Showering a cockatoo

A cockatoo loves to have a shower. The water will hydrate his feathers, remove any dust and dirt and keep its skin healthy. Its feathers will look better and much more white! In nature the rain provides the necessary moisture and showers, in captivity you need to give your bird his showers. Generally your cockatoo needs to be showered once a week.

Showering your cockatoo

You can shower your cockatoo with lukewarm water without any additives to the water or soap. You can use a shower for people or a watering can (used for plants). Make sure the beam of the shower is not too strong, it should not mess up the feathers. If you cockatoo is afraid of too much water, you can start the showering routine by spraying him with a plant sprayer. You can place your cockatoo on a standard, on your arm or on the floor when showering.

The first couple of times your cockatoo might get scared when showering. Make sure you comfort him and teach him there is nothing to be afraid of. Quickly he will start to enjoy the showers. If he spreads his wings, bathes or moves his body to catch more of the water, you can see that he is enjoying himself! A shower can take between 5 and 15 minutes. Your bird should not be completely soaked after a shower.

Drying a cockatoos

Even though the feathers of a cockatoo are water resistant, your cockatoo still gets pretty wet from showering and thus should dry up again. It can take up to two hours for him to dry, depending on the weather conditions. Make sure the place where he spends the drying period is not too cold for him. If he lives in an outdoor aviary, it is best to keep him inside a heated house until he is dried completely.

Some people use their blow dryer to dry their cockatoo. This is fine and cockatoos can really enjoy it. Make sure the blow dryer is not too hot!