There’s a lot that goes into maintaining a healthy bird, perhaps the one of the most important is their feather health.  In nature, birds will bathe often, utilizing the rain, puddles, dew and rain collected off of vegetation, lakes and streams.  It’s essential for birds to have healthy feathers and the environment in most homes is far different from the wilderness.  Typically, homes will have a much drier environment and thus, your bird is already at a disadvantage for optimum feather health.  This is because the dry air from heating units and air conditioners strip moisture from the air that, in the wild, a bird would find abundantly.

It’s important to remember that all birds are different and will want to bathe less or more, at different times and will prefer different methods.  Birds love water, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find a bath time and method your beloved bird prefers.

How to Bathe Your Bird

There are many options for bathing your bird that are effective and fun. For example, smaller birds offering a cage mounted bird bath area is an ideal option, while larger birds should be bathed outside of the cage.  Here are some preferred ideas for bird baths.

• Use a shallow bowl.  This is popular for smaller birds and any dish, bowl or small tub should never be filled higher than the height of your bird!
• A mister.  Using a wide spray mister will stimulate rain and chances are your bird will love it!  King’s Cages has avian safe and economical bird sprays that are made for all types of birds.   https://kingscages.com/?term=&s=bath+spray&post_type=product&taxonomy=product_cat
• Perches.  Perches are great to use when misting your bird or mount it in your shower.  If you decide to do a bird shower you must make sure that there is not a lot of pressure.  Birds need a gentle spray, a full shower spray will scare them and could physically harm them.

For smaller birds, such as finches and canaries, they can play in the water runoff from rinsing your vegetables.  No matter the size of your bird there are some basic guidelines for safety.

1. Make sure the area is not drafty or too cold.
2. Ensure your pet has a warm and dry place to dry off and preen.
3. Do not use soap on your pet bird.  King’s Cages carries only the best bird shampoos!  Made from avian safe and all natural ingredients, our shampoos will keep your beloved buddies feathers shiny, healthy and mite free.  https://kingscages.com/?term=&s=bird+shampoo&post_type=product&taxonomy=product_cat 
4. Always clean up any wet areas and make sure the bird dishes are kept clean and are bacteria free.
5. If you use the sink as a bird bath rinse out any residue from soaps or cleaners, as they pose a health risk.

Always make sure the water is lukewarm or room temperature.  Never use hot or cold water.  Also, use a mist or soft spray, never use any type of pressure on your bird.

When to Bathe Your Bird

Birds could bathe everyday and be happy but not all birds will and your bird will have a favorite time of day and way to bathe.  Experiment with times of day and types of bath to see what your pet prefers.

The good news is that bath time is easy, the birds will do most of the work, however, a bird should never be left alone during bath time.  Safety first!

Birds, like most animals, thrive on routine so establish a set bath time if possible, and take time to play with your bird.  Bath time is often play time.  Encourage your bird to bathe every day, but some may not so take the time to figure out what your bird likes.

Another very important thing to remember is that bird’s feathers should never be saturated, run off or misting is good enough.

Avian experts recommend bathing your bird at the warmest time of day, make sure any spray bottle you use has no chemical residues, use wet leaves from lettuce, chard or kale in their bath dish to rub against and play with.  During molting season experts encourage you to bathe your bird more often, likewise if they start playing or bathing in their drinking water.  Birds from tropical climates, such as parrots will probably need to bathe more often.  Bathing encourages preening behaviors that help remove old feathers.

Finding the best bath time routine will bond you and your pet and will keep your feathered friend healthy and happy! If you bathe your bird often but they still seem to have feather problems, see your veterinarian right away.

King’s Cages has a full line of bird baths, cage bath add-ons, perches, misters and the finest of bird shampoos.  We use only the best and safest ingredients, because we know how much you love your bird and that a healthy bird will live for years!