Question about aloe spray I bought.

[Breezy2013]

I have heard many great things about spraying your grey with aloe spray so I bought some. The brand I got is AviVera by Avitec. My question for you guys is this. It says to spray them with water two to three minutes after spraying with the aloe spray, should I do this or leave it on him a little longer or should I possibly just leave the spray on him? Thanks in advance to anyone who reads this and responds.

P.S. I should mention he is not plucking at all. I got it more because I thought he would like it and so far he does seem to like being sprayed with it very much.

Edited February 21, 2014 by Breezy2013

[Dave007]

I have heard many great things about spraying your grey with aloe spray so I bought some. The brand I got is AviVera by Avitec. My question for you guys is this. It says to spray them with water two to three minutes after spraying with the aloe spray, should I do this or leave it on him a little longer or should I possibly just leave the spray on him? Thanks in advance to anyone who reads this and responds.

P.S. I should mention he is not plucking at all. I got it more because I thought he would like it and so far he does seem to like being sprayed with it very much.

 

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

 

If this link isn't live, just look at the stickys in this health room. You'll see everything about aloe juice. I'll add that the juice can be put on with or without bathing the bird first. Most people just use the juice with or without bathing. The article I wrote has the same thing that you heard about but it isn't necessary. The most important thing to remember is about getting the actual skin wet. Juice is useless on wing and tail and other feathers that are waterproof. Any liquid just rolls off their waterproof feathers. It doesn't matter what fluid you use. Also, never dry off the bird after using sprays or water or juice. Let your bird stay soaked. Keep your bird away from drafty areas. The longer the fluid is on the skin the better it works. Next time you buy aloe juice, just go to any pharmacy or wallmart or other large supermarket that has a pharmacy area to get it.-----1 gal---$10.

Edited February 21, 2014 by Dave007

[Breezy2013]

Thanks, Dave! That sounds great that I can get a huge bottle of it at the pharmacy. Next time I get my blood pressure meds I will ask about buying that. He was nice and soaked by the time he decided he had enough and moved away from the spray. He was flapping his wings like crazy so I got those nice and soaked underneath, too. He seems to love getting sprayed and he seems to want me to give him a bath every day.

[Habbeshaw]

In the wild, do parrots spray themselves with Aloe? I think not, it gums up the feather follicles and makes the dander stick more to their feathers. (my avian vet is a naturalist/holistic vet) and he agrees. The key is to just shower and /or mist 3-4 times a week or get a humidifier if you live in a arid environment. I try to treat my parrots and their environment as close to nature as possible since they are in captivity as our loved ones does not mean when should spray them down with all kinds of concoctions and pack them full of processed foods(pellets,vitamins coated seeds and all) . It is just my opinion and I know alot of people can disagree. I am just a nature freak! And try to make them as comfortable as possible!

[Talon]

I mix my sprays..1/3 aloe to 2/3 water.

 

 

Our parrots are not living in a natural environment where they have access to mud, rain water, sand, dust, and climate temps that are not controlled like our house. They do fine in their own natural environment, but need us to help them so their skin doesn't dry out and possibly cause them to be itchy which can lead to plucking. Just like if we live in a very warm climate, we have no need for moisturizers on our skin, but those of us that live in colder climates..it is a must have or we have skin problems. Just food for thought..

[Habbeshaw]

Do what you feel is right,he's your Loved One!

[Habbeshaw]

The best spray for our birds is WATER, just plain water. Why?

 

 

FIRST:Because the special sprays advertised that will make your bird's

feathers "shiny, bright" and so on, have chemicals in them and/or oils.

 

Now, our birds do not need manufactured oils or even natural plant oils

(aloe vera) on their feathers. These kinds of additives can cause

feather chewing and feather pulling as the birds try to get rid of that

unnatural coating.

 

SECOND: Because IF you manage to use the spray in such a way that the bird

BREATHES IN some of that spray, the oils (including the oils in aloe vera

sprays) will COAT the lungs and put the bird into respiratory distress,

possibly even causing its death.

 

One of my clients was following advice on one of the well

known eclectus yahoo lists, advice recommending the use of aloe vera

sprays, and she sprayed her beautiful healthy vosmaeri eclectus male. He

went into respiratory distress when he breathed in so much of the spray,

which contains tiny aloe vera oil droplets. The aloe vera oil droplets coated his

lungs and air sacs. He became immobile, lethargic, started

chewing on his feathers. He almost died. It took weeks to bring him back

to almost normal.

 

There is no way to remove that oil from the lungs! A

healthy bird now had his health forever compromised from the aloe vera

spray.

 

Bottom line: Stick with plain water to spray your bird!

