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Do finches ever bathe?

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Luk

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Jun 20, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/20/00
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Not once have I seen one of my finches in the bath water.
Wonder why not?

( I have a little yellow plastic container that I fill to about
one half inch. )

Luk


Wheeler

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Jun 20, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/20/00
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I don't know Luk, my six bath daily, they have a large drinking water
dish that they empty, well almost empty, daily. How big is their bath?

Bob W

Luk

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Jun 20, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/20/00
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> Luk wrote:
>
> > Not once have I seen one of my finches in the bath water.
> > Wonder why not?
> >
> > ( I have a little yellow plastic container that I fill to about
> > one half inch. )

Wheeler wrote:

> I don't know Luk, my six bath daily, they have a large drinking water
> dish that they empty, well almost empty, daily. How big is their bath?

Not big. It's one of those standard plastic things about
six or seven inches long and two inches wide. It sits
in the bottom of the cage. It gets dirty, as does everything
on the bottom of the cage. I've just never seen one of the
finches standing in the little dish. Have you?

(My outdoor bird bath attracts all sorts of birds,
but with the caged finches it's a different story. ) They
drink, but if they bathe, I can't seem to catch them at it.
They have a another (covered) water dish that they
drink from often.

Luk


Andee

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Jun 20, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/20/00
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On Tue, 20 Jun 2000, Luk wrote:

> Not once have I seen one of my finches in the bath water.
> Wonder why not?
>

Some do; some don't. They may once they realize what the water
is for. My finches mainly love to be misted. They don't ever bathe -
but they do splash around in the teeny bowls of water I put in the
cages. They make big messes sometimes.


Luk

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Jun 20, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/20/00
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Andee wrote:

> Some do; some don't. They may once they realize what the water
> is for. My finches mainly love to be misted. They don't ever bathe -
> but they do splash around in the teeny bowls of water I put in the
> cages.

That sounds like bathing to me.

How big are the teeny bowls of water?
How deep, etc.?

Luk

Jessica

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Jun 20, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/20/00
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lukn...@mindspring.com (Luk) wrote in
<394F8F5F...@mindspring.com>:

>Not once have I seen one of my finches in the bath water.
>Wonder why not?
>

>( I have a little yellow plastic container that I fill to about
>one half inch. )
>

>Luk
>
>

My 2 adult zebras love to bathe in their water dish. It's one
of the standard dishes, about 3 inches deep, semi-circular in
shape, maybe 4 inches wide at the back. My male will stand in
it and spray water everywhere, the female, just dips her head
in. Maybe put a larger container for them.
They also seem to enjpy a few squirts from the mist bottle. I
spray them every couple of days.
Hope this helps.

Jessica

~~~~~~~~~~
"If we could cast the gift of a lovely thought into the heart of
a friend, that would be giving as the angels give."

~~~~~~~~~~

Andee

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Jun 20, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/20/00
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On Tue, 20 Jun 2000, Luk wrote:

>
> That sounds like bathing to me.
>
> How big are the teeny bowls of water?
> How deep, etc.?

Duh! I agree. Sounds like bathing to me, too. Birds don't use
shower gel and loofas! I just had an idea. Rather than put the
dishes/bathtub/whatever on the bottom of the cage, how about hanging
a large dish filled with water on the side of the cage? I am going
to try that. I bet lots of folks do that, but I have never seen it
discussed before.

Good luck and let us know how it works for you. You really like your
finches, don't you, Luk? You are taking good care of them! Lucky birds.

Andee


Luk

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Jun 20, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/20/00
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Jessica wrote:

> My 2 adult zebras love to bathe in their water dish. It's one
> of the standard dishes, about 3 inches deep, semi-circular in
> shape, maybe 4 inches wide at the back. My male will stand in
> it and spray water everywhere, the female, just dips her head
> in. Maybe put a larger container for them.
> They also seem to enjpy a few squirts from the mist bottle. I
> spray them every couple of days.

This is amazing. Every book I've read says not to fill the water
more than one half inch deep, which is what I've been doing.
(Obviously without results).

I'm starting to get the idea that half an inch of water is not
enough, though. I know you said the *dish* is 3 inches
deep, but how deep is your water?

