100 % natural aloe vera juice

[Dave007]

 

100 % NATURAL ALOE VERA JUICE

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Most African Greys and Cockatoos and some other species have extremely dry skin. They have natural dander which allows 75% of their feathers to be water proof.

Many people who do bathe their birds feel that the job wasn't thorough and many times, that's true.

A completely soaked *to the skin* bath is the ideal but for some, but understandably it's hard to accomplish. For some birds that don't get this type of bath, the dry skin escaltes and can cause itching, irritations which can then cause plucking or chewing of the feathers. Sometimes, a bird might even decide to pull out the whole follicle in which case, the feather/feathers will never grow back.

olting is nature's way of getting rid of old feathers that have become useless because they've died and a new set of feathers is ready to replace them. This also applies to flight and tail feathers who have a constant blood supply in them and when that blood supply finally dries up, the flight and tail feather will fall out because those feathers have also reached the end of their life and others are ready to take their place. The loss of flight feathers and tail feathers can't be put into the regular classification of a yearly or bi-yearly molt. Flight and tail feathers die off all year long and when they die off it means the feather is dead. All flight and tail feathers won't fall out at the same time. When a bird goes through a regular molt all other feathers do fall out at the same time.

For many birds whether they have skin/feather problems or not, periodically using Aloe Juice will solve a few problems concerning skin but it'll have no effect on whether a bird has a good or bad molt. Nature is telling the parrot's body to shed feathers in order for new ones to grow in.

Using Aloe Juice or water will never get rid of dander permanently. It doesn't matter how successful the bath is or the use of the juice is. Molting is a neccessity and the dust whichis called dander provides natural feather protection.

 

100% NATURAL ALOE VERA JUICE is usually sold in 1 gal. Jugs and can be obtained at major pharmacy outlets including Dept. Stores that have a large pharmacy area such as Walmart. The price ranges from approx $7 to $9 depending on where it's bought.

 

Using Aloe Juice

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I find that the best method for using this product is through a mister/sprayer. The juice can be cold or room temperature. I prefer cold so I store the jug in the fridge and just pour it into the mister. There's been discussion about percentages of juice to water. I prefer full strength and I know it can't harm the birds. I've used it full strength for years. The choice is yours.

 

The most important parts of a grey's body that should be thoroughly soaked are

1--the inner part of the wing where it meets the body. That body area should be sprayed very well.

2--all over the breast area starting from the neck all the way down to the vent area.

All of the above areas aren't water proof so the juice should soak in immediately

3--the feathers covering each leg.

4--the base of the upper neck /lower back of the head.

 

I fill a mister with the fluid and start misting the breast area. I stand about 10 to 12 in away. The closer you are to the bird, the better it is for the bird. Using a mister close up doesn't disturb a bird as much as if the mister was farther away. Usually, the bird tries to bite the nozzle which is to be expected. They'll do the same thing with a water mister. In order to Soak the bird down under the wing area, I turn the nozzle to squirt with the bird facing me, I squirt in between the wings and the body. It quickly works it's way in. In stead of using full pressure on the trigger, I use 1/2 squirts so that the shock of getting hit with the squirting action is greatly minimized. Some birds will actually open up their wings and let the fluid through. Not surprisingly, the majority of birds don't though. The best time to use aloe is after a bath because it has no effect on the outer feathers because the flight, tail and covert feathers are all waterproof. Plain water which used in misters, baths or showers is the best way to remove dander which sits on the the outer feathers.

Using Aloe Juice softens and makes the skin extremely supple. Normally, a grey or TOO will sit quietly after being bathed until nature tells it that it's time to preen which might take more than an hour. Depends upon the bird..

 

PS---I also keep a small bottle of

100% PURE ALOE VERA GEL

around in case of periodic irritations on the legs I.e.--raw spots, dry scales and intense picking. I also use it for minor thin spots on the body that can happen during molting season. A little dab and it immediately is absorbed by the leg or body. Think about purchasing and keeping that product around besides the aloe juice. You can compare the gel to a first aid cream that people always have around for themselves.

 

Neither of these items are harmful to the bird. The juice, if accidently ingested won't hurt the bird because neither item is toxic. The gel immediately sinks into ares where it's used.

