My three year old galah, Bondi, is not so fond of her new younger brother, Bandit. However, he is fond of being around her! So what to do? Well, I found that they both needed a bath one day and there was no sense in me taking two just so they could each have one so I decided to give bathing them at the same time, on the same perch, a try. I ran the water, and then put them on the same 12 inch long shower perch. I expected them to both immediately flip out and have one drop to the floor over the other – but to my surprise they both calmed down and prepared to bathe.  

 Photo by Dave Location: Holland America Cruise Ship Shower Showering Together: Galah "Bandit" (left) & Galah "Bondi" (right) 

As I showered and they caught the water from my back, they both closed their eyes and let the mist hit them. Afterwards, they were both soaked and sat happily drying off without a shout at one another. So I found that the act of showering brings calmness to them both and made it so they could happily get along. So just because you have two birds that don’t like one another doesn’t mean they don’t like each other all the time! Maybe you, too, just need to find their “calm”.

Article by Jamieleigh Womach. She has been working with parrots and toucans since the age of 17. She isn’t homeless but is home less than she prefers to be. She travels the world with her husband, daughter, and a flockful of parrots whom she shares the stage with.