Showering with an alexandrine

[HarveyTheAlexandrine]

Hi all! My partner and I are relatively new to owning an alexandrine (I had one when I was a little girl but my parents did most of the care)
We absolutely love him and he’s a very very spoilt little man.
He loves being sprayed with the water spray bottle and flaps around and preens and really enjoys it. But when we put him in the shower with us, if he has the warm water going directly onto him or even just on his back he stands still and puts his head right back with his beak facing the ceiling. Is this a sign of him being relaxed or something else? We worry that maybe the shower is too full on for him… obviously seeing him do this and not knowing why he does it makes us panic and we pull him straight out. Please could someone shed some light on this for us. We would love to be able to put him in the warm shower with us. Picture attached is what he does when in the shower.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Hi all! My partner and I are relatively new to owning an alexandrine (I had one when I was a little girl but my parents did most of the care)
We absolutely love him and he’s a very very spoilt little man.
He loves being sprayed with the water spray bottle and flaps around and preens and really enjoys it. But when we put him in the shower with us, if he has the warm water going directly onto him or even just on his back he stands still and puts his head right back with his beak facing the ceiling. Is this a sign of him being relaxed or something else? We worry that maybe the shower is too full on for him… obviously seeing him do this and not knowing why he does it makes us panic and we pull him straight out. Please could someone shed some light on this for us. We would love to be able to put him in the warm shower with us. Picture attached is what he does when in the shower.View attachment 48505

He looks pretty happy to me! If he didn't want the water running down his back and face like that he would try to get away from it.

 

[HarveyTheAlexandrine]

He looks pretty happy to me! If he didn't want the water running down his back and face like that he would try to get away from it.

You think so? We really worry that it’s too overwhelming for him because he doesn’t seem to flap around and stuff like he does when we spray him with the water spray bottle

 

[zERo]

Actually that behavior isn’t good, I see lots of photo/vids of birds doing that when they have water spraying directly down on them. From what I understand, they tilt their heads back so they can breathe?
I dont want to alarm you, I would just move the perch over so he can move out from under it if he wants to.
A positive bathing response includes flapping wings, puffing up getting excited usually.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

You think so? We really worry that it’s too overwhelming for him because he doesn’t seem to flap around and stuff like he does when we spray him with the water spray bottle

You're the best judge of this. You know your own bird. Not all birds like to bathe the same way. Trust your instinct.

 

[Hatzegopteryx4578]

Hi all! My partner and I are relatively new to owning an alexandrine (I had one when I was a little girl but my parents did most of the care)
We absolutely love him and he’s a very very spoilt little man.
He loves being sprayed with the water spray bottle and flaps around and preens and really enjoys it. But when we put him in the shower with us, if he has the warm water going directly onto him or even just on his back he stands still and puts his head right back with his beak facing the ceiling. Is this a sign of him being relaxed or something else? We worry that maybe the shower is too full on for him… obviously seeing him do this and not knowing why he does it makes us panic and we pull him straight out. Please could someone shed some light on this for us. We would love to be able to put him in the warm shower with us. Picture attached is what he does when in the shower.View attachment 48505

If he is acting estranged to the point you panic then just trust your instincts.
If you can turn down the power of the shower a little more and don’t have directly over the perch but rather have it a bit further away from the perch so he can lean back if he doesn’t likey likey.
The other thing is that I think warm showers can strip away the natural oils of your bird? I’m not sure but if it ends up too hot it can strip some of the natural oils off your bird so I’d say do colder showers (not too cold just luke warm) or let him do it privately if you aren’t comfortable with the temperature yourself

 

[Niteldy]

My Alex does the same thing if he cant get away from the water.
He just needs his perch moved over a bit so his head is not in the direct stream. That way he can put his head under when he wants his eyes and nose wet
Krazy bout my Alex!! Congrats on having one- mine is a spoilt brat who gets whatever he wants but the cuddles and kisses he gives are worth the pain of having a spoiled bird!!!! LOL

 

[saxguy64]

None of mine like the direct spray of the shower. O put the perch on the opposite side of the shower from the head, and they get the over spray of water that bounces off my shoulders, so it's more like a strong-ish mist by the time it gets to them. Two of them absolutely love it that way, but my little grey doesn't care for being sprayed in any form. He just hangs out on the shower curtain rod and supervises and enjoys the steamy bathroom, and then jumps in his water bowl a few times a week. Whatever makes them happy

 

[HarveyTheAlexandrine]

Actually that behavior isn’t good, I see lots of photo/vids of birds doing that when they have water spraying directly down on them. From what I understand, they tilt their heads back so they can breathe?
I dont want to alarm you, I would just move the perch over so he can move out from under it if he wants to.
A positive bathing response includes flapping wings, puffing up getting excited usually.

Thank you I was quite worried about that exactly! AS i said in the actual post he loves being directly sprayed with the squirter bottle he puffs up and flaps around and fans all his feathers right out and tries to catch the water with his tongue. I’ve tried offering him shallow bowls with water in them for him to have a splash around in but he crawls back up and clings to me like he’s just had a near death experience. The shower he loves being in the actual bathroom while we shower but yeh this is the behavior we get when he’s in the shower, even when the head is pointed to the other side of the shower this is still the reaction we get

 

[SailBoat]

Well stated above! There is nothing in their natural range that would duplicate the water flow of a shower head. The only thing would be the rain fall of a heavy tropical storm, but they will hide in the trees to avoid direct effect.

Misting Bottle ONLY! And, if at all possible, mist into the air above to allow it to fall softy on your Parrot. Never mist directly into their face.

 

[HarveyTheAlexandrine]

Well stated above! There is nothing in their natural range that would duplicate the water flow of a shower head. The only thing would be the rain fall of a heavy tropical storm, but they will hide in the trees to avoid direct effect.

Misting Bottle ONLY! And, if at all possible, mist into the air above to allow it to fall softy on your Parrot. Never mist directly into their face.

We put it on a mist and it’s generally not directly in his face the closest it gets is down his back. And when misting we generally do mist with the aim being into the air above him. Until he deliberately gets closer to it to get the direct aim so obviously he likes it direct from the mist bottle. Makes it hard because some people say it’s fine and others say it’s not to have your parrot in the shower. We see lots of videos and have researched a lot on the topic and it’s very wishy washy answers. Most say ‘yep great idea! Even smaller birds love it’ and then others are a flat no. Obviously I’m not a complete moron and try to focus on my birds body language and make decisions off what my gut tells me, mostly it’s not to put him in the shower. But if it’s something that could be nice for him I wouldn’t want to miss out on giving that to him.

 

[SailBoat]

Welcome to one of many 'Great Divides' within the Avian World!
The reality is (as you have determined): it is all based on what your specific Parrot likes!
I stay on the safest path forward as the goal is to have a Parrot that loves to bathe!