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Pet Forum / Birds / Parrots / February 2004Bath Time and Aging - not related
Does anyone else out there have a tiel who HATES to bathe? Water temperature is not the issue - we have experimented. With Henry still moulting...and dustier than ever I thought she may appreciate some misting...well I was wrong and she took off. Does anyone have experience with this problem? Any tricks to get her to enjoy the experience more frequently than she does? I feel bad for the poor thing b/c she's still losing an impressive number of feathers on a daily basis and looks a little worse for wear... Another thing I thought of last night... Henry will be 14 this year. Are there any necessary changes that I need to make to her diet and overall lifestyle as she progresses in age? Calcium/bone loss, exercise regiment, special food for aging tiels...etc. At this point, would she be considered an "older" tiel? I do worry that she will exhaust herself when she flys around the room non-stop four or five times, b/c when she finally lands she is panting a fair bit. She is outside of her cage from about 10am until dinner. (Yes she goes back in her cage for eating/drinking during the day, but she's out again as soon as she is finished) She goes back in for dinner (she tends to eat mainly when she sees us eating), and then generally tends to hang around the outside of her cage, playing on top, until she gets sleepy and goes in for bed. So she does get a fair amount of exercise, and is in overall good health. She is a smaller tiel though - compared to others I have seen and owned. I haven't weighed her since last April, and her scale seems to have gone missing in the move since...so I will have to get another soon. Any thoughts/suggestions would be most welcome! Cheers, TV It's great that she's exercising and staying in shape, if she's panting a little that's not a big deal...if she appears on the verge of collapse, that would be :). But we all pant a little when we exercise to the degree that it is helpful don't we :). (See also http://home1.gte.net/impekabl/Birdflight.html .) I feed my 24 (in April) year old cockatiel the same way he's always been fed: seeds (both dry and germinated) and the occasional treat stick, as that's all he's ever eaten - although he also likes potato chips. Just in the last couple of years I've also fed him what are now known as Itty Bitty Birdie Bites, so finally he's getting veggies and fruits in his diet. But since he went through the first 22 years of his life without them, I can't say that's made much of a difference :). He eats less now, so I give him less, but that's really the only modification to his diet I've made to accomodate his age. He's also always hated showers/baths, so he gets misted in his cage, as do all of my non-bathing birds now. (Where I used to live my shower was big enough for a bird or 2 to join me; this house has a tiny shower.) He accepts it I guess because when it "rains", it just rains and there's not a whole lot he can do about it. Then he preens himself and life goes on. Whatever you've been doing so far, you've evidently been doing right for her to be doing so well up into her middle age! :)  Signatureowly http://www.ittybittybirdiebites.com - healthy natural treats for birds >>> We specialize in seed junkies! <<< *** FEBRUARY 2004 SPECIALS ARE UP! (Click on Specials)*** Over 2 dozen sprouting links! (Click on Sprouting Resources) Yummy nutrition in a shaker??? (Click on Beggie Birdie Bits©) >Got seed junkies? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/seedjunkies > Does anyone else out there have a tiel who HATES to bathe? > [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > Cheers, > TV > It's great that she's exercising and staying in shape, if she's panting a > little that's not a big deal...if she appears on the verge of collapse, that [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > Whatever you've been doing so far, you've evidently been doing right for her > to be doing so well up into her middle age! :) Thanks Owly! TV > Does anyone else out there have a tiel who HATES to bathe? I have some that will not bathe on their own, but if I spray them with a little handheld sprayer, they go all crazy on me - spreading their wings so that their armpits, er, wingpits get wet... Striking the most curious poses... Try that and see what happens. If Henry doesn't take to the sprayer, try a different model - they make some that you pump up with a little built-in pump and then all you do is press the button - no rapid squeezing motions to make the bird nervous. Mark > > Does anyone else out there have a tiel who HATES to bathe? > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Mark So far my attempts to bathe Henry have been with a spray bottle (on mist of cousre - LOL) The RARE occasion, 3 MAYBE 4 times a year she will spread her wings, and bow down for a bath...but that's about all the luck I have with her. I'm going to look into the pump model you suggested. Thanks Mark! TV My guy get in the shower