Anyone who recommends anything else is NOT knowledgeable and is simply

following some nonsense advice on some internet group or website. Stay

with natural stuff and your bird will be safer. You may cross post this

message.

Dr.Clinton Weiss, DVM

[Talon]

I don't believe that the Aloe Juice that moist of us use has oils in it. IT is a drinkable juice for humans...

 

 

Just to clarify, it isn't for the feathers, but the underlying skin.

 

 

 

 

http://www.gnc.com/graphics/product_images/pGNC1-4465864_gnclabel_pdf.pdf

Edited March 27, 2014 by Talon

[Habbeshaw]

To get to the skin, one must go through feathers,correct? A juice for human consumption sprayed onto a birds body? Plants(aloe) it,s the plants oil that us humans lubricate our dry skin with!. I am not trying to have a debate with you as to the pro's and con's of aloe spray on our feathered loved ones,just my feelings on the subject as my sister is the one who's Eclectus almost died from her spraying the poor bird with aloe spray and letting people know both sides of the coin! Feel free to do as you wish and I pray your birds have a long and happy life!

[Talon]

I am so sorry about your sisters Eclectus. That's horrible! I would certainly air on the side of caution. FYI: I don't spray my greys, they become so frantic, even with a mister, that they thrash around so much, it sometimes causes blood tears, and I won't torment them in that way. I allow them to bathe in their water dishes as THEY please. It is only recently that I have started the aloe juice for my amazon who LOVES to get drenched down to her skin. But I am certainly grateful for all your advice you have given. I will certainly take under consideration. I am a true believer on better safe than sorry when it comes to my birds and pets!

[Habbeshaw]

"There are other commercial applications for anthraquinone in addition to producing dyes. For example, it is used as a catalyst in the production of wood pulp and paper. A derivative called 2-ethylanthraquinone is used to manufacture hydrogen peroxide. Anthraquinone has a long history of use as a bird repellent and is used to deter the presence of geese in particular. This action may be due to the laxative properties that the compound possesses when introduced as treated birdseed or grass. In fact, its presence is what lends laxative qualities to several well-known herbs used to treat constipation, such as senna pods, aloe, rhubarb, buckthorn and cascara sagrada".

Since you sent me what type aloe juice you use,I copied info on the ingredient they say is less than 5% Anthraquinone. used to repel bIRDS, even at small doses, I would not what to spray repellant onto my bird! "What goes onto the skin,enters the body"

[Greywings]

This Aloe vera juice looks & flows like water is never gummy and helped numerous Parrots feel more comfortable and less itchy. Pure water is a marvelous thing and it is a valuable commodity necessary to life as we know it and it is a good thing to mist or bathe our birds with-no argument there. Some birds need the little extra relief that the Aloe vera can bring and we must each research and use out best judgement along with our Avian Veterinarians advice. I choose to use the Aloe as it has made a difference for my birds and has made birds who arrived looking stained with smoke all clean and shiny again, after trying the plain pure water first with poor results I then used the Aloe vera juice and had a clean bird after 2 treatments. We can all agree the smoke covered bird was at greater risk just self grooming all that cigarette tar and nicotine off his feathers than trying the Aloe juice.

I use Georges Aloe vera it is free of George's Anthraquinone oz - Fractionally Distilled Liquid from ... Preservatives or Additives Anthraquinone Free No Refrigeration Necessary. George's Always Active® Aloe Vera -- 64 fl oz - Fractionally Distilled Liquid from ... Preservatives or

Edited March 27, 2014 by Greywings

[Habbeshaw]

There are other commercial applications for anthraquinone in addition to producing dyes. For example, it is used as a catalyst in the production of wood pulp and paper. A derivative called 2-ethylanthraquinone is used to manufacture hydrogen peroxide. Anthraquinone has a long history of use as a bird repellent and is used to deter the presence of geese in particular. This action may be due to the laxative properties that the compound possesses when introduced as treated birdseed or grass. In fact, its presence is what lends laxative qualities to several well-known herbs used to treat constipation, such as senna pods, aloe, rhubarb, buckthorn and cascara sagrada.

When I looked at the ingredients of the aloe juice you some use, it states that it is only 5% Anthraquinone, Interesting that is what is used as a BIRD repellent!(see above extract from article)

[Habbeshaw]

Glad it works and gets the birds happy, also glad that yours does not have anthraquinone in it like the others does! Best of happiness for you both!

[danmcq]

I use 100% Aloe Juice on my Grey and have for 7 years. The import thing to note about the distilled juice is

during processing anthraquinones, aloin, alo emodin are filtered out to less than 1 part per million.

