Birds

How to Bathe a Parakeet? #Bathing Facts

The beautiful parakeets often are clean and anyone would simply love to see and hold them. This is not simply because they are beautiful, but also because they are generally clean. Yes, the parakeets like to be groomed often. They love to take a bath.

How often can you bath your parakeet? If you just bought a new parakeet home, you cannot immediately start bathing a parakeet daily. Initially, you can start with 1 or 2 days a week. Going further, you can observe your parakeet’s reaction when they bath. If they are enjoying it, you may simply increase the frequency making it up to a normal routine course.

Spraying a Parakeet with misting spray

Well, if you are keen about knowing how to bath a parakeet, there are certain rules for doing it. Also, you need to know, while bathing what they might like and what not. We shall take you through all the bathing facts of the parakeet.

Contents

1 Do’s and Dont’s on How to Bathe a Parakeet?
2 Methods of How to Bathe Your Parakeet?
3 How Often Should a Parakeet Take Bath?
4 Do Budgies Like Being Sprayed with Water?
5 How to Dry the Parakeet After Bath?
6 Concluding Thoughts on Bathing Habits of a Parakeet

Do’s and Dont’s on How to Bathe a Parakeet?

Bathing a parakeet is no big task. However, you indeed need to keep certain things in mind while giving a bath to your budgie. They have feathers and also a tender and sensitive skin which needs proper attention. Following are the rules for bathing a parakeet:

Time of Bath – Make sure you bathe your budgie when the day is warmest. This will help their feathers to dry easily. If the climate is chilled and you bathe you bird, it might lead to health issues to the little one.

Temperature of Bath Water – The bath water of the parakeet should be lukewarm and soothing, some might even prefer it at room temperature. Too hot water can cause burns and too cold can shock the bird leading to serious conditions.

Plain & Clean Water – This is really important. Do not add anything to the water while bathing your parakeet. Make sure it is a plain and clean water. You may choose to give bird bath or simply spray it as per the choice of your dear bird.

Do not Use any Soap – Using any soap, detergents or shampoo can cause itching and other skin diseases to the bird. However, there are shampoos available specially for the birds. Still, it is better to bathe them only with water. Using shampoo might strip off the natural oil generated from their body which can result into unhealthy feathers and unhappy budgies.

Soaking the Bird Feathers – Except for the unavoidable circumstance, the budgies do not let themselves get completely wet and soaked in the water. The saturation of feathers might make it difficult for the parakeets to fly and there might also be loss of heat from its body.

Now, let us see a few methods of how you can actually bathe your parakeet?

Methods of How to Bathe Your Parakeet?

By now we have realized that the hygiene of the parakeet is the must to keep them healthy as well as happy. For that, we need to often bathe them. We have already seen the precautions to be taken while bathing the budgie. Now, let us see few methods of bathing the parakeet:

Parakeet Bird Bath

The birdbaths are the shallow vessels that can be attached inside or outside the cage with attached hooks. You keep a little water in the birdbath. Your budgie shall dip itself into the water and splash and play in it.

budgie in bird bath

If you feel your budgie is loving this method, then you got to follow it every time your budgie wants to take a bath. But if not, you need to try other alternatives.

Budgie Shower

Budgies might also love to be showered with the spray bottles filled with plain water. You might also fir the perches onto which your parakeet can hold on while taking the shower bath.

Spraying a Parakeet with misting spray

If your parakeet is opening its feathers to let the water reach its body and fluttering the feathers it means it is enjoying the shower bath. You can give a shower to your parakeet very often.

Budgie Bath Fountain

There are various budgie bath fountains some being electric and some solar-powered. The shallow top around the fountain and the showers from the fountain let the budgie enjoy taking the bath.

Fountain bath of budgie

Place them in the Sink

The most convenient method would be to place the budgie in your sink. However, you need to make sure that the pressure of water is in control. The high force of the water on the parakeet’s body might shock them and create health hazards.

Budgie bath in kitchen sink

Keep your hand below the tap and let the water sprinkle slowly from between the gaps of your fingers. This shall give them a feel of the shower and make them enjoy the bathing.

