FINCHforum

As a quick refresher, I care for an aviary at work. One Society Finch to got sick, others began picking on her, so I removed her from the aviary and took her home to live with me. When she was in the aviary she went into one of the nest, ate her grit, took a bath. Now at my house she doesn't do any of the above. What can I do to get her taking a bath again? I have a small dish and put it in for her every other day but to my knowledge she hasn't took a swim. I guess I may have to start spraying her but I believe that would scare her very much.

Spraying some water on the bird will not hurt it. Some birds actually enjoy being sprayed, as long as it is a fine mist, similar to a rain shower. Is your bird alone? Sometimes birds that are alone simply aren't as active because they miss the companionship of other birds. Is she still sick?

She is alone, but seems happy. She's pretty active. She is also feeling much better.

THVCFINCHLADY are you using the same bath as the work aviary bath? Because I know my birds only used the open dish from where they were born.

My gouldy's won't bathe either... I've tried EVERYTHING... and they are moulting, I try coaxing them in by telling them it would make them feel so much better, (like they know what I'm saying...) Anyhow, let me know if anything you tried works, cuz I've had mine OVER a month and they have not bathed. It's frustrating, cuz my others (Zebs) if i don't give them a bath every day, they yell at me when I get home!!! Like hey "giant lady, aren't you forgetting something??" LOL I have sprayed the Gouldian's down twice, thinking maybe that would get them to take a bath, (feeling how good the water felt for one, and if they DIDN"T like it, then knowing that they can take a bath and not have to be sprayed) but It didn't work... so if you try something and it works, Please let me know!!! And good luck!!!

Alone a finch is never happy. They just hide their stress well by instinct. Her lack of bathing behavior is very indicative of her fearful state - birds only bathe when comfortable, and they're not comfortable alone. Except for canaries - naturally semi-solitary by nature - I've never seen a finch bath when kept alone. Bathing in nature usually occurs in flocks, because a bird by itself may be to distracted by cleaning to watch for danger.

I have no problem with my finches when it comes to taking a bath. As soon as they see me put the bath in they jump right in. I did however have to separate one of the finches bout a week ago and when I put a bath in for him he acted scared and didn't want to come near it. I ended up using a spray bottle because it gets really hot and I like to make sure they get a bath everyday sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. They really don't mind it when you have it on mist and they jump on the perch and let me spray them. He just started using the bath today in the cage by himself.

I've got a whole bunch of dirty birds! They rarely bathe.

The few that do bathe regularly just dip their head-chest area.

Though there is one exception: my PT whydah, who will stand in the water bowl and submerge his entire body (it's adorable to watch him because the bowl is clear and it magnifies him so all you really see are his little legs dangling in the water, while his enormous tail flows over the side! So cute.)

As the others mentioned, a single bird will be stressed and that may keep her from bathing. Also, you might try adding a heat lamp. Obviously they're prone to cold after a bath and if she bathed and found she was cold afterwards, it may deter her from bathing in the future.

I have some birds whom I've never, ever seen take a bath and they're perfectly healthy and happy so I wouldn't worry too much. As long as she's preening she should be just fine.

So how does the misting work? Do I just spray them in the cage or do I take them out and hold them while I spray? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but as I said, I can take care of 15 finches in an aviary but caring for a singleton is a little different. And yes, I know I need another buddy for him but I don't think my cage is large enough.

The misting is pretty simple. I just use a spray bottle that I got at the drug store and put it on the mist setting.

I empty it and let it dry out between uses so there's no bacteria accumulating in the bottle or water.

Just beware that if your cage is metal, it could rust. I try to mist them while they're outside of the cage. Though occasionally, I will mist them in the cage. I'll I wipe them down after so the water isn't sitting on them. Mist usually dries pretty quick.

Don't inundate them at first. Just a couple spritzes every now and then. They'll be nervous about it at first because it's new and animals don't like new and unfamiliar things. But they usually grow to really enjoy it!

How big is your cage?

Not wide enough at 18". I know that but it was the best quality cage available at Petsmart.

I have 2 male zebra finches in a Petco Flight Cage (30"x18"x18"), which they don't seem to have at present. But the feed cup for that cage (Petco covered perch cup) is what they like to use for their baths. I have tried other actual "baths" but they don't like them. The size and configuration of these cups seems just to their liking.

Have you tried one of the hang-on baths? Most birds will use this. You could remove the Petco seed cups while you offer a bath, so they don't have another option. I'm assuming you are using the seed cup for drinking water, and then they use it for a bathtub. I like water tubes for several reasons, one of which being that they can't take a bath in them (however, I have had birds flick the water out of the tube when I haven't offered bath dishes!).

https://ladygouldian.com/Finch-Canary-Bird-Bath