# Normal to sit in water??



## NancyJ

Ok, please forgive all my newbie questions -- this is my first and I don't know any other forum that knows so much about pigeons! 

I put out a pan of water today for my pigeon to splash around in, and he did splash around some, then proceeded to sit down in the water for about 30 minutes! He puffed up his feathers and just sat there. I let him, because I figured he knows what's best for him, but won't he catch a cold or something? My apartment is air-conditioned. Is this normal?


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## Maggie-NC

Hi Nancy and welcome to the forum.

This is normal bathing behavior. They like to "soak" in the water. You may notice he will lift up either wing for a period of time too.

If your pigeon is bathing near a vent that can be cut off that would prevent a draft from hitting him. If his feathers are still wet after a bath, you might dry him with a hair dryer set on low and held a distance from him. Ours seem to like the warmth.


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## mr squeaks

Sometimes I will even wrap Squeaks in a towel and hold him. This is one of the few times he will let me hold him for any amount of time. Just have to "burrito" after a bath to do it! 

Each pigeon has their own personality...some are friendlier than others. Some are REAL characters!

Shi & Spoiled Mr. Squeaks


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## Lovebirds

NancyJ said:


> Ok, please forgive all my newbie questions -- this is my first and I don't know any other forum that knows so much about pigeons!
> 
> I put out a pan of water today for my pigeon to splash around in, and he did splash around some, then proceeded to sit down in the water for about 30 minutes! He puffed up his feathers and just sat there. I let him, because I figured he knows what's best for him, but won't he catch a cold or something? My apartment is air-conditioned. Is this normal?


He'll be fine as long as there is not air blowing directly on him. He would enjoy laying in the sun after a bath, is that's possible. Those of us who keep birds outside provide bath water when it's freezing cold outside in the winter time. They jump right in!!


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## Skyeking

Oh yes, I have a hen who literally lays in the pool and allows herself to float, like a duck. If I turn the hose on she goes round and round!  

I think some of them just love it, and it probably helps them deal with stress as we deal with it by taking a leisurely bath. More so, it does help drown any unwanted critters they may be carrying, especially the scaly leg mites and such.

Please make sure there is no airdrafts around the bird while he bathe's or dries off. the sun would definitely be a welcome method of drying him off.


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## Hillybean

I have found out from having four pet pigeons, that each pigeon does their own "normal" thing in water.

Beautiful, will stand there till I splash my hands in the water. He'll them try to take a bath for about 10 minutes off and on. After that, he looks at me till I put one hand on his side. He lay in my hand and lifts the opposite wing. I them splash water under that wing. After that one it is time to do the exact same thing for the other wing. He is a year old, and has does this since I got him  . Take bath in the bath tub. Beautiful is rapped up in a towl till dry, is rapped in one of its fleace blankets.

Pretty Lady, jumps right in and take her bath. She doesn't need help. She'll also stand in it for a few minutes. A plastic box/tub (never been used for the cats). She likes to sun dry.... in front of a window.

Charlie, does the tail thing. It'll flip/move its tail all about. Then take a pretty normal bath. Charlie also uses a plastic tub.

Junebug, is still new to baths, and doesn't quite know what its going to do. This little one likes the bath tub better than the plastic bow/tub.

Charlie and Junebug dry both ways (the sun and towel).

I wouldn't worry as long as the air isn't blowing on it and there isn't a draft. 

-Hilly


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## naturegirl

Pigeons love water, I think it is because their feathers are so thick and takes a little longer for the water to get to their skin. I think my Pigeons think they are Ducks. Very funny to watch them bathe they can be such characters. 

Cindy


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## feralpigeon

Yes, they like sitz-baths  

fp


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## mr squeaks

Forgot to mention that Squeaks will take a BATH or SHOWER. 

If using the litter box, he splashes away and does his best to spray water everywhere!

In the shower, I will cup my hand and let a heavier amount fall. He loves to lift his wings for the "extra heavy" water. Guess he wants to be sure his "wing pits" are clean so he won't "offend!"    

There ARE times when he will just stand under the shower. I finally have to remind him that we live in a desert and water is NOT an unlimited supply!  

Shi


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## Insomniac

Luna sits in her water for entire afternoons on hot days  Their loft is cool, I've checked, she just likes to sun in her water dish. And people say pigeons are dirty birds! My parrots don't like bathing as much as the pijies do.


