look like she's trembling, but she's actually vibrating! That's how she separates all those little feathers.

That's an excellent question. I have one tiel who likes to be sprayed and the other does not. My vet says to turn the shower on so it steams and take the birds in the steamy room for 5 mins and that will give them the moisture they need.

Any comments on that?

My African grey doesn't like to get wet so I always take him into the bathroom while I'm showering. He seems to have excellent feather condition at age 13. My tiels like being sprayed so we do lots of that!

Luna prefers the shower - doesn't like the spray bottle at all. I bring her into the shower and she get the spray that bounces off the wall or me. And she prefers it a bit steamy.

Every cockatiel is different .. some like the shower .. some like the sprayer ..some like a bowl of water on the bottom of their cage, some even like the spray bottle. Anytime is a good time to start . .experiment with your tiel, whatever she or he likes keep doing. Some don't like being wet at all at first and then after a while they get used to it. Make sure you have your camera ready . .. cause there is nothing cuter than a wet bird!!

I tried spraying Rosie and she flew away. Then yesterday I put her in the kitchen sink on a towel and tried bathing her there she didn't like it.. And I think that it pushed her progress that she had been making back cuz she was mad at me and yesterday and today she didn't get out of her cage by herself.. I am so mad at myself..

Don't get mad at yourself - it's a learning process. If I remember correctly, she is still very young - about 4-5months? I suggest having her flight feathers clipped a bit. She won't be able to fly away from you when she doesn't like something. Yes, she may be mad at you for a day or two, but she'll get over it. Bring her to the breeder you got her from, or a bird store or the vet. I'm in the Dallas TX area and the stores charge about $10 for wing clipping. Have them show you how to do it in case you want to do it yourself later on. But have them do it a few times while watching them so you learn the correct way.

Luna is about 15 months old and a couple of her flight feathers have grown in, so she is learning quite well how to fly and navigate. I will trim them back a bit soon - she's getting too good! She'll fly up to my shoulder from the floor, fly 20 feet to land on my shoulder etc. I love the idea that she flies to me to be with me, but my husband is ill and can't go after her if I'm not home.

Yeah I got her 2 weeks ago and they said that she was 4 months old.. I am gonna go buy her a tiel bath today after work and hopefully she'll do it on her own.. It's weird her little feathers are like waterproof..

Oh and she is clipped but she can still fly about 3 or 4 feet up and away.

is it ok if someone doesn't bathe their birdie during the winter because it's too cold? my friend does that and i'm wondering if that's ok to go that long without a bath....

It is not a huge problem to bathe your birdie in the winter months. I am from a chilly state too and Bubba just had a bath this morning! Nevertheless--homes have regulated heat, so it should not be very chilly inside... my apartment stays about the same temp in the summer and in the winter between heat and ac (67-70 degrees). I personally think it is a good idea to bathe birds often (even if they are not always very happy about it!). Just make sure that the bird is bathed with enough time to get dry before bed time-- bathe them in the morning or afternoon.