I've had my qp for a little over 2 months now, and i'm starting to see things that make me think the previous owner might have abused her at times. I have no doubt they loved her, dont get me wrong, but there are little things that I do and either completely flipps out and goes psycho bird on me, starts to shake, or will back away from me or even fly (more like dive) off the cage.
I began using the spray bottle on her, as the previous owner told me she would spray her a couple times a day. BUT she also breifly mentioned that if she got too noisy she would soak her down with it. anyways every time I go at her with the bottle she dives off the cage or back into a corner, and acts all weird. It's obvious she does not like it, or is scared of it.
But she needs to be misted doesnt she? If I leave a bowl of water on top her cage she will take a bath.
What do you guys suggest I do? hould I just throw the bottle away, and never mist her again??
Full Version: Spray Bottle & Abuse Questions
I would not spray her if she is that scared ..if she bathes herself in a bowl thats enough , I leave a bowl of water out for my boys change it daily and they will bath when they want too , usually only once or twice a week...
Yep, if she's bathing on her own, there is no need to mist her.
It kind of sounds like she misted her when she was misbehaving....like the others said there is no need to mist and bathe her. I have had my Mr. Kiwi for almost 10 yrs and he loves both, but neither of them was used as a form as punishment.....I don't believe in punishing birds, that is my opinion.....
ditch the spray bottle <grin>.. as long as your fid is bathing he'll be fine.
Some prefer baths to showers
yogi absolutely hates the spray bottle, so it got tossed in the garbage. I put a large casserole dish on top of Frankie's cage, and both do the swimming thing daily
Some prefer baths to showers
yogi absolutely hates the spray bottle, so it got tossed in the garbage. I put a large casserole dish on top of Frankie's cage, and both do the swimming thing daily
LOL Kiko hates both. My mister isn't very... well, misty... so I'm looking for something with a finer spray.
Several schools of thought on this subject. But I agree that if the bird willingly bathes in a dish there is no need to spray them or spritz/mist them. If you notice them still doing a lot of scratching or rubbing, it could be because the air is dry and you can run a humidifier to put a little more moisture in the air. Especially when the weather gets cold and we turn on the heat.
I was introduced to birds in the "old" school of training where you did use a spray bottle to correct an unwanted behavior. The theory was rather than yell at the bird which only encourages him to yell or do what ever undesired action even more. You would use the spray bottle and squirt the bird with a firm stream of water rather than a mist, just enough to startle them and get their attention. You'd give them the command to "hush" or what ever and then squirt them. THey'd learn that if they were doing something undesirable and was given the command, if they didn't respond correctly there was a consequence (the squirt). However, there's always a right way and a wrong way with every form of correction and people get out control and go overboard when they get frustrated if the animal doesn't respond favorably to their choice of correction techniques.
While I very seldom use this technique anymore, I found that my birds were not afraid of being misted but did respond correctly when I got a second spray bottle to use for the "correction" bottle. Many times it can be the size or the closeness of the bottle and the owners body language that causes the bird to be afraid. Not so much the water being sprayed.
For instance, when I was doing this...I had a blue spray bottle and a red spray bottle. These bottles were exactly the same in every way except for their color. The red was for correction and the blue one was for spritzing. It always had a very fine mist setting and the correction one was set for a firm stream. It quickly got to the point that all I had to do was hold the red one up and the birds quieted down immediately. But if I held up the blue one they would come to the front of the cage and await being misted. Of Course being misted came with its own rewards as well such as a special treat usually a nut or a seed and we laughed and sang while we were misting. The correction bottle came with a firm. "No, Hush, or Quiet" command and then one strong squirt in the chest and it was done from a distance.
Whether you believe in this type of correction, or not. Just like with anything it all depends on the bird, and your style. We are finding that with parrots there are other avenues of that work well also. I was raised believing that for every action there is a reaction or consequence. Favorable reaction there was a reward, for undesirable reaction there was a punishment or correction. I've since learned that ignoring or excluding them from a group or flock can also give you the desired affect, depending on the individual animal.
