A variety of factors, including time of year, locality, temperature, humidity, diet, sex and egg laying, influence the molting cycle. It's normal to find feathers in the bottom of the cage every now and then, but excessive moulting and bare skin patches may be a sign of illness. Check with your veterinarian about this, as well as about any periodic trimming of the nails, beak and wings that is necessary. Return to Top Bathing Bathing is an extremely satisfying activity for birds. They enjoy baths or showers a couple of times a week, and it helps them, especially Cockatoos and Cockatiels, get rid of excessive feather dust.
Bathing is also beneficial in keeping the skin and feathers in good condition.
The best time to give your bird a bath is immediately before you clean its cage and re-paper the bottom, because the floor covering will undoubtedly get wet and need to be changed. It's a good idea to schedule the bath during the morning or afternoon, so that your bird's feathers are totally dry before bedtime. Canaries, lovebirds, budgerigars, mynas, and other small birds love wriggling around in containers filled with water. Fill the container with tepid water, then let your bird go in and splash around as much as it wants. Most birds will hop out, shake their feathers, and plunge back in again, chirping with delight.