with me about once every couple of weeks. He sits on the curtain rod while I shower then I turn it down to as gentle as I can get and still have a rainlike effect. Bringing him down to my shoulder I extend my arm into the shower and let him walk out and shake it all over the place. He appears to like to stand in the middle of the shower pattern. there seams to be a dead spot in the middle of the shower head with a complete ring of water all around him. This took a couple of times pushing him a bit into the water. The noise and environment must have been a bit scary but he loves it now and knows what to do. This could be a little hard on an old duck trying to effect dramatic changes like that...LOL > > > Does anyone else out there have a tiel who HATES to bathe? > > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > TV Then do you stick him on the ceiling fan to spin him dry? > My guy get in the shower with me about once every couple of weeks. He sits > on the curtain rod while I shower then I turn it down to as gentle as I can [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > do. This could be a little hard on an old duck trying to effect dramatic > changes like that...LOL > My guy get in the shower with me about once every couple of weeks. He > sits And then you spin-dry them? LOL Signature~Marco~ "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." -- Terry Pratchett, Jingo > > My guy get in the shower with me about once every couple of weeks. He > > sits [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > -- > ~Marco~ Uh oh! Now you and Mark are starting to think alike. bwahahaha Now we're making progress ROFL I'm learning, I'm learning!!! :-) > Uh oh! Now you and Mark are starting to think alike. bwahahaha Now we're > making progress See? Didn't I tell you that you'd figure it out eventually? ;^) Looks like I missed all the fun though. Where'd everybody go? L > ROFL > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > we're > > making progress "Laurie (again)" <whowhat@where.com> wrote in message news:kZR%b.11004 > See? Didn't I tell you that you'd figure it out eventually? ;^) You sure did ;-D > Looks like I missed all the fun though. Where'd everybody go? Well, I think PG is still lurking. She posted a list of articles below about the dangers of Teflon, in a vain attempt to claw back some credibility methinks. But either the orderlies have rounded her up again, or she's sulking in one of the corridors. Pity, I was just starting to have fun again. I wonder if we ask the nurses nicely tommorow, they'll let her stay and play a bit longer LOL. > "Laurie (again)" <whowhat@where.com> wrote in message news:kZR%b.11004 > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > nicely tommorow, they'll let her stay and play a bit longer > LOL. Well we don't need Pizza for *this* party...we got popcorn > See? Didn't I tell you that you'd figure it out eventually? ;^) > > Looks like I missed all the fun though. Where'd everybody go? > > L Huh, what, who , where, hmmmmmmmmm. > ROFL > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > we're >> making progress Ah, you learn fast, little grasshoppa! :) Signature~Marco~ "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." -- Terry Pratchett, Jingo > > ROFL > > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > -- > ~Marco~ Do you think he is ready for the initiation ceremony master? >> On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 01:13:06 GMT, Mark Wilson <theninja@bigpond.com> > wrote: [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Do you think he is ready for the initiation ceremony master? Almost... let's see how he takes on the next, brand new troll all by himself. :) (though he's cracking me up right now!) lol. Signature~Marco~ "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." -- Terry Pratchett, Jingo > >> On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 01:13:06 GMT, Mark Wilson <theninja@bigpond.com> > > wrote: [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Almost... let's see how he takes on the next, brand new troll all by > himself. :) (though he's cracking me up right now!) lol. Yeah right...like we could keep our mouth shut long enough for him to take them on alone! Ha! Fat chance They ***do** share a brain cell. > > > My guy get in the shower with me about once every couple of weeks. He > > > sits [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Uh oh! Now you and Mark are starting to think alike. bwahahaha Now we're > making progress > They ***do** share a brain cell. Well at least they one to share. What's your excuse? Good one. Always something positive. Nice aspect. Ever have yours? > > They ***do** share a brain cell. > > > Well at least they one to share. What's your excuse? > Good one. Always something positive. Nice aspect. Ever have yours? Well...I *have* killed off a few in my lifetime, but think there's still enough there to see you for what you are Sorry one more time but I haven't been there. > > Good one. Always something positive. Nice aspect. Ever have