# Important bathing tip



## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

I know we have a lot of new members who are just getting into keeping pigeons, which is great. The "bath" subject has been brought up a lot and while I was changing the water dishes today it reminded me to give out this tip: if you have young, fancy or disabled birds, please provide a platform of some sort in the bathing dish so they can get out okay. Fancies with long feathers/feet feathers, fantails, very young pigeons, and disabled birds are all at risk for drowning, even in a shallow dish. Their feathers can become water logged and they get exhausted easily by trying to get out and failing. I learned the hard way early in my pigeon years when I lost one of my dear fantails took a late-night bath in the tub, which is merely a shallow cat-litter pan, and couldn't get out.  I simply place a brick (and scrub it each day with a dishes brush) in the water tray and they can stand on that and then hop up to the rim. Or, you can use an over-turned heavy bowl, dish, etc....anything that will take up a small amount of room in the bathing dish, but provide a "step up" for those that need it.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you for sharing.


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

I hadn't even thought of that, but I will put a rock in there from now on.


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## amoonswirl (Nov 14, 2006)

That's a great idea, thanks Maryjane!
I have a platform placed outside the tub to help them get _in._ But never thought of placing one inside the tub to help them get _out._ [slaps forehead]

One other thing...I only leave the bath pan in the aviary for limited times, and never overnight. It gets messy too quickly, among other things. (I guess I am overprotective sometimes but I don't really like to let them bathe unsupervised. Makes me too nervous that an accident would happen.)


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

A rock or brick is a must in the middle of your bath, I have seen even healthy pigeons finding it difficult without a brick.


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## CHRISTIN RN (Sep 2, 2007)

Well, Mj, You Posted Just In Time...again!
Tonight Was The First Night I Had Left The Bath In The Co-hop For Coco And Hoppy.
I Read Your Post And Ran To Remove The Litter Pan...i Can't Even Trust A Brick Since Hoppy Is One-legged.
I Always Stay With Them Until Their Finished. Today Was So Warm, I Decided To Leave It In There.
It's Been A Really Yucky Week And I'm Glad That You Helped Me To Prevent Another Incident.
Thanks So Much.
Blessings To You And Yours Always.


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*I've got a Hoppy too*

I have 4 pair of ringneck doves and one does not fly hardly at all so I call her Hoppy because she has to hop her way up to the upper perches, one at a time.

My son had a large group of ringnecks in a small cage where they had no room to fly so nobody ever noticed that this one little hen could not fly.

I recently built a new, larger pen with room for them to fly and I noticed Hoppy sitting on the floor. I picked her up and examined her wings and found that one of them has either been injured or is deformed. She is missing the last few flight feathers.

Anyway, when I discovered this about her (same day that they went into the new flight cage), I built a ladder of perches so she can hop her way up to the top. I have seen her on the top perches about 7 feet up. Don't worry, she doesn't fall, she is able to fly enough to get down safely.

She is well enough to have laid eggs, has become quite tame and she has been dubbed "Hoppy".

Bill


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

jbangelfish said:


> I have 4 pair of ringneck doves and one does not fly hardly at all so I call her Hoppy because she has to hop her way up to the upper perches, one at a time.
> 
> My son had a large group of ringnecks in a small cage where they had no room to fly so nobody ever noticed that this one little hen could not fly.
> 
> ...


That's cute. I'm glad she figured out to go from perch to perch. Mr. Nelson, who is a pigeon I got from the shelter, was shot by a bb gun before he got to the shelter. He had a lot of scar tissue in the wing as it wasn't treated and was already scarred when he was brought to the shelter. He didn't fly for years, but I did the same thing by setting up a "ladder" of perches until he could get to the top shelf in the closet where his mate liked to sit. He maneuvered this very easily and was always so pleased to end up "up high" with Charlene. Now he is able to fly around the aviary pretty well.

Christin, I'm glad that tip will help you out. I always have a "bath tub" in the aviaries......technically only their drinking tub stays in overnight, but so many of them use that as well as the real bathing tub, it amounts to the same thing.  Many of them even enjoy sitting on the brick in an inch or so of water, this is nice for the ones that are a bit more scaredy-cat about getting in the tub. With the brick, they can "wade" a bit instead of actually "swimming" (as they think of it!) I'm sorry you're having such a bad week, I hope things smooth out for you!


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## CHRISTIN RN (Sep 2, 2007)

Greetings, Birdie Family!

Bill, great story about your little Hoppy! Bless you for giving those sweet doves a nice roomy aviary to fly in as well as accomodating little Hoppy!
We would love to see some pics...hint-hint!!!

M.J.....I was so thankful for your post. Also, for your well-wishes!
A few months back, I had found a foot bath made for kids to use when getting into a pool. It seemed that Hoppy was slipping a bit during her bath in the litter container. This was perfect for her due to it having raised areas on the bottom for her to be more stable. I found the pic of it to show you guys.
I got it at my local pool supply store. It's made by a company named 'GAME'. It is the greatest thing and seems safer than the large plastic litter pan I was using with a flat bottom. It even has more room for them and they love it!


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*If I ever figure out how*

I will post some pics.

I can post pictures of pigeon colors and maybe help clear up some confusion as many seem to ask what is what.

Bill


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

MJ, that is a great tip. I believe that Cynthia and John do this for their handicapped birds. It really makes good sense.


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