 

Many Greys in captivity have preen glands that are either non-functional or not functioning at the level they do in the wild. That gland does two things with the oil it secretes 1) Feather are preened with it and it coats the feather and over time that oil also works it's way to the body an keeps the skin supple and lessens dander. 2) When the Grey preens and has received sunshine that oil develops precursors to Vitamin D and that is how they receive it into their blood streams.

 

With this said, bathing with just water dries the skin even more than it was. Thus the need to use Aloe Juice to moisten and keep the skin more supple. If I run out of Aloe and use just water, in a week or so he is a dust ball every time he preens and shakes the dander loose.

 

These are of course my thoughts, but I strongly encourage all Greys owners to use 100% Aloe Juice on their Greys.

 

Thanks to Dave007 for introducing this to us several years ago as a Grey breeder with decades of experience raising them. It has stopped many a plucker.

[Dave007]

Boy oh boy, for a person who doesn't wanna have any debates concerning the subject of aloe, you're really bringing up subjects that are highly debatable and the last person you wanna debate with concerning the subject of aloe is me. I'm the one that brought the subject to this board a long time ago concerning the use of aloe vera juice and aloe vera gel and I broke my backside in order to get this proven info. ANd I used my own birds first. They were the guinea pigs. As many will attest to, loads and loads and loads of people had many problems solved and there's never been a case of bird death or serious maiming of ANY species of bird that's been reported both on this board and other bird boards. I included the different methods of using them, where to buy them, when to use them and it also had photos of the products which stated that the products were 100% pure. Just because you have some holistic MD that tells you the items are bad doesn't mean it's true. Years ago, I can remember holistic MDs saying to many of their patients (people) that St. Johns Wart was the greatest product since the invention of the light bulb UNTIL loads and loads of MDs and people found out that it was toxic and caused very serious health problems but before I start getting into a debate with you, just read this link, and have your holistic MD read this link and tell your hjolistic MD to search around and see what other holistic MDS have to say concerning the products. Concerning your sister's ekkie,did you ever consider thst it wasn't used properly or maybe some other type of aloe product was used or was a large unnecessary amount used.

 

 

One other side note===in case you don't know it, any fluid, water, aloe etc that's simply sprayed on a bird will instantly roll off those feathers without affecting any of the feather structure or thickness or disability. The only thing that WILL happen is that any dust ( dander) will immediately be removed from those outer feathers which are the wing, tail, covert feathers which cover about 75 to 80% of the bird's body. All of thse feathers are water/fluid proof.You say that the greys and other birds in the wild only bathe in water--do you really know about the other ingredients are in that water? Just because that water looks good, that doesn't mean there's no other ingredients in it.

 

 

AND one other thing=======gastroenterologists have been prescribing 100% Aloe vera juice for years to their patients who have digestive and liver problems.

 

 

http://www.landofvos.com/articles/wingtips/aloe.html

 

 

The person above is well know for her ekkies

Edited March 29, 2014 by Dave007

[ShaneO]

Boy oh boy, for a person who doesn't wanna have any debates concerning the subject of aloe, you're really bringing up subjects that are highly debatable and the last person you wanna debate with concerning the subject of aloe is me. I'm the one that brought the subject to this board a long time ago concerning the use of aloe vera juice and aloe vera gel and I broke my backside in order to get this proven info. ANd I used my own birds first. They were the guinea pigs. As many will attest to, loads and loads and loads of people had many problems solved and there's never been a case of bird death or serious maiming of ANY species of bird that's been reported both on this board and other bird boards. I included the different methods of using them, where to buy them, when to use them and it also had photos of the products which stated that the products were 100% pure. Just because you have some holistic MD that tells you the items are bad doesn't mean it's true. Years ago, I can remember holistic MDs saying to many of their patients (people) that St. Johns Wart was the greatest product since the invention of the light bulb UNTIL loads and loads of MDs and people found out that it was toxic and caused very serious health problems but before I start getting into a debate with you, just read this link, and have your holistic MD read this link and tell your hjolistic MD to search around and see what other holistic MDS have to say concerning the products. Concerning your sister's ekkie,did you ever consider thst it wasn't used properly or maybe some other type of aloe product was used or was a large unnecessary amount used.

 

 

One other side note===in case you don't know it, any fluid, water, aloe etc that's simply sprayed on a bird will instantly roll off those feathers without affecting any of the feather structure or thickness or disability. The only thing that WILL happen is that any dust ( dander) will immediately be removed from those outer feathers which are the wing, tail, covert feathers which cover about 75 to 80% of the bird's body. All of thse feathers are water/fluid proof.You say that the greys and other birds in the wild only bathe in water--do you really know about the other ingredients are in that water? Just because that water looks good, that doesn't mean there's no other ingredients in it.