Luk

Jessica

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Jun 20, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/20/00
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>I'm starting to get the idea that half an inch of water is
>not enough, though. I know you said the *dish* is 3 inches
>deep, but how deep is your water?
>
>Luk
>
>
>
I fill the water dish about 2/3 full now that the babies are
larger. When the babies were small, I kept about an inch to an
inch and a half.
I've never read anywhere that a half inch is all they need.
Different sources, different opinions. My six finches all seem
very happy bathing in their water dish. You just have to be
sure to change the water a couple times a day.
I never had any sucess with a bowl of water on the floor of the
cage, but they love their water dish.

JBSummer

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Jun 24, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/24/00
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My two finches probably bathe four or five times a day. They love it. We use
the little clear plastic baths that clip onto the front of the cage. Has a
little ramp that allows them to go as deep into the water as they wish. For
some reason, they have never seemed to enjoy using a small bowl in the bottom
of the cage. Creatures of habit, just like all of us I guess.

Once a week, I take their floor cage outside and wash it down with the garden
hose. I've found that they really enjoy getting under a very light spray
coming from the nozzle.

mkinsey

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Jun 25, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/25/00
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Luk <lukn...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:394F8F5F...@mindspring.com...

> Not once have I seen one of my finches in the bath water.
> Wonder why not?
>
> ( I have a little yellow plastic container that I fill to about
> one half inch. )
>
> Luk
> i have only six finches now ,but at one time i bet there were 20 breeding
pair.they wait for the chance to jump right in. i switched from shallow
bowls to canary bath tubs. they are enclosed and keep more of the water
inside. instead of filling them all the way , i just fill it a little. with
a finch amount of water. if you keep offering the bath water maybe they
will get the idea. margaret

Leslie

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Jul 16, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/16/00
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I know this thread is old! But It's new to me as I am new to the group...
Hello, my name is Leslie mother to:
1 Quaker - Male (Rikki)
1 Parrotlet - Male (Kiwi)
1 Crested Canary - Male (Hairy)
2 Zebra Finches - Male (Patches) - Female hand fed from day 1 (Dusty) ((2
Baby Finches leaving Monday))
1 Dog - Male - Pomeranian (Joey)

Now that, that is over with...

Luk, I have a little bowl in my finch flight that is 4 inches long x 1 1/2"
deep and 3" wide. I fill it almost full. they get in and SPLASH and flutter
their wings and shake their tails... sometimes when one is in the water bowl
the other will sit on the outside edge and catch a showering! They are
hilarious to watch! I give them clean water twice a day to play in. I bought
a water bottle at the petshop that looks like a bottle for a hampter, it has
a little tube that they drink from, they touch the little ball and drops of
water come out. If you don't have one and want to get one, I recommend
getting one that has a little red ball in it as they will be naturaaly
attracted to the RED color. Finches are curious little characters anyway and
shortly will investigate. I give them this bottle as a sorce of unsoiled
water to drink.

Hope this was a source of information for you. You seem to really enjoy your
finches. Alot of people think finches are for wimps... I for one enjoy my
finches. Watching how they raise their babies, teaching them where the food
is, and even how to hop from perch to perch is a joy to see. I have them
sitting right here by my desk and since I spend more than 12 hours a day at
this idiot machine (grin) I am able to enjoy my finches and their lifestyle.
If you care to discuss finches you are welcome to write. I'll respond...
most of the time. *g*

Sincerely,
Leslie


Sharon

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Jul 16, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/16/00
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Mine do. I have two plastic baths on the outside of cage..and they use them
daily. take a look at them here:

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=894313&a=6934993&p=23607037

Sharon


Leslie wrote in message ...

Luk

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Jul 16, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/16/00
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Leslie wrote:

> I know this thread is old! But It's new to me as I am new to the group...

Hi Leslie

> Luk, I have a little bowl in my finch flight that is 4 inches long x 1 1/2"
> deep and 3" wide. I fill it almost full. they get in and SPLASH and flutter
> their wings and shake their tails... sometimes when one is in the water bowl
> the other will sit on the outside edge and catch a showering! They are
> hilarious to watch!