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## maryjane

This week has been a big bath/"swim" week as it has been pretty hot here. I fill several tubs of various sizes and depths and then stand back and watch the fun. Several of them like to float in the water for long periods of time, some such as Betty Boop prefer to sit right outside a tub with a wing up and let others splash her. Then yesterday I got out the watering can and "watered" everyone in and around the tubs, and that was a sensational hit.  They absolutely loved it. Tomorrow I'm going to turn the sprinkler on for the wire aviary (in part of it) and see how they like it.


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## Maggie-NC

I forgot to add that I keep a mister on hand, specifically for the pigeons, to mist them down when they raise their wings. They just love it. 

I enjoy watching them get really into a bath, dipping their heads down and shaking their entire body. Pigeons are exceptionally clean birds.

We have had the hottest August on record, the hottest month on record and the 2nd driest month on record and I know birds are suffering. We watched a mid-sized hawk sit on the side of our ground level birdbath for over 30 minutes yesterday. We have never seen this happen before. He drank quite a lot and you could tell he wanted to get in the water but was wary and never did. We also watched about 30 little sparrows yesterday bathe in a large puddle of water made from water running down the street. I hope someone had opened a hydrant for them. This was in the downtown area near the museum where we volunteer.

So, lets don't forget to put out lots of seed and water for the wild birds, particularly here in the south, because they really need all the help they can get.


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## RoundAbout

I've enjoyed many a time sitting in the coop and watching the fun around the two bath basins I fill for my little group of Birmingham Rollers. They make me laugh. One, DustDevil, used to be a real bath hog. He insisted on being first and kept everybody else out. Some of the others would go to the other basin, but he didn't want them there either, so he'd jump out of his bath and rout them all from the second basin. I put the basins further apart and this frustrated Dusty no end! Funny.


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## Boni Birds

Mr. Hooters is a Birmingham roller; with a distaste of water that is actually odd and funny. Ever since a young bird- he would hide and run from water (must have been a bad past life experience) because he is white and gets pretty dirty, I eventually introduced the B-A-T-H idea, It was always a one sided affair. I did it as painless and psychologically careful as possible including the "burrito" thing and the hair dryer afterwards too- but it is so very awkward funny to watch him after a bath, he walks like he is drunk, staggers about or lays very still like he is comatose and worries us that he is going to be scarred for life from the experience. As time goes by he is up and is at it again, twice as feisty as if to say it was all his idea anyway! When Fanny or Betti, who love baths get in the pan, or sink (they love the sink with dripping water) he runs around in great commotion as if to say Oh my God! Oh my God! Get out of that - you are going to get W-E-T-!


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## Charis

RoundAbout said:


> I've enjoyed many a time sitting in the coop and watching the fun around the two bath basins I fill for my little group of Birmingham Rollers. They make me laugh. One, DustDevil, used to be a real bath hog. He insisted on being first and kept everybody else out. Some of the others would go to the other basin, but he didn't want them there either, so he'd jump out of his bath and rout them all from the second basin. I put the basins further apart and this frustrated Dusty no end! Funny.


Very cute. DustDevil sound like quite a character. I had a banded Homer that just showed up here one day. I named him Brian after my brother. Brian was quite an aggressive bird to say the least. I gave him to a friend but he got out and made his way back here. He was so furious that he went into the loft and caused quite a ruckus by throwing every bird in a nesting box, out of it. What I witnessed was definitely a tantrum.It was clear that he wanted to stay here and he was allowed to do so.


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## maryjane

Boni Birds said:


> Mr. Hooters is a Birmingham roller; with a distaste of water that is actually odd and funny. Ever since a young bird- he would hide and run from water (must have been a bad past life experience) because he is white and gets pretty dirty, I eventually introduced the B-A-T-H idea, It was always a one sided affair. I did it as painless and psychologically careful as possible including the "burrito" thing and the hair dryer afterwards too- but it is so very awkward funny to watch him after a bath, he walks like he is drunk, staggers about or lays very still like he is comatose and worries us that he is going to be scarred for life from the experience. As time goes by he is up and is at it again, twice as feisty as if to say it was all his idea anyway! When Fanny or Betti, who love baths get in the pan, or sink (they love the sink with dripping water) he runs around in great commotion as if to say Oh my God! Oh my God! Get out of that - you are going to get W-E-T-!


LOL!!


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## RoundAbout

Boni and Charis, I just love funny stories of the birds, yours are great!


