# Powder on their Feathers



## Camrron (Dec 19, 2005)

I have read about giving birds a bath so that they have powder but am not really sure what this means. Mine has had 4 or 5 baths in the last month but still looks like a drowned rat after bathing and can't fly. Tonight I tried to give him a bath as he does not seem to bathe on his own willingly. Afterwards he flew up onto his perch (sort of) and deliberately pulled out one of his feathers . I felt terrible. It was such a deliberate act of anger I don't ever want to bathe him again. Is this normal? I'm not mean or anything so I was really surprised by his retaliation against the bath and feel a terrible sense of guilt when I thought I was doing the right thing for him. How do you bathe a bird?

Cam


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Hi Cam,
most pigeons like bathing. There are always exceptions though.
It took my Angel a whole year to bathe on her own and for that whole year whe looked like a drowned rat after I bathed her. Now she is three and she does bathe on her own, but only every couple of weeks. Her feathers formed nice though, it took almost a year for he down feathers to form.

Don't bathe him for a while, try just spraying him with a water bottle twice a week. Also add some vit E to his diet, by giving him some wheat germ oil.
Vit A helps also, a drop of cod liver oil once a month should be enough.

Reti


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hi Cameron,

Have you given him any garlic?

Garlic works wonders on the feathers and powder production. Also some outdoor time in the sun, weather permitting.

It may be in his best interest to take him to a qualified vet and have poop checked and get him a physical. He may not be feeling 100% if he is not showing any interest in bathing.


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## Anarrowescape (Jan 6, 2004)

you cant make a pigeon bath but it helps if you put water in a flatish dish and let the pigeon bath itself make the water about 2inchs add a little garlic like mentioned above if its a hot day pigeons usually bath good luck


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Do you ever notice him preening at the base of his body where the tail feathers are growing. That is where their oil gland is and they "dip" into that frequently when preening to help lubricate and waterproof their feathers. You can gently separate the feathers and see the gland. It is just a little nub that stands up a little. Sometimes, an injury could possibly damage the gland but usually it is so protected by feathers that it should be ok.

Do try misting him some every day, very lightly, and that should help him preen. It will probably just take a little time.

Maggie


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## Camrron (Dec 19, 2005)

*Misting.*

Thanks all and a Merry Christmas to you. As aways your advice and encouragement are very much appreciated. 

I haven't given any vitamins in the past but now is probably a good time. I am going to give the garlic a try as well. I love the idea about misting. So that's how you bathe a bird!!! It's perfect and sounds so much easier than actual bathing in a sink. I am learning that this little Buddy of mine has quite a temper. A personality all his own, very territorial too. He might enjoy misting because it's a hands off approach. The vet also is in the cards so maybe he can check the oil gland for me since I am not totally sure what I am looking for. That's great information for me by the way. I haven't read about the oil gland any where before and actually wondered how the oil proofing related to bathing birds. Also was not sure what powder meant but hoped he would get it on his own. He does preen a lot but is almost flightless once he gets wet. 

Have a great new year!

Cameron


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

*Hi Camrron,*

Mr. Squeaks would let me know when he wanted a bath by walking in the cat's water dishes! I had a litter box that I used with a couple of inches of water. He would splash up a storm! 

Then, I read on this site that some pigeons like showers so I decided to try it. What a godsend! I have shower doors and can either let him shower alone or I can be in with him (NO soap for me until he's finished and out of the tub!). He'll stand under the "waterfall" for ages if I let him and will lift his wings to get wet underneath. By the time he's finished, he sure is a wet bird!

I also use a hair dryer and he likes that too...

Anyway, just a few thoughts for pondering...


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## Camrron (Dec 19, 2005)

Hi Mr Squeeks,

That just cracked me up. Had a good laugh! Birds like showers? It never occurred to me to try that. You probably twist the spray nozzle so that it is not too powerfull for your bird. I might just try your idea. I would be nervous about using warm water though because it is so difficult to judge the actual warmth of it. Let me know, do you just run a cold shower? 

Your bird must be very spoiled I think. Thanks for the laugh!

Cameron


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

*Actually,*

Squeaks IS a very spoiled bird. Since he can't fly, I handle him A LOT! 

The showers sure helped me! Of course, I could always go back to putting a litter pan in the tub and let him splash away. He always gets out when he's done.

