what age is it safe to bath macaw?

[luv4scjjt]

My baby came yesterday. She is around 5 weeks we think. (thats another thread) I was wondering. She came home with some formula on some of her feathers and feces on her lower feathers, on her feet and band. Can i bath one so young in a warm bath to get it of. The washcloth dont seem to get the stuff under the fluffy feathers.

 

[Erinsmom]

I was wondering the same about my baby tiels so i don't know that answer but for cleaning formula I found the best way is to use q tips dunked in warm water. You can dip a few times to get the old formula wet then use a dry one to wipe it off. I tired alot of different things and this worked best.

 

[luv4scjjt]

Thank you. I will try that. The washcloth works great for her face but it just puts the formula deeper into her feathers. lol.

 

[Erinsmom]

Thank you. I will try that. The washcloth works great for her face but it just puts the formula deeper into her feathers. lol.

Yeah I found that out the hard way too. I wet the feather where the formula is and take the dry one and roll it as you wipe if that makes sense. that way it grips the softened formula. I also will take the dry one underneath said feather and roll as i pull it down the feather. I go through alot of qtips...LOL But with their crazy bobbing OMG the feathers on the side of their faces can get caked it it and they don't like wash clothes by their faces but they will sit there and nod off while i use the qtips even on their noses.

 

[luv4scjjt]

I can sooooo imagin them nodding them of. lol.. how cute...

 

[brianlinkles]

Hi again, I am anxious to hear what your vet has to say about your adorable new baby. I would not bathe until you ask your vet. However if you sit with her on your lap you can probably "crunch" the formula off the feathers around her face on her neck. You just kind of "preen" the feathers once the formula dries. When the formula is wet what I have found helpful is to take a warm cup of water and a soft toothbrush. I then kind of use the wet toothbrush to comb the formula out of the feathers. Whatever is left I let dry and then sometime later just preen the feathers of the rest of the formula. Moses usually loves when I do this!

 

[luv4scjjt]

Thank you very much. I like the crunching idea to. Her vet appt is tom. I cant wait.

 

[luv4scjjt]

I took her to the vet and he said she is very healhy and gave me all the warnings on feeding but wouldn't you know it i forgot to ask about the bathing.lol. Thats ok ill just do as you all said and wipe and crunch. I don't want to take any risks.

 

[JerseyWendy]

I honestly don't know when it's "safe" to bath them the first time. When I brought my Niko home at 4 months, he had never had a bath, and his feathers were kind of tattery and dull looking, so I gave him his first bath within the first week of him being home.

I used a spray bottle with warm water and did it before noon, so that he had all day to dry.

 

[luv4scjjt]

Ya i was wondering about the bath also because of sofening up the shells on her feathers. What iv read says there feathers get cleaned by their parents oils getting on them while in the nest they are not in the nest so their feathers dont get clean on their own till they get older. I read it somewhere just affraid to take chances on drafts this time of yr in ny.

 

[lene1949]

If we look at the wild baby birds - they'll stay dry in the nest until they fledge, so I reckon you can safely bath after your bird has fledged...