The bathing winged demon BUSTED!

Kiwibird

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2012
9,539
111
Parrots
1 BFA- Kiwi. Hatch circa 98', forever home with us Dec. 08'
When I change Kiwi's water each morning, I not only think of giving him a clean, refreshing oasis from which to drink, I must also think about a "brimming" water level in which for him to BATHE. After all, a studly boy can't go a single day without getting a few drops of water on his front and SOAKING THE ENTIRE 10' RADIUS AROUND HIS CAGE in the process:52: Today, his bath was *especially* flashy, and I happened to be there, with camera, to catch him in the act!

The "badboy" toy in the foreground and excessively fluffy amazon foreshadows impending soaking of my living room:
DSC_5233_zps96becb86.jpg


Let the bathing commence!
DSC_5240_zps3150764e.jpg


And don't you DARE try and stop me!
DSC_5254_zpsc93901e7.jpg


My tails a *tad* to large for this dish, can I start getting a bucket of water mommy?
DSC_5229_zps3e91b7a1.jpg


"I'm a big airplane"
DSC_5245_zps6072cb44.jpg


Slippery little beasties...
DSC_5251_zps79666c41.jpg


...end up upside down
DSC_5252_zps385d8784.jpg


So in conclusion mommy, is there anything you'd like to say to Kiwi on his bath (and the now mess you must clean)?
DSC_5242_zpsa2efad1f.jpg
 
Hahah! Loco does the same thing! Except he won't give me a chance to put his water bowl back, he just steps up and in the water as soon as I walk up to the cage in an attempt to put his bowl in..lol
 
hahaha! That's adorable! I love how small the water bowl is in comparison to him, and yet he's not deterred in the least - rather incredibly determined :p Kiwi has such a great and entertaining personality :)
 
I'm jealous. Pigpen acts like I'm setting him on fire when I gently mist him. Fly problem, dirty bird who I think hasn't bathed in years, fruit flies and house flies. Maybe that should be his name, Pigpen. Kiwi puts him to shame, he's a gorgeous boy. What does he do when he sees himself in a mirror????
 
Kiwi doesn't seem to mind at all that he's caught on camera! He's obviously having a blast at his private beach party. He's gorgeous.

Pigpen acts like I'm setting him on fire when I gently mist him.

I have a Pigpen too. :) My male quaker missed the memo informing him that all parrots are natural born bathers. I tried all the tricks and we finally reached a compromise. He will allow me to mist him while he stands on the door of his cage fussing in quakerese, but the water must be warm and sprayed three feet above him so it falls gently, and no more than twice in one week.
 
I have a Pigpen too. :) My male quaker missed the memo informing him that all parrots are natural born bathers.

Allee, Robin missed that memo too! :D

I was thinking maybe parrots from a drier habitat like my Red Bellied Parrot Robin, aren't used to the rain on a regular basis like rainforest birds are. Maybe that's why he'd rather bathe in his bowl (like a watering hole on the African plain)?
Is it Zeke? Not sure about Quaker's habitat in South America, but if your Harry got the memo and Zeke didn't... :confused: lol
 
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #11
Pigpens lol. I think Julie may be right that the parrots who come from drier climates aren't so inclined to take baths. I'm still imagining them walking around with a little cloud of dirt swirling around them:)
pigpen.png


I know most zons like baths, but Kiwi seems to have missed the memo that he does not actually live in the rainforest! Several people over the years have asked us why we keep him on a rug (a rubber-backed rug) instead of laying down newspaper since the rug could get ruined....:20: When my mom used to watch him (if we went out of town), she always complained about him bathing because he caused such a huge mess and made the tile floor slippery. Her birds rarely do that, they wait for misting. Not Kiwi! And once the others would see him, they would sometimes join in the fun:D My boy was a 'bad influence' on my parents birds:(
 
My Sassy is a "pigpen" and she's a BFA?? I'm not sure if her previous owner ever bathed/misted her. It doesn't really seem like it. Once in a while she will use her water bowl but not much...maybe when she can't stand her own smell she will reluctantly take a bath..lol. I've been working with her on misting and she does pretty good some days, but other days...not so much.
 
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #13
Try filling the mister with warm water (like the temp you'd make a baby's bath, warm but not scalding). I know Kiwi usually prefers a warm misting to a cold/room temp one on all but the hottest days. See if these pigpen parrots like a warm bath better;)
 
LOL the "big airplane" caption really cracked me up! Kiwi looks kind of evil in the last photo in the cutest way possible. Love it. :)
 
I saw (my) Kiwi doing this for the first time last week. He usually throws/dips whatever he's eating in his water, so we change it out a lot so it doesn't get funky. The other day we saw him hanging upside down from the top of his cage, dunking his head in the bowl, and using his head to splash/fling water everywhere. He was spreading his wings the whole time doing the "happy bird in the shower" move. It's adorable! My stepdaughter says she's actually seen him do it before when none of us have been around. I give him a big shallow casserole dish of water in case he wanted to splash around in that, but of course he acted like that was radioactive;/
 

Most Reactions

Latest posts

Back
Top