However, I usually prefer to get in the shower with him. I keep the water warm but not hot, just warm enough so I don't freeze! The few times he's in the tub by himself, the water is "cool." I can have one side of the shower door open to adjust the shower head and keep the water IN the tub! I've found that he likes me to cup water in my hands and let a stronger flow hit him, especially when he lifts his wings! He'll move about until he finds just the right amount of "rain." As mentioned, he will stand there and just let the water fall on him if I don't finally pick him up and put him out in the bathroom while I take MY shower! I try not to get him that wet so often because I don't want to chill him. I keep the bathroom door closed until I get a chance to turn the hair dryer on him. He, again, would stand there for hours, looking like he's in 7th heaven, if I'd let him! Of course, I watch the dryer distance so it's not too hot.

I have a different situation than most, because Squeaks can't fly. I suppose that if a flying bird didn't want a shower, he would fly up and out of the shower...Mr. Squeaks will take a drink from the cat's water dishes, but when he starts stomping around in them, it's _shower time!_


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Walter didn't bathe for the first 4 months we had him, but we just kept offering a tub every few weeks (and rinsing him in the sink when he declined). I think it took a while for him to feel comfortable enough around us to let himself be that vulnerable. The warm summer day he finally figured it out, he bathed for an hour! Now, he prefers a shower (or rain). A few weeks ago, he had just stepped into the tub to soak when I started hosing down the flight pen. He jumped out of the water and ran over to lay in the hose spray. So I spent 10 minutes, standing in the rain, watering my pigeon.  He still doesn't have as good powder as the other birds, so I do bring him in for a blow dry if it's chilly.


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## Camrron (Dec 19, 2005)

I love the way you all write sometimes! In my mind I can just see your pijjies stamping in cat water dishes or you showering your friend while standing out in the rain. Can't explain why it hits my funny bone so much but the mental pictures are worth a thousand words. Maybe it helps take the edge off me feeling bad about Buddy getting so upset about his bath. These pigeon friends of ours do have such distinctive and unique personalities. To me though it shows how much love you have for your pet friends by providing them with an experience and an environment that they might not otherwise have unless they were totally wild. What I mean is that if your birds lived out in the open world they would naturally have the experiences that you are giving them. Like the sensation of rain drops pelting on their bodies or puddles to jump in. That is why I am now convinced about the idea of showering but I will take it slow at first and let Buddy decide if he likes it or not. Something tells me though that it might be in his nature to accept the sensation of a rainy/showery environment. Thanks gang. I think your great!

Cameron


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Camrron said:


> What I mean is that if your birds lived out in the open world they would naturally have the experiences that you are giving them. Like the sensation of rain drops pelting on their bodies or puddles to jump in. That is why I am now convinced about the idea of showering but I will take it slow at first and let Buddy decide if he likes it or not. Something tells me though that it might be in his nature to accept the sensation of a rainy/showery environment. Thanks gang. I think your great!
> Cameron


*Hi Cameron,

You may be happily surprised. My 50 pigeons have access to an open aviary and they all don't like baths. 1/2 of them like do, and run inside when there is rain coming down or I turn the hose on...the other 1/2 love the rain and bath, and will sit outside under the hose or rain for hours.*


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

*I also think pigeons*

know when they need a bath - even those who love their bath or shower. 

There were times, I would _think_ Squeaks wanted a bath and I would drag out the kitty litter box, fill with a few inches of water, set on the floor, place bird in box and watch. He would look around for a minute and then hop out. "Oh no, you don't," I would say and plop him back in. Out he'd hop. Well, I FINALLY (duh!) got the message after the third hop out!  

Now, I'm more observant! He trains me very well and is probably thinking, "well, it's about time!"


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Shi, you're absolutely right. We have had that happen many times. Little devils. 

Maggie


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Yep, pigeons definitely have strong opinions! When you try the shower, you might want to aim the spray up, so the drops arc up and then fall down, more like rain than a direct spray. Grace particularly enjoys having a gentle "rain" while she is soaking in the tub. Try different things and see how he reacts. Pigeons aren't shy about expressing their preferences.


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

My Tooter will "tell" me when he wants a bath too. He will try and stuff his big ol' pigeon self inside his hanging water dish! 

I put a modifeid ice cream plastic round container with 3-4 inches of lukewarm water and he will step inside on his own...when he decides to, and just shake his tail feathers and flap his wings. I GOTTA remember to get his grit and seed out before his next bath. 

A spray mist is a good idea.Don't be afraid to put lukewarm water is it.If is is warm enough for a human baby to touch and it will cool down a degree or 2 between the bottle and reaching the pigeon anyway.


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## Camrron (Dec 19, 2005)

*"Pigeons aren't shy about expressing their feelings"*

Terri, you are so right about pigeons not being shy about expressing their feelings. I did try giving Buddy a shower this afternoon but he sat there on the edge of the tub and looked at me as if I were a complete lunatic. Best pigeon expression I have ever seen! It was priceless. So he didn't take to it too well but after reading your post my feelings are not really hurt.

