Baby Parrot's First Bath And Shower
by Steve Hartman / The Parrot University

Cleaning The Parrot

Some parrots are more excited by water than others. Parrots like cockatoos, from drier climates, will often be so interested in water they will dive under the running faucet in the sink. Macaws, amazons and most new world birds evolved in areas where it rains often and may not be impressed by a bath or shower.

A baby parrot's first introduction to water may establish his lifelong opinion of baths and showers. With a little patience and planning, you can make the baby's first bath or shower a positive experience.

The key is to go slow so that the baby does not develop a fear of water or fear the location where you introduce the baby to water.

As an adult, parrots need and prefer a shower over a bath. Babies, however, will likely need a few baths prior to weaning. Babies lie around in wood shavings, feces, regurgitate formula on themselves and often have some newsprint ink on their feathers. These cute babies can develop an awful odor.

At Hartman Aviary, we have bathed thousands of babies, some several times, before they go home. Our babies get lots of life experience going between the indoor night nursery and the daytime outside nursery/flight. They also get handled by scores of volunteer trainers, dive into a communal food fest several times a day, and get to spend lots of time on the ground playing with the toys they dropped from above.

Why Do Babies Need Baths and Adults Need Showers?

Adult parrots rarely need a full, 'wet to the bone' bath. Adults utilize powder down, rain and puddles to keep clean. Powder down is vitally important since it traps the sticky particles of dirt from the parrot's body and feathers, and then falls off. (It is like a natural Swiffer Sweeper!) Parrots from drier climates like most cockatoos have lots of powder down while rain forest parrots such as macaws and conures need much less.

Yet young babies, from any region, are incapable of producing enough powder down to keep themselves clean. In the wild this is not a problem because they get covered in powder while keeping warm under their parents. And since most wild nests are in a cavity on the side of a tree, or in the top of a dead tree where the top has broken off, the babies often get wet too.

Domestic baby parrots do not have those advantages. Once a baby is removed from his parent, he is also removed from his supply of power down. Additionally, domestic nurseries are not usually exposed to rain showers.

To make matters worse, the actual feathers of a baby are not as healthy and protective as those of an adult. The reason is simple: Rapidly growing babies are producing muscle, bones, and everything else as well as the feathers in about a 90 day period for most species. That is a lot of work in the space of three months. An adult parrot takes about four months to molt and make a complete set of high quality feathers, and that is without the added chore of having to produce everything else at the same time.

You usually don’t even need a magnifying glass to see the differences between baby feathers and adult feathers. Baby feathers are a little less shiny, can have small dull spots, stress bars, and often, by the time of the first molt, have lots of small pieces broken off the ends of most of their feathers. On dark colored feathers like macaws, conures and amazons it is easier to see developing damage because worn parts of the feathers tend to turn black. Spray a little water on healthy adult feathers and it should bead up and roll off, while hand fed baby feathers will often allow the water droplets to hang on and slowly soak in.

Babies get dirty mostly from hand feeding formula, feces and sticky adult food as they begin weaning. Even an experienced hand feeder gets formula on the baby from time to time. Babies also dribble and regurgitate formula on each other. Since babies are not good at cleaning their beaks before grooming, they often transfer lots of food particles to their feathers when learning to preen.

Cockatoos have the disadvantage of showing the dirt easier because of their white feathers, but the darker colored birds can be just as dirty without the dirt being visible. That does not mean they don't need bathed just as much. Remember, most of the dirt we usually wash off ourselves is not visible even with a magnifying glass. To see how much a baby needs a bath, all one needs to do is get out a black light and take a look at your juvenile birds to see just how filthy they are. The larger dirt particles, especially feces and urates, show up like neon signs under ultraviolet light.

The Bath

A large kitchen sink or stationary tub is a good places for a bath. The sink is an unfamiliar place for the baby so we need a few short visits before the bath. He may be apprehensive because he may not be able to see over the sides and will be hearing an echo.

While holding your baby with its feet standing on the palms of your hands, lower the baby into the empty sink or tub. Slowly encourage the baby to step off your hands into the tub. Distract the baby by talking and explaining to him what is going on until he becomes comfortable in this new place. Ten seconds is long enough for the first visit, just long enough for the baby to realize he is in a strange place, but not long enough for him to become too concerned. Repeat this process a few times over the next few days, increasing the time spent in the tub. When the baby can spend a couple of minutes without becoming scared, you are ready. If he does not take to the new situation quickly, try placing a few of his favorite toys in the sink.

There is no reason to purchase a special soap or shampoo. If it is safe for you, it is safe for your pet. Almost any soap used for normal daily cleaning of human skin or hair is suitable for baths and showers. A nice smelling human baby shampoo is recommended for baths. The only concern is the possibility that an individual parrot, like an individual human, may have special needs because of sensitive skin, allergies, or an aversion to a particular smell.