I was introduced to birds in the "old" school of training where you did use a spray bottle to correct an unwanted behavior. The theory was rather than yell at the bird which only encourages him to yell or do what ever undesired action even more. You would use the spray bottle and squirt the bird with a firm stream of water rather than a mist, just enough to startle them and get their attention. You'd give them the command to "hush" or what ever and then squirt them. THey'd learn that if they were doing something undesirable and was given the command, if they didn't respond correctly there was a consequence (the squirt). However, there's always a right way and a wrong way with every form of correction and people get out control and go overboard when they get frustrated if the animal doesn't respond favorably to their choice of correction techniques.
While I very seldom use this technique anymore, I found that my birds were not afraid of being misted but did respond correctly when I got a second spray bottle to use for the "correction" bottle. Many times it can be the size or the closeness of the bottle and the owners body language that causes the bird to be afraid. Not so much the water being sprayed.
For instance, when I was doing this...I had a blue spray bottle and a red spray bottle. These bottles were exactly the same in every way except for their color. The red was for correction and the blue one was for spritzing. It always had a very fine mist setting and the correction one was set for a firm stream. It quickly got to the point that all I had to do was hold the red one up and the birds quieted down immediately. But if I held up the blue one they would come to the front of the cage and await being misted. Of Course being misted came with its own rewards as well such as a special treat usually a nut or a seed and we laughed and sang while we were misting. The correction bottle came with a firm. "No, Hush, or Quiet" command and then one strong squirt in the chest and it was done from a distance.
Whether you believe in this type of correction, or not. Just like with anything it all depends on the bird, and your style. We are finding that with parrots there are other avenues of that work well also. I was raised believing that for every action there is a reaction or consequence. Favorable reaction there was a reward, for undesirable reaction there was a punishment or correction. I've since learned that ignoring or excluding them from a group or flock can also give you the desired affect, depending on the individual animal.
A lot of what we might consider "naughty" or "bad" behavior out of birds (or other critters) is just them being, well, BIRDS. If the previous owners punished your bird for doing bird things like squawking, it probably confused her and hurt her feelings and made her very upset, because she wouldn't understand why what she was doing was wrong. If she exhibits fear of the spray bottle, get rid of it. No telling WHAT they did to her with one.
Neither of mine has the slightest use for misting. Last summer on a really, really hot day, I tried misting Jade and she seemed to like it, but after that it upset her, so I stopped, and Clyde and the budgies give me the ol' fish eye if I even verbally suggest a misting. The parrots have bathtubs and I change the water daily but neither takes a bath more than once a week and sometimes not even that often. I figure they know if they need a bath and I leave it up to them. The budgies get a shallow dish with very wet lettuce in it occasionally and they don't actually bathe, but they drag the lettuce around and play with it and get a little bit wet that way. They have completely ignored the cute bathtub I bought for them, so I gave up on it. They don't need a bath every day.
Neither of mine has the slightest use for misting. Last summer on a really, really hot day, I tried misting Jade and she seemed to like it, but after that it upset her, so I stopped, and Clyde and the budgies give me the ol' fish eye if I even verbally suggest a misting. The parrots have bathtubs and I change the water daily but neither takes a bath more than once a week and sometimes not even that often. I figure they know if they need a bath and I leave it up to them. The budgies get a shallow dish with very wet lettuce in it occasionally and they don't actually bathe, but they drag the lettuce around and play with it and get a little bit wet that way. They have completely ignored the cute bathtub I bought for them, so I gave up on it. They don't need a bath every day.
Most QP's I've been around prefer to take their own baths. Mine does, as well as my parrotlet. The only bird I have ever needed to spray is the cockatiel. (He won't bath himself.)
As far as your bird goes :: I'd not spray, but allow him/ her to bathe themselves. Sometimes a dish works fine, and other times a sink is best. It depends on your bird.
As far as "punishment" goes :: I've never seen a reason to Punish a bird by spraying it! Most of the time it makes the bird worse, and not better. I didn't know Anybody still tried such things...
It's better to take your bird for their bath as bathing, and preening wet feather's until they are dry are a Great distraction!
As far as your bird goes :: I'd not spray, but allow him/ her to bathe themselves. Sometimes a dish works fine, and other times a sink is best. It depends on your bird.
As far as "punishment" goes :: I've never seen a reason to Punish a bird by spraying it! Most of the time it makes the bird worse, and not better. I didn't know Anybody still tried such things...