 

People also drink Aloe Vera juice when they have intestional problems such as ulcers and digestive problems.

[JillyBeanz]

Thanks for this Dave - I use aloe on Harvey after his shower, but usually from the depths of his cage as he just flies off the minute he sees the mister!! I hope people take heed of the advice you give here, because I notice such a difference in Harvey's feathers and skin when I give him the "aloe shower" as opposed to the "normal" shower. Great piece of info - thanks very much

[ozziebird]

I third this, cant beat aloe, completely natural, completely safe and completely does the job, I noticed such a difference in Oz too been using it for several years now and when I had to go into hospital 2 years ago for several weeks, no one used it, he plucked a little and looked like ragamiffin joe when I eventually got home, took a while for him to get back to normal but wow what a difference was noticed esp seeing him go from extremely scruffy looking to a bobbie dazzler as when I first used it he looked fine so results although were excellent couldnt be seen as much iyswim.

[bezzina]

Hi my friend has a grey and it has been loseing his down feather's, this only happens when he is out the room and when he retuns there is feathers every where so we know he is not feather plucking as its too meny and they are just the down feathers. been to the vets and they weren't too concerned any advice please would help

[Dave007]

What's happening is called molting. The grey is losing all of it's down feathers and they're being replaced by new ones. The new feathers can't actually be seen growing in but they are. This happens once or twice a year. Molting usually happens around this time of year. There's nothing to worry about. It'll last a few weeks. Spraying or misting the bird with water more often during this time is advisable.

[bezzina]

the vet didnt say that he treated him for mites incase he was ok in him self but today his toilet is very runny and looks like a worm do they get worms the vet just said if he gets worse bring him back and they will do tests but we are trying to see if we can help first the vets say to soak dry fruit and it will sprout then feed it we have tried pumpkin seed food as this is ment to help but he wont eat it even if its mixed

[Luvparrots]

My fids are dropping feathers downy and long feathers all over their cages. I can't wait for the molting to end. Fingers crossed that my re-homed eclectus will be able to fly soon. Bezzina hopefully your fid's vet will be able to tell you that your grey is also just molting.

[Tweedle]

 

100% NATURAL ALOE VERA JUICE is usually sold in 1 gal. Jugs and can be obtained at major pharmacy outlets including Dept. Stores that have a large pharmacy area such as Walmart. The price ranges from approx $7 to $9 depending on where it's bought.

 

Please can anyone suggest where I might be able to get this in the UK? Health food shop?

 

Sounds like it could only do good for Pip's bare bits.

[Dave007]

Try health food shops, herbal shops--pharmacies, large dept stores that also have drug depts. Also check online--just type in ALOE VERA JUICE and see what pops up. You may have to get it online. I'm really not sure about who sells it in the UK. In pharmacies and other drug sections in dept stores, it's usually located in the areas that have to do with all types of digestive stomach problems. There's usually a million items in that section. The reason is that people also drink it for stomach/ digestive situations.

PS---it's not expensive.

[Tweedle]

Thankyou

[Tweedle]

Whoop Whoop! We went shopping and got Aloe Vera Juice and Pippa just let me spray her!!

 

Thankyou Dave for the 'up close and personal' tip - she really did just let me spray her. On my previous attempts at misting her I went for the spray wide and let the rain fall on her approach, which left her run away and squawking angrily. This time she just gave me an 'eh? what's that? Oh.' sort of look.

 

I only gave her four or five squirts, not enough to get her wet enough, but was going for the quit while you're ahead approach.

 

May I ask, how frequently should I be trying to mist her with water (guessing daily?) and how often with the Aloe juice afterwards?

[Dave007]

Just go back to the Aloe Instructions and at the bottom, you'll see how to use it. 1/2 squirts allow better coverage and as said the areas mentioned are the most important areas to soak down. As you can see, the flight feathers are waterproof and any fluid will just run off. It takes time and practice.

How much water--as much as you like.

How much Aloe---2x a week is plenty unless your bird has a skin problem. Then 3x to 4x a week is good. As time goes on, your bird will accept any squirting but squirting from far away really doesn't accomplish much so use the close up method.