Well I'm envious. I've had finches all summer and I've seen a
total of two baths. The first time it was pointed out to me by
a child or I would have missed it. The second time was two
days ago. I was misting our new young finch. On the third
squirt he dove in the drinking water and took a bath.

> I give them clean water twice a day to play in.

Yup. I give my finches fresh water quite often. I put it in containers
of all sizes, in depths from a half inch to an inch.

> I bought
> a water bottle at the petshop that looks like a bottle for a hampter, it has
> a little tube that they drink from, they touch the little ball and drops of
> water come out. If you don't have one and want to get one, I recommend
> getting one that has a little red ball in it as they will be naturaaly
> attracted to the RED color. Finches are curious little characters anyway and
> shortly will investigate. I give them this bottle as a sorce of unsoiled
> water to drink.

Heard tell of such. I may pick up one just for fun and see if
it gets used.

> Hope this was a source of information for you. You seem to really enjoy your
> finches.

Who said that!
(~:

> A lot of people think finches are for wimps... I for one enjoy my


> finches. Watching how they raise their babies, teaching them where the food
> is, and even how to hop from perch to perch is a joy to see. I have them
> sitting right here by my desk and since I spend more than 12 hours a day at
> this idiot machine (grin) I am able to enjoy my finches and their lifestyle.

That surely makes the work day much more pleasant.

> If you care to discuss finches you are welcome to write. I'll respond...
> most of the time. *g*

I may send you a photo.

Our new little hellion (er, finch) had quite a busy day. First thing
he did was escape when I was changing water. I had to chase him
around the screen porch with a net. Finally got him back in the
cage. He spent the rest of the morning teasing a hen by trying
to pull a string out of her nest. The nest has eggs in it of course.

We went out to lunch and brought back a few leaves of something
dark green and curly (mustard greens or chard or something). We
cut it up and put it in container for the finches. The new finch spent
the afternoon dropping pieces of it on the cage floor from the highest
perch and then retrieving them. He'd wave a piece in front of
the other birds, but when they'd reach for it he'd drop it again.

He likes my sprouts, though. Before he came nobody would eat
them. The kid has a ravenous appetite.

Luk


Luk

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Jul 16, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/16/00
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Sharon wrote:

> Mine do. I have two plastic baths on the outside of cage..and they use them
> daily. take a look at them here:
>
> http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=894313&a=6934993&p=23607037

Thanks for the photo.

Do they climb the ladder?

Luk


Luk

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Jul 16, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/16/00
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Sharon wrote:

> yes..all the time. I now have a spiral sisal rope that is hanging from top,
> and the doves and finches love it. I just took 3 pics they are located
> below ... first 3 are new. Of the general cage and sisal rope.
>

The sisal rope is a new one on me.

Luk

Sharon

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Jul 17, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/17/00
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yes..all the time. I now have a spiral sisal rope that is hanging from top,
and the doves and finches love it. I just took 3 pics they are located
below ... first 3 are new. Of the general cage and sisal rope.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=894313&a=6934993

Sharon


Luk wrote in message <39725EC0...@mindspring.com>...

Leslie

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Jul 17, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/17/00
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"Luk" <lukn...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:39725DD6...@mindspring.com...

> He likes my sprouts, though. Before he came nobody would eat
> them. The kid has a ravenous appetite.
>
> Luk

My male (Patches) LOVES celery leaves. I'll toss in a small handful and he
will drag everyone of them up into the nest. AFTER he took a bath in the wet
leaves! He smells like celery often. Anything that little guy can get his
beak into UP it goes in the nest. I am forever dragging stuff out of there,
they get fresh fruit and veggies daily and if allowed, the nest would get
pretty rancid after a very short while.

So Luk where abouts do you live? I live in Michigan.

Talk to you later.
Leslie

Sharon

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Jul 17, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/17/00
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I got mine from www.pets.com they have coupon for $15 of $15 order :) They
come in many many sizes. It's very adjustable, bendable etc.

Sharon


Luk wrote in message <39726BEA...@mindspring.com>...


>
>
>Sharon wrote:
>
>> yes..all the time. I now have a spiral sisal rope that is hanging from
top,
>> and the doves and finches love it. I just took 3 pics they are located
>> below ... first 3 are new. Of the general cage and sisal rope.
>>
>

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