A good day for a bath!

It is a little cloudy today and the air feels heavy...a great day for a bath according to our birds!

When the weather is moist, they automatically know it's a good day to get wet, and relish in a great bath. The little owls bathe themselves while splashing around a nice bowl full of water, while the parrots enjoy a good rainstorm or a spray bottle bath.

The toucans do both! They love a good rainstorm and they also jump into their water bowls, then begin to scratch their beaks to clean them off! Water is extremely important to birds and their feathers. I remember years ago, I adopted an African Grey parrot who we named Jackson. He was about 1 1/2 years old and looked like he had never had a bath! His feathers were sticky, he smelled and you could see the ear holes in his head since the feathers were so thin around his face. Now, he is originally genetically from the Congo African Rain forest, so he should like rain. He hated bathing. Little by little I sprayed him, every few days and made it into a fun game so that he would not be scared of the water, and now he loves to bathe. Birds in captivity need to be taught to like water, it is good for their health and most native birds enjoy bathing. Feather health depends on it, and good feathers regulate heat in birds which is very important.
When I was in the Peruvian rain forest studying the macaws, we saw them bathe as well. Once on a trail we came across this Black Hawk Eagle and he was having a nice lunch of some rodent. Other tourists stayed for a few minutes to watch and take photos. I stayed until he finally flew away (about an hour) long enough to see what he did after he ate and had a nice mess of rodent parts hanging around. He jumped off the log he was on into a small creek and took the most fantastic bath. I felt privileged to be witness to such an event.

So remember that if you have birds in your care, a good bath is always welcomed and much needed! If you have pet parrots, turn on some good music, get out the spray bottle and have a fun bathing dancing session!