I will try again tomorrow. If I had checked here earlier in the day I might have seen your comments about putting the nozzle pointing up so it's like rain. It seems like such common sense, so intuitive, but I just didn't think of it when I put the shower on. Tomorrow is another day.

The other thing I tried was splashing some of the water with my hand. This really got his attention even though he still would not venture in. It reminded me of when I was first teaching him to eat by pecking at seeds with my finger. He seems focussed on hand actions. In one of the posts I read a few days back I think Treesa had made mention regarding hand pecking. Something along the lines that pigeons sometimes don't connect that the hand is part of the person.

Anyway if I flap my hand in a birdlike way or tap on counters etcetera Buddy flys there. There does seem to be a disconnect in his mind between me and the hand that is flapping, between me and the finger that is pecking. Like I am quite tolerable but the pecking finger is an adversary. I don't think that it is because he has a small brain either or that he cannot figure the difference between the parts and the whole of a person. To me it is one of those mysteries where basic birth instincts overpower common sense. People do this too it is just not quite so easy to decipher!

Isn't life amazing!

Cameron


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

I have actually hosed down some of my pigeons when they are dunking in the bath and shaking their feathers and they love it. They come up and open their eyes and close them a few times, stunned as if to say.."wow, I really made a BIG splash and moved a lot of water...let my try that again"

Most of them don't mind a hosing in the heat, but prefer the less aggressive sprinkling coming down and /or a bath.

I will go inside my coop then and check out the remainder of my birds, who are not bathing. The only ones in my coop that should not be bathing, are the hens laying on their dummy eggs. I always look for any other bird not swimming, (especially with some of the hot days we have here) as this can be an indication that they are not feeling a 100 percent. 

They are usually a very noise active bunch, after bathing, they are sunning andlaying all over the aviary like a carpet made of pigeons.


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## Camrron (Dec 19, 2005)

*Carpet of birds*

Holy cow Treesa, you must have a lot of birds! I' ll bet that is really quite the sight to see..sigh, if only. But I live in a high rise. Not much chance there will ever be more than one or two in here. It sounds like you and your birds really know how to enjoy yourselves at bath-time. I think mine is a bit like the kid who won't eat his spinach or get near the tub. If I use my head I should be able to make it interesting for Buddy so he'll look forward to a nice bath once in a while. Third time might be the charm. I will know after lunch.

Cameron


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Camrron said:


> ...The other thing I tried was splashing some of the water with my hand. This really got his attention even though he still would not venture in...Cameron


You are very intuitive, Cameron! Having your hand-pigeon spalsh like a pigeon taking a bath will frequently entice a reluctant bird. My theory is that it's safer to have your head under water and be saturated if other birds are around to notice danger. If you've never seen a pigeon taking a bath, they start with a few pecks at the water - not sure if they're checking temperature or cleanliness. They then duck their head under and thrash for a second (move your hand in the water back and forth several times quickly for a good approximation), soak for a few seconds and repeat. If you see Buddy strech his folded wings up or fluff out his feathers and groom, you know he's thinking about joining you. It still may not happen for a while, so give it time. While I was waiting for Walter to figure out bathing, I'd rinse him off in a sinkful of water every few weeks, whenever I noticed a body odor. If you rinse him too often, he won't be as motivated to bathe.


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## Camrron (Dec 19, 2005)

TerriB said:


> If you rinse him too often, he won't be as motivated to bathe.


Hi Terri and thanks for the tips. Good point about the motivation for bathing. I was a little worried after my first bath attempt that I may have inadvertantly caused Buddy to be scared of bathing so now I am just encouraging him to jump in on his own instead of actually giving him the dip by hand. We'll try again tomorrow!

Cameron


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

*Won't you take a bath, pidgie?*

When my wife wanted to introduce Pidgiepoo to bathing last year, she would put two inches of warm water (relative warmth checked with inner wrist, similar to controlling temperature of warmed baby bottle) in a frying pan so the little bird could see the water, sit down a bit away from Pidgiepoo so that it was up to him and his curiosity to come see what was going on. She would make enticing and inviting sounds, and make splashing sounds with her fingers in the water, as though she were playing a keyboard, and pick up little handsful of water and let it dribble into the pan. He was interested right away, but took awhile to approach. We had to have patience. It always took five or ten minutes of splashing before he went to the water. He would take a tentative dip or sip with his beak (couldn’t tell which), and then drink some. We had a bit of ACV apple cider vinegar in the water. Then he would lean forward and put his head and shoulders under water and splash water everywhere with his wings. With a warm bath, he might or might not sit in it for a long time. He was always quiet. Then he would hop out, shake himself off, fly up to a safe perch, and sleep. It seems he would go into a trance-like state for an hour or so. It was a good time for us to leave the house to do errands, because he wouldn’t miss us or get himself into trouble.