 

 

AND one other thing=======gynecologists have been prescribing 100% Aloe vera juice for years to their patients who have digestive and liver problems.

 

 

http://www.landofvos.com/articles/wingtips/aloe.html

 

 

The person above is well know for her ekkies

 

When using the aloe spray should mix it with water or just use it straight? I saw that Talon says they mix 1part aloe and 2 parts water. What is recommended?

[Greywings]

I use it with out dilution.

[danmcq]

I use it without dilution as well. First though, I wet Dayo down with water first to remove the dust first, then spray him with pure aloe juice until soaked thoroughly.

[ShaneO]

I use it without dilution as well. First though, I wet Dayo down with water first to remove the dust first, then spray him with pure aloe juice until soaked thoroughly.

 

Ran to Walgreen's on my break. Gave Garcia a good spray down with the straight aloe juice she wasn't the happiest but i got her sopping wet even under the wings. Its nice and hot here today so i took outside with me to stay warm. Now she is giving me the go to hell look, ha ha. Thanks for all the advice!!!!

[Habbeshaw]

Wow Dave, I didn't realize you had a degree in Avian DVM and as a Bio-Chemist also! Glad to see you treat your loved birds as guinea pigs!. So intelligent!. I will also have to ask my friends next time they go to a gynecologist to take their birds along to get a pap smear too!. I will not debate with a biased person, whom thinks he is the Know it All of Birds. A member posted a threat and I responded with my opinion and past experiences and others also, but then if you are so biased to not allow the fifth amendment to voice my side of the story and let the poster hear both sides of the story and then let them make a intelligent self decision, it proves how intelligent you really are! So sad to hear you are so judgemental in you feelings Dr. Dave! Just do not take your breeders to a Gyno to have a "C" section if the eggs don't come out naturally! Oh!, by the way, I do know that in the wild, parrots do not fly to the nearest CVS and by aloe and mix it in their natural rain water!

[Dave007]

Ran to Walgreen's on my break. Gave Garcia a good spray down with the straight aloe juice she wasn't the happiest but i got her sopping wet even under the wings. Its nice and hot here today so i took outside with me to stay warm. Now she is giving me the go to hell look, ha ha. Thanks for all the advice!!!!

 

Many greys don't like being sprayed with anything so not to worry, they never hold grudges and after a while she'll get used to being sprayed. Using undiluted was a very good idea.

[ShaneO]

Wow Dave, I didn't realize you had a degree in Avian DVM and as a Bio-Chemist also! Glad to see you treat your loved birds as guinea pigs!. So intelligent!. I will also have to ask my friends next time they go to a gynecologist to take their birds along to get a pap smear too!. I will not debate with a biased person, whom thinks he is the Know it All of Birds. A member posted a threat and I responded with my opinion and past experiences and others also, but then if you are so biased to not allow the fifth amendment to voice my side of the story and let the poster hear both sides of the story and then let them make a intelligent self decision, it proves how intelligent you really are! So sad to hear you are so judgemental in you feelings Dr. Dave! Just do not take your breeders to a Gyno to have a "C" section if the eggs don't come out naturally! Oh!, by the way, I do know that in the wild, parrots do not fly to the nearest CVS and by aloe and mix it in their natural rain water!

 

If your here to pick fights GO ELSEWHERE, i don't wanna read your whinny baby B.S!!! I've got 3 kids for that. Opinion is opinion but when you keep going its annoying. BTW parrots do frequent their local CVS!!! Source: My CAG was a CSR there........

Edited March 28, 2014 by ShaneO

[danmcq]

I will not debate with a biased person, whom thinks he is the Know it All of Birds. A member posted a threat and I responded with my opinion and past experiences and others also, but then if you are so biased to not allow the fifth amendment to voice my side of the story and let the poster hear both sides of the story and then let them make a intelligent self decision, it proves how intelligent you really are!

 

Ok -

 

#1 - You are biased as well.

#2 - If we did not allow freedom of speech, I would have deleted this post from you.

#3 - Dave is very intelligent and as a Grey Breeder for Decades, he has gained a ton of knowledge about them. He is the one pointing out the need for Red Palm Oil in their diet. Avian Vets and pet food providers have just recently in the last few years started marketing it. Aloe, is important in keeping a human raised and held captive comfortable in their own skin. You will learn over time. Avian vets prescribing sedatives to try and stop plucking make me sick. That is not treatment that stops the root cause.

#4 - You have no idea of what Greys do in the wild 24/7, nor do the people that have followed them in the wild except for short glimpses as they do their daily trek of up to 50 miles.

 

I am exercising my freedom of speech in replying to this Dave bashing you have done.

Edited March 29, 2014 by danmcq