is it okay to blow dry my cockatiel?

Question

well its winter and its cold out as well as pretty chilly in my apartment...is it okay to blow dry my bird after i put it in the shower? i dont want her to get sick from the cold draft when i take her out of the bathroom. i usually put her in the shower and then take her out and blow dry her till shes mostly dry.. then i put a sheet over her cage and take her out of the bathroom and put her in her usual spot. am i doing okay:P if not wat are some alternative ideas.

Answer 1

First off, SOME hairdryers have Teflon. Most of the newer ones don't. It is important to blow dry in an open, ventilated area.

Second, be sure you do NOT stop at one area or hold the dryer too close. You could burn her skin. Be sure to move the hairdryer around continuously and hold it no closer than about 8-10 inches (16-25 cm) from your cockatiel.

Third, keep the heated air away from her face. Nowhere near her eyes!

I have a Grey and I've blowdrier her her entire life (14 years). She actually LOVES it - the warm air keeps her from getting chills while drying her feathers. And actually she seem to really enjoy "gulp" air (I only put the hairdrier in her face on low setting, with the heat element completely turned off).

Hairdrying is actually an excellent way to bond with your bird - she'll get used to you fingering through her feathers as they get dry, plus she'll enjoy the warming air, and afterwords she'll spend a good amount of time preening and cleaning herself.

Keep the dryer moving, don't hold the heating element too close and nowhere near her face, and do it in a well-ventilated area and you should be fine. If you DO have a problem - she seems woozy or unstable or in any way shows uncomfort or fear, STOP immediately. She should have a lot of fun with it. Good luck.

Answer 2

No. Cockaties do well in 50-75 degresse F. A hair dryed may be higher that that. Cockatiels also have very high body temperature. If you change the temperature to quickly (water to hot hair dryer) may harm him or even kill him/her. Use other options such as a heat lamp placed FAR away from her cage on low to just make it a little warmer (thats only after the shower) After the shower you should also dry him/her off very good with a clean cloth. Hope this helped. PS: You really should keep a thermometer in your appartment.

Answer 3

Absolutely OK. I have used the blow dryer on my birds quite regularly when they have got sticky mess on the feathers from dripping gum sap from the trees in the aviary. I use a special wash designed for birds that contains eucalyptus oil and the birds generally like to immerse themselves in the water. I use the blow dryer on low and try as much as possible from blowing over the eye regions.

I have over 800 cockatiels as a breeder and rescuer of wildlife in Australia and at some time a lot of our tiels are washed and blow dried when they are found wet and unable to fly after heavy rains or storms. Just don;t leave them in a drafty area when they are wet or damp

Answer 4

You are a responsible bird owner and are doing fine. As long as you are always able to put your hand in front of the dryer and know that it is not hot for the bird.
It is better to blow dry them than to leave them wet coming out the shower as they do feel the cold.
Well done, you're a resonsible mum/dad.

Answer 5

Yes, you can blow dry your birds as long as your blow dryer is set on low or warm, not on a high setting. Hold the blow dryer away from the bird at least 12 to 14 inches and keep the dryer moving so its not blowing constantly on one spot of the bird so the bird won't get to hot or get burned.

Answer 6

yes, i blow dry all my birds in the winter or chilly wheather. Just dont hold the blow dryer close as to cuz burn. our warm might be to hot for them. also will take a while to get her use to the loud noise so start a ways away at first .

Answer 7

Its okay to blow dry them but do make sure its not a brand new hair dryer, because brand new ones release fumes for a little while that can be toxic to birds. After you've made sure its not new, turn it onto a low setting and hold it far enough away that its just like a warm wind for your birds. You dont want to burn them or blow it away! I've done it with my bird many times and he was fine.

Answer 8

I think if the bird doesn't mind being blow dried then its fine, but if it upsets the bird I would stop doing it. You could try wrapping it in a warm towel for a few minutes, or putting its cage near a warm blower heater. Why do you shower your bird anyway? I thought birds had natural oils in their feathers that they need to keep safe and warm, wouldn't showering your bird remove these oils? Normally birds are pretty clean animals, perhapsif your bird is unclean you need to take it to the vet.

Answer 9

I wouldn't blow dry her because the air blowing on her may make her sick. I would put a heat lamp by her cage until she is warm and dry (not too close, you don't want a birdie bbq).

I have raised chicks and before they get their waterproof feathers sometimes they would get wet so I would just gold them wrapped loosely in a towl and then put them back under the heat lamp. You could try that.

Answer 10

I don't know if it's ok or not, but an alternate idea would be to keep her in a warm room (you could warm it with fan heaters) until her feathers are absolutely completely dry. Parrots are very sensitive to cold, so you're right to be concerned. I wouldn't leave her with wet feathers.
When our budgie was sick we kept the room where his cage was at about 30 deg celcius using fan heaters and that worked well.