Fill the sink with about one inch of warm soapy water. Never submerge the baby's' body unless it is medically necessary or the baby shows an inclination for this situation. Birds' air sacs extend throughout the body cavity and the water pressure from submersion will cause the body cavity to slightly collapse causing discomfort.

While holding your baby with its feet standing on the palms of your hands, lower the baby into the water. Slowly encourage the baby to step off your hands into the water. If the baby becomes scared, remove him immediately and repeat the same process you used to get him accustomed to the sink.

Distract the baby by giving it a little attention until it becomes comfortable with the warm water on its feet. After a few seconds or minutes, you can begin dribbling a small amount of water over the baby's back. If the baby is not objecting, continue until the baby is soaked. Soon, you will be able to use a washcloth as the baby becomes more comfortable.

Eventually, you will be able to use deeper water, up to a couple of inches, and the spray nozzle found on most sinks.

A great tool for removing dried formula and other thick dirt is a soft tooth brush. Allow the dirt to soak for a while and the tooth brush will work like a comb to remove formula, especially around the mouth where fingers might be too big to grab the small formula particles.

Babies soaked to the skin will chill quickly in the tub if the room is cool. When clean, remove the baby and place him on a towel on the counter or table. Wrap the baby in the towel to keep him warm and begin drying. Change towels if it becomes soaked.

Use a hair dryer to finish drying the baby. Baby parrot skin is thin and sensitive and can burn easily if you are not careful. By keeping your hand on the baby where the warm air makes contact, you will always know how much heat is getting to the baby's skin.

With the dryer's heat setting on low and your hand between the dryer and the baby, begin drying his head. Do not forget that his eyes will be affected just like yours would with warm air blowing on them. From the head, progress down his body, working on drying the down. If you focus on the down, the baby will stay warm and the feathers will dry at the same time.

If all went well, your baby has received a lot of personal attention, had a positive experience and smells clean and fresh.

The Shower

Healthy adult parrots will not normally need a bath, but should have a shower every few days. Showers are not only an opportunity for your parrot to stay clean, but can also be great entertainment. Shower time is also social time, a time when your pet gets to spend quality time with you.

There is usually no need to provide soap for the parrot. Feathers for the most part, are self-cleaning due to powder down. Powder down continuously develops on parrots and falls off carrying dirt away. The shower rinses off dust and surface dirt, moisturizes the feathers, and makes it easier for the parrot to preen.

While any regular soap used by us is safe for your pet, it may be difficult to remove all of the residue from the feathers. Mild dishwashing liquid or hair shampoo will rinse away easily. The small amount of soap splashing off you will not be a problem.

Shower perches for parrots are a great invention. These perches generally attach to just about any shower wall with suction cups. Many have an arm that swings out from the wall to be folded away when not in use.

For the less adventurous parrot, you will use the same cautious approach used to get the baby used to the tub and water.

Most shower perches attach to glass windows as well as shower walls. Attach the perch to a window in a room your companion is already comfortable in. After several short sessions on the perch, even the most cautious parrot will begin to develop a fondness for this new perch while enjoying the great view. The next step is becoming accustomed to the shower. This is a small room that echoes and smells differently than any place he has ever been. A few short trips into the room and shower will accustom him to the new place.

Again, use the same approach to introduce the sound and feel of the running water, and to become used to standing on the perch in the shower.

The perch should be placed in an area where the bird will not be in the direct path of the water. He will get his shower from the water splashing off you. If he exhibits a desire for more, move him closer. Most parrots will not want to get soaked to the bone. The degree to which your pet will want to get wet is a factor of species and individual personality.

Normally, adult birds will not need to be dried. Given enough room, they will flap their wings and dry themselves. The exceptions will be cold days in winter and those crazy parrots that develop a water fetish and soak every part of their body.

When he is ready, take a shower.

Natural Bathing Instincts

The sound and feel of rain provokes most parrots to instantly preen and clean their feathers. At Hartman Aviary, there is an amazing flurry of activity when the parrots hear, see and feel an impending shower.

When watching the different flocks of different species shower you can see very different responses and interest in rain. The enthusiasm varies from one individual to an another and one species to another. The most obvious difference is between parrots from dry habitats to the ones found in the wetter tropical areas.

Macaws, amazons and other species that get rained on every day or two lose interest quickly, while cockatoos who see rain less often go absolutely nuts. At the first hint of a raindrop most of our cockatoos are hanging upside down with their wings outstretched as far as they can reach. They are vocal and aggressive about catching every drop and take much longer to lose interest.

Every parrot should have a harness and periodically be allowed to satisfy this most basic need in a natural outdoor environment.