yours? > > Well...I *have* killed off a few in my lifetime, but think there's still > enough there to see you for what you are Jealous because they have witty comebacks and you don't? > Good one. Always something positive. Nice aspect. Ever have yours? > > > > They ***do** share a brain cell. > > > > > Well at least they one to share. What's your excuse? > They ***do** share a brain cell. Colonel Sandurz: "She's gone from suck to blow!" Signature~Marco~ "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." -- Terry Pratchett, Jingo This coming from a nutter who puts her birds on spinning ceiling fans.... "Come in Spinner!' lol > They ***do** share a brain cell. > My guy get in the shower with me about once every couple of weeks. He sits > on the curtain rod while I shower then I turn it down to as gentle as I can [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > do. This could be a little hard on an old duck trying to effect dramatic > changes like that...LOL Other people have also mentioned this...it's baffles me - but Henry is not a typical tiel...so I guess it shouldn't surprise me all that much. Henry would NEVER go for such a thing. Although she does like to sit on the door frame while I am sitting in the tub...that doesn't really count. :o) Cheers, TV I had to push my guy a fair bit at first and he is pretty young yet but after getting hosed throughly he likes it now. I always do my shower first while he watches and I think that takes the edge off the anxiety a bit. "Geeezz! If it's good enough for that great big bird with the mammaries, it's good enough for me too" > > My guy get in the shower with me about once every couple of weeks. He sits > > on the curtain rod while I shower then I turn it down to as gentle as I [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > Cheers, > TV PG, Gotta say that evokes an interesting mental picture. . .I know that with my 'tiel, and my lovebird that it also took a little time and patience but that they now seem to enjoy going into the shower with me. When it's not the middle of the winter, that is. And my lovebird STILL loves bathing in his water dish. I've observed him doing so when I replaced it with one of those gravity feed seed type water tubes. Let me tell you that that was a funny sight, and to this day I couldn't tell ya HOW he did it, but he did. Digital_Cowboy | I had to push my guy a fair bit at first and he is pretty young yet but | after getting hosed throughly he likes it now. I always do my shower first [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] | > Cheers, | > TV And how the hell did he manage that? Mine gravity seed feeder thingy isn't even big enough for him to get his foot in....just his beak :-P >And my lovebird STILL loves bathing in his water dish. > I've observed him doing so when I replaced it with one of those gravity feed > seed type water tubes. > I'm going to look into the pump model you suggested. > > Thanks Mark! > > TV About $10 in the garden section of your local home improvement store (I got mine at Lowe's). Signature~Marco~ "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." -- Terry Pratchett, Jingo > > I'm going to look into the pump model you suggested. > > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > About $10 in the garden section of your local home improvement store (I > got mine at Lowe's). Hopefully Home Depot or Canadian Tire will carry them. I do not believe that we have a Lowe's nearby. Thanks again! TV My 18 month old pants everytime he does his jet flights around the rooms too. He does this a few times per days and still pants. If he didn't want to do it I don't believe so many rounds would be taken and he would cut them short. Panting or not he loves it. Birds do not have cholesterol problems as humans do and do not consequently have hardening of the arteries and related problems as humans do. If it is voluntary I wouldn't worry about it but rather encourage it on a regualr basis, the same as in human behaviour. If it is because of fright then it could be a problem for an older 'tiel pushing past the usual endurance. > Does anyone else out there have a tiel who HATES to bathe? > [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > Cheers, > TV That's because he's scared s**tless from being launched off of a ceiling fan..... > My 18 month old pants everytime he does his jet flights around the rooms > too. > That's because he's scared s**tless from being launched off of a ceiling > fan..... Hahaha thump thump, I fell out of my chair agian. > > My 18 month old pants everytime he does his jet flights around the rooms > > too. Should've read: "My 18 month old sh*ts his pants everytime I make him do jet flights around the room...." > > > My 18 month old pants everytime he does his jet flights around the rooms > > > too. > Should've read: "My 18 month old sh*ts his pants everytime I make him do jet > flights around the room...." > > > > > My 18 month old pants everytime he does his jet flights around the > rooms > > > > too. LOL |
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