HUMIDITY--IMPORTANT TO YOUR GREY"S HEALTH

[danmcq]

During this Winter season, I noticed my Grey and Conure becoming more and more raggedy looking Feather wise. Their Feathers were starting to appear dull, dusty and frayed from molting and preening.

 

Although normal misting with Aloe Juice was still taking place at least one to two times a week. Also, Red Palm Oil being included in their foods. It just wasn't enough. The birds were scratching more and more and I could visibly see the "Dust Particles" fly off when they would shake and fluff after preening.

 

So, I started checking out the Humidity level inside my home. Obviously with the heater running, I knew it had to be low. Which, after purchasing a Digital Temperature/Hygrometer. I found the Relative Humidity level to be hanging around 10% to 12 % which is very dry for a Parrot.

 

Considering the tropics and sub tropics where the majority of parrot species are found. Such as the Amazon and African Congo regions with the average relative humidity running 50% or higher year round and often with extended periods in the 80% to 90% RH range.

 

It is not surprising that periods of lower humidity can cause problems such as itchy dry skin, increased dust in species which produce it and irritation of the olfactory system. This can also aggravate those who already have related health problems such as birds who pluck and in some cases cause the plucking to start.

 

In our homes we can unknowingly increase the problem by using central heating, fireplaces, radiators etc. which dries the air even further. I would encourage all parrot owners to pick up a cheap hygrometer and check the RH of their house, with particular attention to the bird area.

 

I think most owners would be surprised to see it's reading. From there they can take steps to increase the RH to a more suitable number and should note the differences in their birds condition from before and after the changes in RH (a couple of weeks should be given for changes to happen of course, nothing is instant).

 

Fortunately the solution is simple. Humidifiers can be purchased for a reasonable amount in most home or drug stores sych as Sears,walmart, wlgreens etc . Models range from simple ones with a small tank and an on/off button to larger ones with washable filters, large water tanks and a digital readout humidistat for settings and to turn the machine on and off automatically to keep the RH at a set level.

 

Since purchasing a humidifier (I went for one with a humidistat) I have kept my house at a constant 45% RH or higher. The change in my birds has been quick and obvious. They are not scratching or sneezing as much, their feet which were getting slightly flaky are smoother and their feathers in better much better condition, both in appearance and to the touch.

 

My African Grey is significantly less dusty and is spending less time aggressively preening. As keeping the humidity constant was the only change made during this time, I feel that these improvements in condition are as a result of maintaining a minimum RH of 45%.

 

I hope this helps others who may be noticing those tell tale signs of their much loved parrots needing a more humid environment.

 

Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2009/02/22 16:02<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/02/22 22:00

[Talon]

thank you Dan, I have been concerned about the humidity in my house. It is a cold, dry winter, and I have noticed lots of preening, and dust from them. What is holding me back from purchasing a humidifier, is that my house has an open floor plan, and I'm not sure what to buy, and if being so open, it would help. I'd be interested to see what you purchased, and any advise you have.

I need to do something, I know they are bothered by the dryness.

[sugarbeth]

I totally agree! I don't have grey yet, but our house is so dry that I have to take claritin to deal with the itching. And I can't even imagine how uncomfortable a humid-dwelling bird would be. I have a friends husband who works in HVAC coming by next week to talk about adding a steam humidifier to our furnace. Hopefully we'll have it installed in the next month or so.

[PrettyPax]

Thanks for posting this, Danmcq. I have yet to get a humidifier , but it will be my top priority when I get paid next week. We live in Wisconsin where it is currently really cold and of course there is plenty of snow. I've noticed that Pax has been taking several months to complete her molt, her feet are rough, she's been sneezing a lot, and her skin has been flaking. The best I can do at present is to leave her in the bathroom with the shower running so that she can get her dose of humidity.

Your suggestion to get a hydrostat is also an excellent one. Damn, I'm so sick of this weather! I can't wait until spring!

[she]

Thanks Dan.As you say our houses are way too dry for for the optimum care and condition of greys.

[danmcq]

Penny - There are different options in getting your entire house to a constant humdity or just the rooms your greys spend most their time in.

 

My house is also fairly open. I placed the Hunidifier in the room the birds are in. Therefore it is maintained at the 45% setting constantly.

 

The rest of the house also increases in humdity, but is decreased as the rooms get further away. The farthest room away reads 30% RH while the birdroom is 45%.

 

If you wished to maintain all rooms at the same RH, you would simply purchase smaller Humidifiers, say 3 and place them strategically in your house to maintain a constant RH.