By watching them I learn some things about me. We’re not so different from them in some ways. You hear an advertising jingle on the radio or see someone drinking a soft drink, and you decide „I think I’m thirsty,“ (or hungry, or whatever). 

This year we very seldom get Wieteke to take a bath, and we almost never bother now, since he goes out all day every day with the other street pigeons here in Cologne, and gets in the rain occasionally. For the last two months of his five month life span he has come in from a rain not looking bedraggled. Neither Pidgiepoo or Wieteke favored showers, perhaps because I showered their heads and necks after a particularly messy feeding as babies as an occasional alternative to the wet washcloth. We used cut-off fingers of latex dishwashing gloves, and they would get their heads into the mushy mix. The babies liked the glove fingers much better than the eye droppers and pipettes, and they could control how much they ate. Some feedings were messier than others, and both pigeons tried to run away across the table from the washcloth. 

If you ever see a dry pigeon shake himself when he is backlit by the window or the sun, you will see so much feather dust that you will think the bird had just taken a dust bath like an elephant.


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## Camrron (Dec 19, 2005)

*feather dust*

I have seen that dust you are talking about on my bird too. Like dandruff or something. I wasn't sure if it was the result of a molt or dry skin or what but I think the bathing is pretty important. My bird by the way just refuses to bathe on his own. I have tried the same thing as you were mentioning and agree it does get his interest but that's where it ends for him. Now he just gets misted or splashed with a little water when he flies into the bathroom. It seems to be working.

Cameron


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Camrron said:


> I have seen that dust you are talking about on my bird too. Like dandruff or something. I wasn't sure if it was the result of a molt or dry skin or what but I think the bathing is pretty important. My bird by the way just refuses to bathe on his own. I have tried the same thing as you were mentioning and agree it does get his interest but that's where it ends for him. Now he just gets misted or splashed with a little water when he flies into the bathroom. It seems to be working.
> 
> Cameron


When I mentioned Squeak's "dry" skin to his Vet, he said, "give him more baths." OOOOOKKAYYY...'course in my case, Squeaks DOES like his showers! IF, once in awhile, he'll run around and not seem to be interested, I just take him out of the tub and wait for another day. This is VERY rare though...


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## Camrron (Dec 19, 2005)

Thanks Mr Squeaks, I will keep that in mind and go with more bathing. Buddy does have dry skin but we all do in this climate I live in. I run my humidifier all night but I may have to go with all day too. I, myself end up with bloody noses if I don't keep the air moist. It's maddening really. When I first noticed Buddy with the dandruff I thought he was dehydrated and went with a rehydration formula I found on this site but in retrospect the dryness is all external. On the plus side his feathers now look terrific since I have been wetting him down. 

Cameron


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

*Yep,*

noticed the same thing too, Cameron, after giving Mr. Squeaks a shower or bath. His feathers were so nice and shiny. 

That's another criteria I use for possible shower time - his feathers. He has the usual Blue Bar purple and green neck feathers. When they look dull, it's water time!


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## Camrron (Dec 19, 2005)

Hi Mr Squeaks,

I read in one of your posts your a girl pigeon, not a boy pigeon. I had a good laugh about that. Who would have thought! By the way, guess who had a bath tonight on his own. Yup. My little buddy. we are both quite pleased.
Talk to you again.

Cameron


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Camrron said:


> Hi Mr Squeaks,
> 
> I read in one of your posts your a girl pigeon, not a boy pigeon. I had a good laugh about that. Who would have thought! By the way, guess who had a bath tonight on his own. Yup. My little buddy. we are both quite pleased.
> Talk to you again.
> ...


I read about Buddy doing his first bath! Knew it was just a matter of time...and patience...kiss his little head for me!  

LOL - yes, with a "handle" like Mr Squeaks, who would have thunk that the one writing was his mate - female! THAT'S why I made a comment one time about how I assumed some members were male and were not and vice versa. Maggie, bless her, then started a tread in the General Discussion area about "Your "handle" and How You Got Started." Recently it was 'bumped' to let new members add their comments...REALLY helped bring us closer and meet each other "up close and personal" through the miracle of technology!


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