Amazing! Showering behaviour emerges

[Lady Kakata]

I've been spraying my cockatiels recently in the morning with a light mist of filtered water from an atomiser. I don't soak them, just a light spray onto their feathers to encourage them to preen and try and improve Bonnie's feather condition

Well, normally Angel is more passive about the spraying; I let off a spray above their heads outside the cage and let it fall down to try and simulate rain (and to make sure it doesn't come off that I'm spraying them deliberately). Angel just flicks her head but Bonnie has been known to occationally take exception and try and run away. I open the door and spray her inside for this, and then she's more passive about being sprayed.

Well, today I did just that (she was on the second level of the cage; if I tried to spray above her head it would settle on everything else before it even touched her) and the most amazing thing happened! She displayed showering behaviour!
I've only seen this on Youtube videos of other peoples 'tiels and larger birds, but when I started to spray, she actually fluffed and and angled herself towards the spray, spreading her wings and everything! She wanted more and more until I had to firmly say no since it isn't that warm this morning and I don't want her having hypothermia.

She's groomed herself off and is shaking her tail feathers, spreading her wings and bending herself round to get at other feathers or to tuck her head under her wing (and eat the perch) as she did during the shower. Hopefully this isn't a one-off and she'll begin to like the showers! I wonder if she had planned to take a bath today and the shower was a good substitute as it gets her back and wings wet rather than her belly (she doesn't fluff or splash in the bath) but hopefully not

She's about 10 years old roughly, so it shows that you're never too advanced to learn new tricks!

[ashxo]

That's cute!!

Casper lets me know when she wants a bath. Their cage is next to my computer desk, so when she wants a bath she flicks water at me from her water dish, and then sits and waits patiently on the perch beside it :P Cheeky thing

[Akara Crystal]

My male loves the shower then the bath. My female hates the shower but she likes the bath, I saw her dipping her head into the their drinking water dish.

[Monica]

My cockatiels aren't big on bathing themselves, but I find it hilarious that when I'm misting one or two tiels, almost every other tiel fluffs up and starts showering, regardless of the fact that they are not getting sprayed!


I love their rain dance!

[Astrid660]

I love misting my cockatiels, they all spread their wings and seem to enjoy it so much. I am happy that I got my Cockatoo to take a couple baths recently - with the mister that she is still a bit afraid of - she is ten years old too, and very unsure about the whole thing.

[Jannabellsmom]

Very cute! My tiel Jannabell sometimes follow me into my shower and even tho she is out of the waters spray she still spread her wings as if she was right in that shower spray. She won't bathe but Cobollywobolly loves both a bath and a shower. Sometimes I know he's seeking one when he kind of tries to climb into his water dish.

[Lady Kakata]

Well, I tried the misting yesterday and today to see if Bonnie would do the same thing. Far from liking the misting, she's running away and hissing at it, which is rather odd o_O

I guess she had planned to take a bath the day she showered and I had just gotten to her first!

[Ashling]

My tiel lives for mist baths! I'm glad yours has found that joy!

[Greycloud]

My CAG and U2 refuse to get in the shower. I think it's because it is such a close area. However they love spray mist baths. I use luke warm water and they go crazy. Crest up wings open, fanned tails. The funniest thing was one day I walked in on my U2 taking a bath out of his waterbottle! He was biting it and jerking it and splashing. It was all over the floor. He had a blast. Birds, you gotta love them.