Last Updated on April 6, 2024 by Mitch Rezman

Joseph writes,

My Quaker loves to take a bath but he smells very bad after he does. 

Does your bird bath spray get his bad smell out of his feathers so he doesn’t smell like a 20-day-old damp rag?

Joseph

If your quaker gets fully saturated while bathing it will take a lot longer for him to dry off than if he just splashes around a bit.

 

Our Quaker Chili enjoying a bath

I used to have a female Red Rump Parrot that would get in the tub with my husband and sit on his chest going completely under water and loved it.

When she came out I had to blot her with a towel and then let her sit on my shoulder while I used a hair dryer on low awhile to partially dry her off.

I never had another bird that enjoyed getting so wet again. I also never noticed any lingering odor once she was dried.

Wet feathers can carry a smell. Some birds have a natural musky scent that once wet will be stronger. Amazons in particular can be stinkier than others.

One thing that can cause a bird to smell bad is a bacterial infection. Such an infection can come about due to exposure to saliva from humans, dogs and cats. That is why birds should stay out of our mouths and they should not eat anything that has been chewed by us or the animals.

Once it gets into a bird’s system it can increase causing the bacteria to become available in the bird’s mouth and then when the bird preens, it is spread into the feathers and skin and can multiply.

A bird may not look much different, but its feathers can start to appear dirty, greasy, and not well-kept.

Thus the bird preens more and spreads the bacteria even more. I am sure this can also result in a smelly bird.

A trip to the vet for a culture can help tell if this is the problem.

Natra BirdBath spray is great stuff and we have had great luck with it. It may help to ease the smell some but not the the root cause.

Please consider a visit to your vet and get a check-up for your Quaker.

Catherine