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## flitsnowzoom

Love Boni's stories too. I'm waiting for the _Collected Adventures of Mr. Hooters and his flock_ subtitle -- _ Birdtracks on our humans_. 

I want an autographed copy.


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## Jazicat

My pigeons share they're room with starlings. Every fresh tub of water is greated like they haven't had a bath in days even though it's changed several times a day. Due to size pigeons get the water first and once in a while an over eager starling will dive in as a pigeons soaks. It's almost as funny as all the starlings trying to bath at once.


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## John_D

Lady Tarheel said:


> I forgot to add that I keep a mister on hand, specifically for the pigeons, to mist them down when they raise their wings. They just love it.
> 
> I enjoy watching them get really into a bath, dipping their heads down and shaking their entire body. Pigeons are exceptionally clean birds.


Pidgie bathtime heaven, I think, is when they can lie in a bath AND have rain coming down. Now we have plastic sheeting over the aviary, they don't get that. When they see rain coming down, some still put their wings up even though it can't touch them!

Anyway, I got a pump-up pressure spray, designed for watering hanging baskets and such, last weekend and used it to give our pigeons a shower while they bathed. You are so right, they love it. One of ours must've been lying there for a good 30 minutes, looking dreamy, while others came and went.

Out on the balcony of my place on the coast, the ferals have their bathtub. I love to see them after a long soak in the tub, when they spread themselves out along the flat-topped railing to dry off, like a line of feather dusters.

John

One of my feather dusters:


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## SueC

Both Beanie and BiBi love to stand in the water, especially when the day is hot.

Beanie soaking away ...









Bibi with one wing up ....









The feral pigies love baths too. Instead of drinking, they will jump into their water bowls and splash around when the afternoons are hot! I always have to refill their bowls so that each of them get a chance to have a bath. 

Suzanna


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## RoundAbout

Back around 1990s when funniest home videos was first going on, I took a video of my three Birm. Rollers outdoors taking showers in the sprinkler. To us at that time it was so funny to see them lift their wings as if washing their armpits. But the FHV didn't buy our video. I think they should have! We still have it and remember Snow, Archie and Azuki well. We flew them each day and they'd circle over the nearby University. One day a couple of faculty guys followed their flight to our home and said they'd been watching the birds for weeks and wishing they could have some of their babies. We told them all three were male, but if they wanted them and could find them mates they could have them (since we were moving). So off the birds went on a new adventure. I hope they had lots of babies that learned to roll in the sky.


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## Fever

I know I don't have real pigeons, but I just have to add to this!  I've had my three ringnecks on medication to get rid of bugs, and until now I haven't been able to let them bathe. I don't think I've laughed so much in a long time! Shiver got in right away and dipped one shoulder in, and raised the other wing up like a sail. Isis just fluffed up to three times her size and started shaking like a dog. I never imagined a bird so small could soak an entire room! Soo only looked into the dish forlornly and puffed up all her feathers, but wouldn't go in.

I don't think they've ever had baths before because they were all so puzzled and awkward. They knew they were supposed to do something in the water, and they really wanted to, but they just couldn't figure it out. Long after he got out of the water, Shiver was still putting his shoulder on the ground and lifting his wing (without ever alternating sides). Maybe he was trying to show me how clean he is?

Now to go mop up the room...


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## John_D

Those doves sound so cute, Fever. I'm never really sure if doves like baths or not. We have one dove in the aviary, our Eurasian Collared Dove (so related to domestic ringnecks), and I have only ever seen her take a bath twice. I have seen a couple of the wild doves use the garden birdbath, but I wondered if bathing is not too much of a 'dovey' thing?

John


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## mr squeaks

How interesting about the dove bath discussions!

I was over at a friend's home this afternoon and her backyard lawn sprinklers were on. There were several mourning doves sitting in the shade under a tree, but what really tickled my fancy was watching two doves enjoying the "rain" bath. They were sitting on the grass just letting the water fall on them, stretching up first one wing and then the other. I was laughing so hard! 

Wonder if the other doves knew what they were missing?? There were certainly enough showers for all!

Shi


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## Chris Y

We have plenty of collared doves in our garden (more than 20 at a time some days), and I've never really seen one taking a bath, even though we have 5 baths of various sizes. 

What they do instead is wait for the rain, then they sit on the trellis arch, lean over to one side and stick one of their wings up, as if they're washing their wing-pits  Very funny to watch!


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