Lisa Shea Forums Parakeets General Parakeet Chat I think my husband is allergic to Daisy :(

I tried misting her and she flapped around the cage screaming, so I stopped. Poor girl!

Poor baby . Others have tried wet pieces of lettuce to try and get them to take a bath.

To get her used to misting, there are things you can do.
First, start out by just spraying the bottle in the same room, to desensitize them to the sound. When she seems fine with the noise,
you can also spray yourself next to her cage and go 'oooh aaah' and make a nice fuss about it. When she's used to it more, you can spray into the cage, but not on her. Then, once she seems used to it, you can finally spray above her so that the drops fall down like rain. Don't do it rapidly; don't want to freak her out too much. Just do a squirt or two at a time. She'll probably get mad, but if you followed the steps above, it should make it easier on her. Hope this helps!

Thank you, Justin. I sprayed above her and I think the combo of the hss-hss and the drops hitting her panicked her. I'll try more tomorrow, following your suggestions. I want to give her a chance to settle down. She's hiding when anyone walks by her cage since I sprayed her.

Thank you also, Kirby. I tried the wet greens and she was afraid. She eats the little chopped veggies, but didn't like the big bowl with water and greens. Maybe I'll try just the wet greens.

That would work....

It's too bad you have all the other issues to deal with too (being afraid of people and all) If it were just the dander issue and he were tame I am sure you could easily get him cleaned even if you had to put him in a bath yourself. Can he fly? or are his wings clipped? When my guys used to be clipped I could just set them down in the sink where they really didn't have much of a choice other than to bath. Now they mostly like to bath once in a while so it's all good.

Have you talked to a vet? I wonder if there is a special diet/type of seed etc that may help reduce the dander?

Skipperdog, I sent you a PM...

I will ask the vet about a low-dander diet when we're there.

She will be clipped after Saturday. I'm also going to ask about ways to help reduce her agression. Once she's clipped, I'm going to start working with the step up command, using a wooden dowel to spare my fingers. I'm hoping she'll be easier to work with away from her cage.

Have you tried what Justin said? I think she got scared because she had never seen one before. Hopefully the vet visit goes well.