It's better to take your bird for their bath as bathing, and preening wet feather's until they are dry are a Great distraction!
i firmly believe that you shouldn't willingly inflict emotional trauma on any living being, whether willingly doing so is your intent or not, and whether the trauma is justified to us or not. it sounds like your bird is afraid of something to do with the process, and for that reason alone i would stop.
for instance, at work if i'm trying to weigh a little kid and he is freaking out, i let that go on for about 15 seconds then tell mom to pick up the child and get on the scale with him, then weigh her on her own and do the math to get my result. is it accurate? probaby not as much as it could/should be, but on the flip side a freaking out child getting weighed isn't very accurate either, and that's IF i can get his weight.
when our birds start to get really loud, i do mist them sometimes. i don't do it as punishment, but it does calm them down. not one of them cringes at the sight of our mister bottles; rather they fluff up and come closer. when louie gets really wound up, i ask him if he wants a bath and normally he will go crawl into his waterdish while asking, "do you wanna get a baff?" the whole time. then he's calm.
i dunno if i believe the misting is the problem, but something associated with it is, and that's sad. my birds so enjoy bathing (when they decide to do it lol) that for them to be afraid of it for any reason just makes me sad.
kris
for instance, at work if i'm trying to weigh a little kid and he is freaking out, i let that go on for about 15 seconds then tell mom to pick up the child and get on the scale with him, then weigh her on her own and do the math to get my result. is it accurate? probaby not as much as it could/should be, but on the flip side a freaking out child getting weighed isn't very accurate either, and that's IF i can get his weight.
when our birds start to get really loud, i do mist them sometimes. i don't do it as punishment, but it does calm them down. not one of them cringes at the sight of our mister bottles; rather they fluff up and come closer. when louie gets really wound up, i ask him if he wants a bath and normally he will go crawl into his waterdish while asking, "do you wanna get a baff?" the whole time. then he's calm.
i dunno if i believe the misting is the problem, but something associated with it is, and that's sad. my birds so enjoy bathing (when they decide to do it lol) that for them to be afraid of it for any reason just makes me sad.
kris
Well the spray bottle is gone, and we ended up getting her a much larger stainless steel cage. Before, she did not like to take her baths in the other cage, but now she is bathing really well in this new cage. It's prob due to it's size.
I'm a firm beleiver in positive/negative reinforcement, and that's what we use with her. Hey it even works with husbands;)
I'm a firm beleiver in positive/negative reinforcement, and that's what we use with her. Hey it even works with husbands;)
Lol... true! I use that on both my birds and hubby! 
Well fortunately for Kiwi, he loves being sprayed. Gidget, my green cheek conure does not. I hope you have come to some happy medium...
My opinion is spraying any animal with water is abuse for misbehaving. The animal will be terrified of water and they will not trust you. I suggest putting a bowl big enough for your bird to have a bath in on a table and carry him over to it. I use warm water about 1 inch deep.splash the water around laughing and sound excited. He will go in eventually. Pico will go up to the top of his cage and if I say "Do you want a bath Pico?"He will say "Bath,Bath.Bath" and when I put his bath dish up there he will jump right in. He has one every other day. He loves his bath.It took a lot of trying at first. I got him when he was 4 yrs. old. (probably around 2 weeks every day I tried this) I hope this helps.
QUOTE (Esther C @ Nov 10 2009, 03:06 PM) 
My opinion is spraying any animal with water is abuse for misbehaving. The animal will be terrified of water and they will not trust you. I suggest putting a bowl big enough for your bird to have a bath in on a table and carry him over to it. I use warm water about 1 inch deep.splash the water around laughing and sound excited. He will go in eventually. Pico will go up to the top of his cage and if I say "Do you want a bath Pico?"He will say "Bath,Bath.Bath" and when I put his bath dish up there he will jump right in. He has one every other day. He loves his bath.It took a lot of trying at first. I got him when he was 4 yrs. old. (probably around 2 weeks every day I tried this) I hope this helps.
Ditto! I agree 100% . That is how I got Verde to loves baths. He was leery until he saw how much fun I was having, splashing about in the bowl. Now he bathes everyday- sometimes more than once!! And when you tell him it is bath time he says, "Ph Baby!"
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