This is Paulie

[Wolf]

Misting birds for bathing can be rather interesting as well as deceptive. Many times it appears to us that the bird is freaking out and totally hates getting misted when quite the opposite is actually true. They scream, flap their wings and move out from under the spray, just as if they hated it. The thing is that some of them do hate it, but some of them will move back under the water. Sometimes even with the ones that don't like it at first will like it if you spray them letting the water come down like rain and then you stop and repeat the spraying off and on as this is new to them and they don't know what to think.

Baths with dishes are equally as fun because some birds will only bathe in a dish, but they only like a certain color or shape. Some like to have some toy in the water and some don't want anything in the water.

And as you have been told you don't want to force them or try to force them it is non productive and destroys trust.

[liz]

The noises made while getting a shower or being misted are so funny.

The Cockatiels come to me as a group when I carry in the spray bottle. With so many at one time they makes some interesting noises.

They gather together in the middle of the room like a flock of chickens. I really need to get a video of them while they get misted. Wings and butts go in the air to catch the mist.

[Pajarita]

I have birds that ADORE getting a bath and I have birds that HATE but I've never had a conure which did not like it. The trick is to try different ways many times each (because, with parrots, it takes seeing or experiencing something many times for it to become familiar and acceptable) without actually forcing them. Start by offering different kinds of bowls in different shapes and different materials, big bowls, small bowls, deep bowls, shallow bowls, metal and plastic and in different colors. Try putting a couple of little pebbles at the bottom (sometimes they are afraid is too deep and seeing the pebbles at the bottom helps with that). Try the mist bottle from above and, if they fly away from it, start by leaving it nearby for a few days, then start carrying it in your hand until they no longer react to it and, when this happens, start spraying a few inches in front of their feet and, as you see that they don't move away, make it closer and closer until you can spray their toes - just once the first time to see how they react and, as they stopped moving away, more times. Then you start moving the spray up very gradually and very slowly until you can spray their entire body. But also try the sink with a small thread of water flowing out of the faucet - and try it falling on the sink and into a shallow bowl to see which one they prefer. Some of them just love water with a passion and would take a bath every which way they can (my cockatoos would even get under the hose stream when I water my garden!). In my personal experience, conures like to bathe in a large bowl with shallow water.

What I always do with all the birds regardless of whether is spray bottle, bowl or garden hose is sing the same song (I sing 'Singing in the rain' - the one and only verse I know which I repeat over and over ). I use this technique with everything I do for and with my birds - I always let them know what is coming, whether is my uncovering their cage ("Good morning!"), opening the door to their cage ("Come out?"), getting their food ("UUUUUUHHHHH, LOOK - LOOK - LOOK! Mmmmmm! Que rica papa! So yummy, so yummy, there's a party in my tummy!"), going out to run an errand ("OK, you be good babies and I see you later! ByeBye, bye-bye, good babies!"), covering their cages or leaving the bird room in the evening (Nite Nite - I love you!). I believe that keeping strict routines and letting them know in advance what is going to happen reduces the stress of captivity as it gives them a feeling of been in control of their own lives (something we take away from them when kept in captivity and which is hard on parrots).

But, of course, all this takes time and you need to provide moisture ASAP so your best bet is a humidifier.

[galeriagila]

The Rb is a typical conure, then, even though he's from dry, scrubby Patagonia. He hates sprays, prefers a shallow bowl (I discovered he liked our giant 30"-or-so wok, so I "gave" it to him). The only falling water he likes is when I cup some water and sprinkle it on him.

[patti]

These are all great suggestions, thank you. I will keep trying! She usually takes a bath under a dripping faucet about every 5-6 days.... but I remember that last year around molting time she lost interest in bathing too. Paulie likes to bathe in dishes. I am going to use the above suggestions to help encourage it more.

Lily is closer to her old self, btw, and has not pulled a feather since yesterday, and even then only one. she is still irritable and hormonal... which is to be expected given her age (2.5) and her molting and all the recent stressors. and she is still a little too aggressive with her preening - chewing on a molted covering feather and tugging on the areas she was pulling out downie feathers from before. but I can easily distract her from it and I am now pretty confident that my immediate changes have had a positive effect and that I can get her through this. once the avicalm gets here and kicks in, and I continue with the environmental changes and reinforcement training... set up the humidifier... I feel like I have a chance to keep it from happening again or getting worse, and even make her feel happy again. I can't get rid of all the stressors right away, but I can certainly make headway on her chosen coping strategy. And maybe I will be able to leave the house again!

[Pajarita]

Good job! Yes, once she is comfortable in her new home and her routine, you will be able to resume a more normal life. It's just a matter of time.

[patti]

Ha ha! Good news today. Paulie's bloodwork came back. The vet suggested drawing blood to rule out underlying medical issues for the birds' stress from the move, etc, and in Paulie's case I was excited to check his liver function now that he has lost 30% of his weight. And its....

A Okay!! Yay!!

Also, the vet said he is approaching normal weight. He still weighs 185 grams, which appears to be above average, but I am thinking maybe he is just big for a blue crown. My friends' BCC weighs 165 but has a head that is only about 2/3 of Paulie's head.

And with an additional sixty bucks (!!) I was able to confirm that he is, in fact, male .

[galeriagila]

Wonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnderful newszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Go Team Paulie!

[Pajarita]

Good news all around!

[patti]

thank you! i am really happy about paulie.

As for Lily, she started picking at herself again today. i think perhaps it was instigated when i bumped her cage really hard while putting the dishes in. she got really upset and now she does not want to go back to her cage. although i got her to go back once on command for a treat, she has been avoiding it for the last couple hours, has gone back to picking at herself, and bit me really hard a couple times when i picked her up in the middle of it. she is now covered in her sleeping cage for a time out. i am hoping that she calms down in a little bit of darkness.

her reaction tells me that she is still very very very fragile.

i am at a loss here. i have done everything i could do. i always leave the house for less than 3 hours at a time (yesterday only from 11:30-2). i never lock her in her cage - she is free to fly around all day except when i am eating near her.... maybe it takes some time. but other than some long-range plans like building the aviary, i don't know what to do to help her right now.