Different approach to towels

[DRB]

I’ve never had to towel my baby and hopefully never will need to.
In the seven years I’ve had my Perjo I’ve verbally communicated or described everything I’m doing or she’s doing.
So I’ve used towels in her presence since day one. I’ve always said “soft towel” and have used the term soft to describe the relative things to her. Whether material items or behaviors, and she’s come to understand the subtle meaning of the word soft.

Like many CAGs she follows me to the bathroom when I shower. She waits in the hall on a railing. When I finish and come out I have a towel and she sees me use it as I say “soft towel”. She says towel and soft towel all the time.

So now when I shower her I gently use a towel and touch her beak.
After doing this for weeks she is now very receptive to the presence of a towel near her.

She’ll even sit on the towel cautiously if it’s on the railing.
I feel confident now that if I had to grab her with a towel it would go well.

 

[texsize]

I wish I could share your optimism.
I have never tried teaching my Bella soft but I do use a towel on her beak.
She even looks forward to it, leaning over the shower rail.
We sometimes make a tug of war game with the towel.
But my Bella is a very nervous bird and I have heard her "alarm " call.
It sets my teeth on edge.
I hope I never have to towel her, I don't think she would ever trust me again.

 

[Terry57]

I’ve never had to towel my baby and hopefully never will need to.
In the seven years I’ve had my Perjo I’ve verbally communicated or described everything I’m doing or she’s doing.
So I’ve used towels in her presence since day one. I’ve always said “soft towel” and have used the term soft to describe the relative things to her. Whether material items or behaviors, and she’s come to understand the subtle meaning of the word soft.

Like many CAGs she follows me to the bathroom when I shower. She waits in the hall on a railing. When I finish and come out I have a towel and she sees me use it as I say “soft towel”. She says towel and soft towel all the time.

So now when I shower her I gently use a towel and touch her beak.
After doing this for weeks she is now very receptive to the presence of a towel near her.

She’ll even sit on the towel cautiously if it’s on the railing.
I feel confident now that if I had to grab her with a towel it would go well.

What a great way to get them used to a towel! I'm so glad that worked with Perjo, thank you for sharing as I bet it could work for other birds as well

 

[thegars]

Debbie has a strange relationship with towels…we use a towel to cover her favorite dining room chair, she chews on it and can get pretty aggressive towards it and anyone she thinks is going to mess with it.
I also have to towel her to get her to the vet. She hates it! Tried since she was a baby to acclimate her to it, not gonna happen!
we have her vet cage around all the time trying to get her to stop being so paranoid of it but she’s not going in there peacefully…more likely to be part of her stress and fear seizures. I’m still trying…..

 

[DonnaBudgie]

What a great way to get them used to a towel! I'm so glad that worked with Perjo, thank you for sharing as I bet it could work for other birds as well

I play peek-a-bird with my budgie, Rocky, by draping a hand towel over her and quickly removing it. She also likes to crawl under light blankets and towels for some reason. At less than five months old she's too young for nesting behavior so I think she just likes it. She does some pretty strange things for a very young budgie.