One of the things I adore about the babies we get in the nursery is when they are old enough to get their first open dish of water. This little cockatiel’s first instinct was to take a bath, and while it was not the best bath in the world it was cute nonetheless.
Baths are an essential part of owning a bird. Whether your bird has dust or oil as their primary feather protectant, bathing is important for their health and skin quality. With most species, a full bath once a week that soaks them down to the skin is ideal. Species such as cockatoos, that are extremely dusty, could benefit from a bath twice a week.
We always recommend bathing them in the morning so they have all day to naturally dry off, as any heat based drying methods risk removing that moisture from their skin. Typically, if you place your bird in a sink with a sprayer hose, turn the water onto a lukewarm temperature and follow them around with the sprayer until you see their skin peek through you’ve given them a good bath!