Add some Greens in Shallow Vessel

Sometimes it might be difficult to make your parakeet take a bath. In that scenario, one can place some greens like lettuce, basil, etc. at the bottom of the shallow vessel. The parakeet loves greens and would jump into the water to take the bath.

Budgie bath in greens

You can also thoroughly soak the greens and hang them into the cage. The budgie loves to rub its body against the wet greens which ultimately cleans its body.

Keep a Mirror in the Clean Water

Parakeets are social birds. They love to be in a company with their friends. The mirror in the clean water reflects its face and gives him a feeling of being with its fellow companion.

Mirror in water to make parakeet bath

The parakeet not only enjoys taking the bath but also feels secure with the feel of being in company with its fellow friends.

Note: Remove the drinking water within an hour’s time to avoid your parakeet from drinking the bathing water. The dirt in the water might be harmful for the budgie’s health.

Also, to avoid your floor from getting wet, you can place a towel on the floor below the cage while placing a birdbath or spraying it with a spray bottle.

Well, these were a few best options we could list down to make your budgie feel healthy and happy. Definitely, you create a moment for yourself too while bathing your little ones. Their happiness simply adds to your happiness just like your kid does.

How Often Should a Parakeet Take Bath?

A bathing schedule of 2-3 times a week is a healthy practice. However, when the budgie decides to bathe, it may even splash into the drinking water kept inside the cage. It is completely a budgie’s choice of how often it wants to take bath. However,

However, depending on the breed of your parakeet, if it is from tropical areas and rainforests it is adapted to the daily rain showers and extra humid conditions. In that case, you can bathe your parakeet daily.

Also, during molting frequent bath helps the parakeet in shedding the old feathers and releasing the new feathers. The frequent bath can help soothe the skin and avoid itching in the process of molting. Also, baths encourage preening, thus helping your bird to shed the old molted feathers.

Your budgie is the ultimate decision-maker of how often your parakeet should take bath. You simply need to understand its desire of taking a bath when he signs.

Do Budgies Like Being Sprayed with Water?

Well, budgies have their own likes and dislikes. Some of them might enjoy jumping and splashing water in the birdbath, bathing themselves and some might love being sprayed with misting bottles. It’s you who have to understand your parakeet’s choice.

If your parakeet loves being sprayed it would approach you immediately it sees the misting spray in your hand with excitement. You would actually feel like they telling you to spray them with water.

However, no unknown person shall try misting your budgie. It might not be comfortable and shall also feel unsafe. Thus, we can say that budgies might like being sprayed with water given the fact they are with their owner and they feel safe being there.

This was all about bathing a parakeet. However, the parakeet should be dried well after the bath. So, let us see how to dry the parakeet after a bath.

How to Dry the Parakeet After Bath?

Most importantly, you bathe your budgie in the warmest part of the day so that they can dry naturally. However, if the climate is too cold or its continuously drizzling, it is important to help your parakeet dry. A few ways of drying it are:

It is always better to give your pet a natural habitat to perform their routine. You can place the cage or perch in sunlight to help them dry naturally.
You can use a small towel or any small soft cloth to wipe off the excess water. Remember, your parakeet is a delicate baby, if you wrap it in a big towel, it might scare him.
If you feel, the climate is too cold and the feathers are saturated with water, you can use a hairdryer, but take the following precautions:

- The airflow of the dryer needs to be controlled.
- Also, if there is a cool setting in the dryer, make sure you put on that to ensure that too much heat does not impact the budgie.
- You can place your hand in front of the dryer so that the heat does not directly hit the budgie’s body. The air gets mild and passes on to parakeet from between your fingers.

Well, these are a few ways of drying the budgies after a bath. However, they love to preen and make themselves look beautiful. They shake and flutter to dry themselves. They have their own natural ways of drying after a bath.

Concluding Thoughts on Bathing Habits of a Parakeet

So, in this post, we have discussed all about the parakeets bathing time. Indeed! If you have a pet, you need to know the smallest thing about it to make it accustomed to the new home and people. Bathing a parakeet is one such thing. You also need to be aware of what they eat, how they sleep and many more emotions they express.

If you have any suggestions and experience with regards to how to bathe your parakeet share it with us in the comments section below.