How to Clean a Cockatoo

Cockatoos can be cleaned much in the same way as a person.

A cockatoo's skin naturally produces a powder known as dander, much as other birds and animals do. This dander gets trapped under and mixed with the feathers. It can become a major irritant for the bird, and cause it to pluck out its own feathers. Keeping a cockatoo clean not only helps the bird remain pretty by preventing feather plucking, but also moisturizes the features and keeps them soft. The trouble with cockatoos is that, like most birds, they don't like water, but they do like the pressure that showers and certain washers apply.

Things You'll Need

• Adjustable shower head with a mist setting

Instructions

1. Make sure that you have established a trust with the cockatoo. This is generally needed for anything that you wish to do with the bird. This includes letting it out of the cage long enough to wash. If the bird is not trusting or doesn't know you well enough it won't take to cleaning.

2. Turn the shower head onto its mist setting. For most shower heads this means using the lightest setting.

3. Turn the water on so that it sprays out into the shower very lightly, like the small droplets at the edge of a lawn sprinkler. Make sure that the water is enough to reach the bottom of the shower but not strong enough that the pressure may hurt the bird.

4. Allow the water to become slightly warm. The cockatoo should enjoy the warmth, making it more likely to get clean. Warm water will also help the water soak through the feathers. Do not allow it to get too hot.

5. Place the bird into the shower with the mist running. Allow it walk around on the bottom of the shower or tub and collect water from the mist. Do this until the bird is nice and damp and the collected enough water to let it soak through.

Tips & Warnings

• Pressure washers and spray bottles can also be used to clean a cockatoo, but make sure you place the pressure washer far enough away so the spray won't hurt it.

• Handfed birds may have trouble learning to wash themselves so it's best to slowly introduce the bird to cleaning. Eventually it will move on its own into the spray.

References

• Netpets: Cockatoo Bathing and Species-Specific Behavior
• Busy Bird: General Information