Susannah Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 i am a fairly new owner of a rescued african grey. i have had him for about a month and slowly we've built trust and affection between us. i have been waiting for the right time to give him his first bath with a spray bottle, which is what the last owners used. i bought an aloe vera formula to help with his feather plucking. last night i sprayed him and this morning he is still wet!! his feather plucking is worse than ever (now it's little black feathers from his wings, not just the white downy stuff) and he is still pissed off at me. i am terrified that i've set our relationship back and, worse, that he will never dry!! he looks horrible and he wouldn't eat his favorite food this morning. i'm keeping the room warm for him - i don't know what else to do. i feel terrible about this and need your advice. please! thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 (edited) Ok, deep breath. Seriously, you'll only upset your fid further if he sees you're that freaked out. No, he definitely shouldn't still be wet. Are you sure he didn't take a bath in his water dish when you weren't looking? If you really don't think that's the case, then I'd question what was in the "aloe vera formula" you used. Is he wet or sticky? The first thing I can think to do is to spray him w/clean water until you're sure he's fully rinsed off. Sorry, I know that you're afraid that you'll run the risk of further upsetting him, but you can't leave the stuff on him if it's that bad. Second, my grey is molting right now & he's molting white down as well as small black feathers. So maybe this isn't as scary as it looks, but just coincidentally the right time of the year. Clean him off as gently as he'll let you if you're certain he didn't take another bath on his own. Then coddle the heck out of him. Apologize often. Feed him the best treats you can find & see if you can "jolly" him out of this. Above all, try to stay calm so your stress doesn't add to his. Then let us know how he's doing afterwards. Maybe the members can suggest something less traumatic for his next bath. Edited October 27, 2011 by birdhouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Bird house has good advice, perhaps a trip to the shower is in order for your soggy friend. Then a treat and some personal time together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susannah Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 thanks to both of you... the thing is, we're not at the point where he comes out of the cage to be with me - no stepping up or any of that. i'm just at the point where i can pet him while he's in the cage. i guess i could wet him somehow when he's in there, but he will hate me for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 He will forgive you eventually he does need to get that stuff off him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munch Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I know everyone says to use 100% aloe vera juice, but like you we did not have a good experience. Took, our CAG, plucked at her feathers for two days after using it. I then showered her off with regular water and although she hates it and gets mad at me right afterwards, she doesn't pluck or pull off her feathers with water. We tried twice with aloe and had the same reaction both times so now we just do a regular shower. She hates it, she screams, she "bites," she tries to fly away....but she gets over it (eventually) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susannah Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 thanks for that... i sprayed it on myself afterward and tasted it - it was almost numbing, as if it had benzocaine in it! today i sprayed him with plain water to dilute the aloe from yesterday, which seemed to have stained his feathers. i hated doing this to him again since he hates it - but i did it anyway and then to really upset him, covered him with a towel and got him out of the cage to let the towel dry him. he screamed a lot (so awful) but eventually i got him on my lap, all bundled up in the towel and we just sat there. then he was on my arm (a first) and we sat there like that for a while. then SLOWLY i got him back into his cage and he seems okay. i hope that dark staining goes away. he already looks pretty bad with all the plucking. i guess he'll survive. but this was nerve wracking for me!!! g-dm that aloe spray!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 This is a picture of the type of aloe vera juice we use. It is meant for human consumption and doesn't leave a numbing. I am sorry you had this experience. Bathing isn't their favorite experience and I have a stress plucker too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 (edited) We use Georges Aloe Vera Juice it has no additives and has been filtered down to look and act like water-no staining, no sticky feathers no problems. Since 1979 100% Fractionally Distilled From Aloe Vera Leaves No Preservatives Long Shelf Life Pleasant Taste Satisfaction Guaranteed 100% "Always Active" Aloe Vera Liquid Tastes Like Spring Water. Requires no refrigeration or special handling. Contains no preservatives or… more » Edited October 27, 2011 by Greywings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susannah Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 that's great - thanks to each of you for the aloe ideas. i'm a bit traumatized by this and will probably stick to water. i'm hoping he'll eventually bathe himself if i leave out a dish of water. he seems better in terms of his feathers... but he still hates me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I have three parrots and I spray them with Aloe Vera juice and water all the time. They love it. I use a spray bottle I got from the beauty shop/hair dresser which has a fine mist. I spray my birdies with an upward spray never directly in the face (unless they put their face in the way which my CAG loves to do). My birds are never sticky and they enjoy the bathes and have no problem drying off. So I am confused with him still remaining wet. My CAG loves to put the nozzle in his beak and drink the aloe vera. I hope you can work out a compromise with your grey so bathing can become a pleasant experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I am glad he is doing better. I don't take bathing lightly, mine is also quite ticked when he gets bathed and we are still new to each other in the past six months. He quit speaking and kept his back to me for a week the first time. He still runs around screaming and carrying on when he gets lightly spritzed but he really needs it to keep the new feathers coming in from being too prickly. He seems to do a little better every time and he gets over it a little quicker each time. I didn't have the experience you did with the dark wet feathers the next day though. In an hour or two Gilbert is dry, his skin is soft and he doesn't have as much dust. I think it is taking him time to realize baths are a good thing. Well, not yet a good thing, but at least not so much of a gawd awful thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bran Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 This is a picture of the type of aloe vera juice we use. It is meant for human consumption and doesn't leave a numbing. I am sorry you had this experience. Bathing isn't their favorite experience and I have a stress plucker too. I use the same brand! I dilute it 2/3 juice and 1/3 distilled H20 and spray it on their undercarriage after I pull them out of the shower.... seems to work great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 I'm hoping he'll eventually bathe himself if i leave out a dish of water. he seems better in terms of his feathers... but he still hates me. Most greys hate baths even when everything goes according to plan. That's very different from hating you, honest. Toweling can certainly add to it. Although it won't if it's done the right way. They aren't usually any more cooperative about voluntarily bathing in a dish, either. But it can happen. Keep experimenting w/different things & just don't give up. Eventually the adrenaline rush from this will fade for both of you & you'll work it out. It might be helpful for others to know exactly what it was that you were using. Now that the dust has settled, would you mind posting it so we can know to avoid using it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffNOK Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 I know you think he "hates" you after this experience, but don't lose heart. I'm sure he sees you as his world and he will get over it.Greys are very empathetic and deep down he knows you love him to bits and in the long run I'm sure that will make all the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoom Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Is it possible you used Aloe Vera Gel instead of juice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama CJ Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Something else someone may have suggested but I missed is give the bath in the morning or early afternoon so he is dry before he goes to bed. I usually give mine a shower just before I clean the cage in the morning so they can drip a bit before I change the paper. Good luck! By the way, I get the cold shoulder or death stare after I shower them too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 <quote>but eventually i got him on my lap, all bundled up in the towel and we just sat there. then he was on my arm (a first) and we sat there like that for a while. </quote> Nawwwws, that sounds so sweet -isallgoey- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 We use Georges Aloe Vera Juice it has no additives and has been filtered down to look and act like water-no staining, no sticky feathers no problems.Since 1979 100% Fractionally Distilled From Aloe Vera Leaves No Preservatives Long Shelf Life Pleasant Taste Satisfaction Guaranteed 100% "Always Active" Aloe Vera Liquid Tastes Like Spring Water. Requires no refrigeration or special handling. Contains no preservatives or… more » Sounds like homeopathic aloe. <grin> Does it actually give you different results as compared to water alone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsjr Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 any updates susannah? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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