First, a bath a day, whether they need it or not! (HeHe)! Bathing is a truly great behavioral enhancer. Wetting the featheres encourages the Quaker to preen the feathers, which is a time consuming, somewhat tiring, endeavor. The more time your LGC spends completing constructive, self rewarding behaviors, like bathing, the less time he has for screaming, plucking, and biting.

Bird feathers are covered in oils secreted from the birds skin. When feathers become too dusty from dander and dirt, the oil no longer spreads throughout the feathers, and they are neither protected, nor conditioned. Dirty feathers harbor bacteria, become matted, itchy, and eventually cause illness and misery. Although diet is the major contributing factor to feather condition, hygiene is obviously also important. Feathers that are being meticulously preened and improved are less likely to be the source of health related "plucking", a dangerous, sometimes fatal, condition.

My Quaker, Tango, loves to bathe in the bathroom basin. He despises the stainless steel watering bowl and kitchen sink, so they are not an option. I think this is related to the fact that his toenails make a 'nail on chalkboard' sound effect against the metal. Sometimes placing a paper towel or washcloth in the basin makes the bird more secure. Where your bird chooses to bathe is a matter of personal preference. You may have to do much experimenting in order to find the right place, however, many Quakers just loooove to bathe in their water dishes. You will have to change the water immediately after, but 'Hey!', what's new?

Many Quakers prefer to shower, if your Quaker does, make the most of it. Participating in grooming with you will create an even greater bond between you and your Quaker. Tango loves to stand on the shower curtain rod and catch a splash here and there. There are commercially available bird shower perches available to place at the rear of your shower for this purpose. Do not place your Quaker directly in the spray of the shower, it is too strong. Also, make sure the temperature of the water is not too hot. You may become adjusted to blazing water, but bird skin is protected by the feathers when they are dry, and is therefore much more sensitive. Do not let the soap, shampoo, etc. be consumed by your bird, and make sure your bird is removed before using any aerosol products like deodorant or hairspray.

It is also quite popular and acceptable to mist your bird. For this purpose simply purchase a sterile, plastic sprayer in the gardening department of your local discount store. Do not attempt to rinse and reuse a chemical or cleaning bottle. Your bird will ingest residues of the cleaner while preening after the misting, and could be poisoned. Many birds enjoy being misted frequently during molting, when their heads and necks are full of sticky, painful, pin feathers. Water softens the shaft of these new feathers and is one of the few comforts we can offer our bird during this stressful period. This molt usually occurs for the first time between 4 to 6 months of age, and every fall thereafter.

Allopreening is a service offered birds by their birdie companions in nature, wherein the bird delicately removes the white, flaky shafts of the new feathers as they mature. If keeping a single bird, this is a service you can offer. Done correctly, you will be friend for life. Incorrectly, you will be nipped and scolded. More on molting is contained on the health page.

Since the feathers are protected with oil, it will take a few minutes for the feathers to become saturated, especially on the wings and back. When bathing, most birds become truly saturated only on the chest, and then merely splash some water up onto the wings, which is perfectly acceptable. When wet, your Quaker will resemble (somewhat) a drowned rat. Do not be surprised.

It has been told to me that some birds enjoy being blowdried, from a distance, with the hairdryer on a very low setting. If your bird seems to enjoy this, be careful to keep the direction of air moving so as not to scald your parrot. Birds that enjoy this air movement prefer it against the growth of the feathers, especially when molting.

Due to the fact that a wet bird can not fly, there is an instinctive feeling of vulnerability when bathing, and this fearfulness has a tendency to make Quakers somewhat irritable. Your companion will probably not respond well to bathing with strangers present (Gee, isn't that odd?), and may be a little nippy when approached while preening afterwards.

Try experimenting with all three of these methods of birdie bathing. After all, variety is the spice of life, especially when trying to offer a stimulating and healthy environment for your Quaker!

Another important issue is beak and nail trimming. One of the most successful helpmates I have found for this is a Polly Perch. A Polly Perch is somewhat different than ordinary concrete perches which do not have the same effect. Polly perches come in different pastel colors and sizes and have an abrasive type finish that birds who are introduced early will usually utilize to file the beaks and nails. Ask your area retailer for help selecting the correct DIAMETER perch for optimum nail benefits. If the Polly Perch is too small in diamater it may actually serve to sharpen the nails!

It is also a good idea to allow your Quaker to play (supervised) with a large emory board or nail buffer so that they become accustomed to it before you attempt to use it. If your Quaker is good about using the Polly Perch then an occasional filing may be all you need to keep the nails in good shape. Since Quaker nails are dark, it is somewhat difficult to clip them and almost always requires two people. One to towel and hold the parrot and another to actually do the clipping.

Parrots nails have a blood supply or vessel that grows toward the tip and will be painful and bleed if clipped. If you feel comfortable clipping the nails yourself then make sure you have some sort of styptic powder handy in case you miss the mark. If the birds nails have been allowed to overgrow for some time you may have to clip very small pieces at two week intervals to allow time between clippings for the vessel to naturally retreat back up the nail, as it automatically will with each trim.

You can use a good quality pair of human intended nail clippers or the specially made parrot types, I prefer the human ones. It is difficult to explain without showing but you should use bright lighting to attempt to visualize the blood vessel and then clip from the underside (perchside) of the nail outward at a forty-five degree angle so that the topside of the nail is somewhat longer. An experienced groomer should be able to show you this until you become comfortable. Also, be careful not to overtrim the nails of a young parrot. They are still somewhat clumsy and may really become more accident prone if the nails are too short.

I prefer to keep the ridge on the upper beak towards the tip filed smooth on my Quakers. This is the point where the new beak growth is, and the ridge can be a prime source for the collection of fruit juice and food particles that will cause bacterial or fungal growths. While toweling the parrots gently against my body I support the beak between my left thumb and forefinger and then file the ridge down with a fine grit nail buffer. It does not take much pressure at all, so don't push too hard! My Quakers are so used to this they almost seem to enjoy it, and I have no beak peeling problems as a result. Only if the tip of the beak seems to be interfering with the parrots ability to eat or in cases where a parrot self mutilates do I recommend trimming the beak, and I suggest that you have this done by your avian vet. If the tip is a little too pointy (Gee, how'd ya' find out ?!?!?), you can blunt it slightly yourself using the nailfile, but again, use caution in young, handicapped, or clumsy birds.