[Tweedle]

Many thanks

[Cheshire Cat]

I need to use aloe vera juice with Tui and I'd been told to put five parts water, one part aloe vera. I didn't realise you could put 100% juice straight onto the bird. Thank you for the post, Dave! Very informative.

[CocoaRocks]

i would like to know how much aloe juice would you use for a misting after a bath. How do you store the remaining aloe juice?

[rick6477]

i give daily showers but doesn't really seem to get completely soaked so i'm gonna try thr aloe vera juice 2 questions though.How often should i do this? and whats the best way to introduce a spray bottle to him?

[Dave007]

Just about every grey that bathes won't get fully soaked unless that bird decides to open and spread it's wings so that water gets to the underneath skin. Any fluid on the wings just rolls off because those feathers are waterproof. If that underneath skin in a bath doesn't work or happen, a little help is necessary. Usually, a sprayer is used. Aloe juice does absolutely nothing on waterproof feathers. You can keep an empty sprayer around the bird for a few days so that he/she sees it. Leave the bottle alone. After a while you'll take the bottle, fill it and try out different ways of spraying. That doesn't mean he/she will like it. Many birds never get used to a sprayer but it's something that has to be done periodically and a person shouldn't be afraid of all the squawking and growling the make the may make. It's actually harder on the person instead of the bird. So, here's the thread to the aloe juice and how to use it.

 

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?189967-100-natural-aloe-vera-juice

Edited January 2, 2011 by Dave007

[dubaighost]

Dave,

 

Saw this one in a local supermarket. Do you think this is ok?

 

http://dynamichealth.com/dh/avj.asp

[Dave007]

Dave,

 

Saw this one in a local supermarket. Do you think this is ok?

 

http://dynamichealth.com/dh/avj.asp

 

I'm really not sure. I looked and it says that it has additives in it. Also, it says nothing about it being 100% pure. From what I can see, those items in the pic are used by people for internal problems . The other item that they advertise is a gel that comes from the aloe Vera plant. That's something you wanna avoid right now. The item I'm talking about does the exact same thing. A person who uses aloe juice on a bird usually has a large container of it at hand. Those items in the pic seem like little bottles of liquid and I have no idea about the price.

If you do get it, you should choose the unflavored one.I enclosed a pic of aloe vera juice and aloe vera gel. The gel is used like a first aid cream. Tiny dabs here and there. The juice is sprayed all over the bird's body so before you buy it, look at this pic and the type it is and go to a pharmacy and see if they can order it for you in a large size. The juice on the left is 1 gallon, can be bought from Walmart or other pharmacies. The 1 gallon jug in the picture costs $9

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/DaveVP/CopyofBothtypesofaloevera.jpg

[Shelly Yokum]

Dave, once again you have been a huge help. I am so glad to know these things for my baby on the way. Thank you so much

[Guest]

Is it normal for Angel to shake likes she's freezing after spraying or bathing? I always feel like she's freezing when I'm done and turn the heat up for her. Yesterday I had it up to 85 degrees after her bath and she was still shivering? Could I be harming her? I'm afraid I'm going to make her sick.

[Dave007]

Greys will shake for different reasons besides bathing. It's usually a sign of nervousness or temporary fear or a disproval of what's going on. Raising the temp that high could hurt your bird plus it doesn't dry them off any quicker. The bird should be left wet in order to preen the wet feathers. Eventually, the bird's feathers dry off. The only thing you need to do is make sure that the bird isn't around any drafts whether they be warm or cold drafts. Lots of birds shiver. Sometimes they shiver when a new toy or bowl or lots of other changes are introduced. Some shiver when they're around new people.

Edited March 21, 2011 by Dave007

[Guest]

Thanks for the information. She isn't real fond of bath time so that's probably it and not being cold like I thought.

[Zoom]

I went shopping for aloe vera juice and gel today. Found the juice, no problem, at Walmart. But I couldn't find 100% pure gel at any of the stores I went to (mostly natural food stores). I found 98% and 99%, but not 100%. They had other ingredients - mostly preservatives, I think. Would that be okay, or should I keep looking?

 

Also, I was looking for red palm oil, but couldn't find any. Where would I be likely to find it? Thanks.

[Dave007]

The 99% walmart jug is fine. That's what's always used.