Showering/Bathing

In the wild macaws frequently enjoy a good rain shower. When it rains, macaws will perch on a branch and spread their wings giving themselves a good shower. I would recommend bathing or showering your macaw 2 - 3 times a week. It's vital to keeping them in good feather. Bathing your macaw is a great way to bond with your bird. There are a few different ways that your macaw can get a good bath. Showers, misting and large sinks work great. If you're bathing a mini-macaw you can even use a bowl.

Most macaw owners shower their macaws. Not all macaws will enjoy a shower at first. You many have to gently work into it over time. With our Toby we had to start slowly since he was very leery of showers... even though he had never had a bad experience with them...he just didn't know what they were and if they were *ok*. We started like this: I would be in the bathtub. My husband would bring Toby in the bathroom and show him the water and we would talk all excitedly about the bath water. Continuing to baby talk to Toby, we would dip just his feeties in the water. Of course he pitched a fit at first and just wanted to get away. Eventually he didn't mind and then we worked up to his legs, his belly, etc. We let him show us at what pace he wanted to get acclimated. Before you know it we were advancing to a "real" shower. We have a shower perch (pictured below) that works perfect. We have a detachable shower head so it's more like a rain shower experience.

We blow dry him a little with warm air (not hot). I wouldn't recommend blow drying them all they way dry as it can dry out their skin. But getting some of the main water/wetness off of them is fine. Toby really enjoys the blow dryer and will hold out his wings for us to dry them. Keep the blow dryer moving back & forth and out of their face.

Now, not all birds may enjoy this. If your bird isn't comfortable with this, then there's no need to push them. If your bird will allow you to towel dry them, then that's great too. We have chosen not to towel Toby as it causes him too much stress.

Wing Clipping

Keeping your bird's wings clipped is a personal choice but I've read too many horror stories to take any chances. Even if you say you'll never take your bird outside, there is always a chance that a window or door could be opened at just the wrong time. If you're not going to clip your birds wings then you will have to use a bird harness when taking your bird outside. Some birds don't mind them at all & some will fight it every time. Just depends on the bird & their personality.

We keep Toby clipped and are able to do it ourselves. We learned by watching his groomers. If you've never clipped wings before I would suggest you go watch either your vet or your bird groomer do it a few times until you feel like you understand which feathers to cut and how short to cut them.

Here's a great site that shows how to clip wings. Petparrot.com - wing clipping

Toenails

Keeping you parrots nails groomed is an important part of taking care of your bird. It also helps keep them safe from catching their nails on a toy or a perch.

Some birds don't mind having their nails clipped or filed.... and some HATE it. Unfortunately, Toby is one of the latter. He thinks a nail clipper is the devil incarnate! If I even take out a nail file to do my own nails, Toby will watch suspiciously to see if you're going to come near him.... and if you do, watch him run! We are finally able to groom his toenails but we only do it when one cracks/breaks and it gets sharp.

If your bird will allow you to use a nail clipper or nail file on him/her, that's great! Be sure you don't cut the nail to the quick. Just take off small ends of the birds nails at first so you don't cut the quick. If you do happen to cut the quick and cause the bird's nails to bleed, be sure you have some Syptic powder, cornstarch or flour. Apply one of those and also apply pressure until the bleeding stops.

Concrete & pumice perches are great ways to help keep your birds nails in good shape. The pumice perches are nice because they can chip off pieces and use it to groom their beaks. Sandy Perches are a popular choice too.