Gentle Bathing and Grooming

Elizabeth with Baby Bird

One of the services offered around here is gentle grooming.  Elizabeth brought her little guy "Baby Bird" down for a toenail trim.  Baby Bird is actually approximately 15 years old and has a touch of arthritis.  To make his mobility easier, especially on Elizabeth's sweaters, we try to keep the tiny needle tips clipped on his tiny feet.  

Sammy with his stained tail.


Sammy and Munchkin are boarding here this week and they tend to get dirty tails.  The beautiful yellow tail feathers are soiled at night in the carrier because they love Zupreem fruity pellets and these are colorful going in and coming out, if you know what I mean.  A gentle bath in a warm sink basin of water with a tiny bit of Dawn dishwashing liquid applied to the tail and vent seems to do the trick.  The birds seem to appreciate the bath. (They sleep in a carrier at night to avoid night fright injury.) 


Jasper Supervising His Cage Service

 Jasper, also boarding, takes a bath in his water dish.  Every bird has their preference.  If I give Jasper a warm spray mist bath, he dives into his water bowl and makes a huge flood on his cage papers.  Oh well, nobody said birds weren't messy!  He happily spends time on his playstand while I tend to his accommodations.  Jasper is a happy little guy even if he goes to town on his feathers.  This time around we're trying to move his cage around and change the position of the perches and toys to keep him distracted and reduce boredom.  With feather picking, one must never give up.  There is always something else to try.