If you’re new to pigeons, sometimes you may find it a frustrating task trying to get your pigeon to bathe themselves. You’ve seen street pigeons bathe in puddles so many times, how come yours just doesn’t seem to do it?
Pigeons tend to bathe when they feel like it, and as always, it depends almost entirely on your bird’s individual temperament and preferences. Some like it and will do it often, and some avoid it completely. The good news is, it’s usually not a huge deal. You may think that, like humans, pigeons must bathe often to avoid getting dirty, but pigeons have other means of keeping themselves clean—and besides, being a bit dirty or dusty usually isn’t that terrible for them! It’s a good idea to just let them bathe on their own terms with the frequency that they choose.
A pigeon that doesn’t like to bathe can, however, be inconvenient for you, and there may be different reasons you may want to encourage your bird to do it. If your pigeon has muffs, they may get dirty from an occasional poop on the cage floor; if they’re wearing diapers that aren’t a perfect fit, their vent area can get stained; they can get a little too curious about your concealer or lipstick. It’s almost always better to just remove the underlying reasons behind them getting dirty too often rather than encouraging them to bathe, but sometimes it’s just unavoidable that you really need your pigeon to take a good long soak. So how can you get them to do it?
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Do not forcefully bathe your pigeon unless medically necessary. Most pigeons like water, but only on their own terms; handling them and submerging them in water or putting them under running water can stress them out tremendously and does more harm than good. Only do this in a medical emergency: if they are stained with chemicals or something intensely sticky like tar, or when instructed by a vet or someone equally qualified. Likewise, never use chemicals or soap in a pigeon bath unless very clearly instructed in a medical emergency.
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Pigeons don’t like feeling restrained or like they cannot escape, especially in vulnerable times like bathing They also just like to have room to thrash around! Wide, shallow, open containers usually work quite well:
The container should be deep enough to fill water up to about their hip level, but it doesn’t have to be much deeper than that.
The material doesn’t seem to matter too much, but anecdotally, some pigeons do have preferences! Some prefer metal, some prefer any solid material, and a few prefer see-through materials like glass.
Some pigeons can be taught to take showers! They love running water, and if you have an open shower, try tepid water with very low water pressure and see if they get interested in it.
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Get a clean, unused container and do not use it for anything else; it should be dedicated exclusively to bathing. Between bathing sessions, make sure you clean the container with mild dish soap, dry it off, and occasionally use a disinfectant. A wet container coming into contact with your pigeon’s vent area (and sometimes getting pooped into!) is fertile breeding ground for bacteria, so take the appropriate measures.
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Pigeons generally don’t like to bathe in their cage or in small enclosed spaces unless they feel extremely confident. There are exceptions to everything, but most pigeons rather bathe in a wide open area on the floor. They want to feel like escape—should they need to do so—is easy. Similarly, bathing in the middle of a large open space like a living room is more likely to seem like a good idea to your bird than bathing in a small closet, although this is by no means a universal rule.
Some pigeons may find it difficult to bathe near windows they can see out of, especially if your area has predators. If that is the case and you cannot move the bath, you could try blocking their view of the outdoors.
Depending on your bird, there may be some ways to get them to enjoy their bath a little bit more. You can experiment with one or more of the following: