Spraying

[Brett]

Does anyone spray(mist) water on there birds over summer to keep them cool.
Would it also help to keep them clean and healthy ect.
Our finches don't seem to bath very much


Brett

[jusdeb]

Its very good for them and encourages them to preen themselves .

Misters are great for cooling birds down however not so good if they fly into a panic and overheat while you spray them .

most of mine love the hose on them ( on fine spray ) and others have misters that I turn on at the tap and others again get a squirt from a hand spray bottle .

[toothlessjaws]

i always give the birds a spray on hot summer days, usually whilst i'm watering the plants in the aviary. if its very fine spray and i don'y just suddenly turn it on them without warning (instead slowly edging it closer) they are often very content to sit there and enjoy the shower.

brett do you have a separate bath for your birds or do you just give them a water hopper (if thats what they are called). and if so you do have a bath is it in the sun?

the reason i ask is my birds rarely bathe in the feeder, however will often bathe in a shallow terracotta tray especially if its situated in the sunshine.

[jusdeb]

It would be worth your while to try what TJs suggested . The sight of finches taking it in turns to have a bath is priceless.

[dano_68]

Hi Brett,

I have an automatic sprinkler system that comes on every afternoon at 3pm to water the aviary plants.

I have the nozzles set to spray and the finches go nuts! They all love it, even when it is not that hot!

They all start chirping and singing really loudly and fly and hop all over and around the sprinkler heads.

Really brings a smile to your face every time you watch them.

[jimstreet]

I gave my zebs a mist with a spray bottle this arvo, they loved it and took turns in front of the mist. They don't seem to use the water dish on the floor of the aviary for bathing.

[BlackCobra]

My finches love there bath many times a day, as soon as I top it up again there into it.
They say if your finches are not breeding very well, use the hose overhead & they think the rainy season is here, I'm sure it works, its worth a try.

[jusdeb]

Not too sure if this is relevant to finches but myself and a fair few parrot breeders have had bad luck this year with young not making it out of the shell or passing just after hatching .
Its believed the low humidity earlier in the season was the cause and i dare say that is true . i noticed my natives were frequently wetting their bellies and returning to the nest more often than usual thus keeping the humidity up in the nest box and resulting in healthy young however my first time Black cap conures lost 5 of 6 young during or just after hatching ...The last one made it to the perch just fine after I modified the nest so that humidity levels were higher .

Spraying around hatching time was one of the suggestions made to me as well as a means of adding moisture to the air ...

Heres the surviving Black cap ..spoilt little brat it is .



Check out these 2 ..they don't wait for the spray bottle or sprinkler any more ...as soon as the fan gets turned on they jump in the water bowl until they are soaked then cool off in front of the fan .



pretty clever hey ?

[BlackCobra]

Not too sure if this is relevant to finches but myself and a fair few parrot breeders have had bad luck this year with young not making it out of the shell or passing just after hatching .
Its believed the low humidity earlier in the season was the cause and i dare say that is true . i noticed my natives were frequently wetting their bellies and returning to the nest more often than usual thus keeping the humidity up in the nest box and resulting in healthy young however my first time Black cap conures lost 5 of 6 young during or just after hatching ...The last one made it to the perch just fine after I modified the nest so that humidity levels were higher .

Spraying around hatching time was one of the suggestions made to me as well as a means of adding moisture to the air ...

Heres the surviving Black cap ..spoilt little brat it is .



Check out these 2 ..they don't wait for the spray bottle or sprinkler any more ...as soon as the fan gets turned on they jump in the water bowl until they are soaked then cool off in front of the fan .



pretty clever hey ?

Jusdeb, Damn that must be so demoralizing losing so many young

[natamambo]

I have misters in all my flights. Got two turns today it was so hot! Birds just love them, especially the honeyeaters and the chats and the finches will fly through the water even though they won't just sit in the spray and soak like the Softbills.