 

The unit I purchased is a Kenmore 8 Gallon per Hour Humdifier.

 

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_03215408000P?vName=Appliances&cName=AirPurifiers&Dehumidifiers&sName=Humidifiers&psid=FROOGLE01&sid=IDx20070921x00003a

 

It is easy to set up, fill etc. and is very accurate from comparing it's lcd display to my digital Temperature/Hygrometer readings.

 

It is also has 3 speeds with an automatic mode that adjusts to them needed amount of airflow to get the room upto the set level.<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2009/02/21 20:56

[sugarbeth]

Dan, how often do you find that you need to fill it? Is that one pretty easy to clean? I was checking out that model when I was considering a portable one.

[danmcq]

Hi Beth,

 

The first time I ran it, I had to refill it completely within 24 hours.

 

Since then, It uses one removable tank full a day approximately. It has a reservoir that when you first fill the thank, it empties completely filling the reservoir, then fill it again and your good to go.

 

It is very simple to clean because the fillable tank and the motor assembly both lift off easily. The wick/filter needs to be replaced approximately once a month, depending on how much it is used and it displays a message automatically every 720 hours of cumulative running time on the fan so you know to check the wick/filer.

 

I also use a bactericide in the water to ensure no mold or bacteria build-up has any chance of beginning.

[Talon]

So it's not hard to keep clean? I find the hard water stains are hard on it....NO? :huh:

[danmcq]

The hard water stains are not a problem if you clean it regularly, once a month as described in the manual. It suggests using a vinegar solution needed for hard water areas, then after rinsing it, a bleach solution. This is recommended once a month.

 

Using a bactericide in each tank full also keeps the tanks and the filter cleaner as well.

[Talon]

Thanks Dave, I guess I better get on it then. My birds HATE baths, so I am ashamed to say, they don't get them regularly...I'm hoping to change that. In fact I started today with the parakeets, next the dreaded chasing them around their cage greys!! :woohoo: :evil: :evil:

[Talon]

I remember Dave telling us to use organic grapefruit seed extract in the water for humidifiers. It helps with the bacteria I believe....:huh:

[danmcq]

Talon wrote:

Thanks Dave, I guess I better get on it then.

 

??? ;-) :-) Thats actually a compliment!! :woohoo:

 

Yes, Dave did mention that. The reason I chose to go with the chemicals I mentioned, was because the manual specifically stated to use a certain Bactericide or the filter could become clogged and/or not function properly.

 

I just like to follow the manufacturers instructions due to the engineers that design things normal "Spec Out" the correct items to use for maintenance and when to perform it.

[Dave007]

If you don't mind me adding my 2 cents inI have 3 humidifiers and I got 1 from Rite Aid and2 from CVS. They're 2 gallon humifiers and the ones I bought have the ability to not only take just plain water but they also have a feature that allows a person to put a liquid VICKS concentrate in the water. That would mainly be used for a person who needs a humid breathing appiance when they're sleeping. It's not for birds but I just thought I'd mention it. I use humidifiers in my breeding room downstairs all the time. The other birds also benefit from plain humifiers. . Lots of people use that Vicks concentrate for their kids. The ones I bought were $49 each because of the Ability to use Vicks. There's others that are cheaper that don't have that feature. Just a little add on in case anyone is interested.

[Char]

That looks like a nice one. I just got one of those cheaper ones at walmart yesterday. I put it in the bird room an shut the door. I should do that small room nicely. Since she spends all night in there and the daytime while I am at work I am hoping it will help.

 

I got one because Whisper just finished her first molt and it now seems to be starting all over again.

[AAA]

Thank you Dan for this important article, here in Dubai it is very Humid in Summer and the winter is couple of months only and the humidity level goes down but not very badly may be coz we are right on the sea ... but it is always good to know others' experience and share the knowledge.

[rbpittman]

It's a good thing these threads are kept! I didn't realize that the humidity would/could affect the fids. Here in SC there's plenty of humidity, but not in the house, I bought something to measure and fortunately the house is at 45%, of course outside right now it's about 96%

--

Robin

[TinyTimneh]

I had a humidifer running in the room (it's not running right now because I haven't got my DIY air purifier running yet--without one the dust kills the filter inside of a month or so) and it was kept at 55% RH--what a difference!

The birds weren't as dusty or as agitated when they were preening... it wasn't as dusty and we all breathed a lot easier. Now, without it... it's sooo uncomfortable in the house, plus my dad is insistent about his darned air conditioning--so it's not only cold but dry. I wake up in the morning and my nose is literally on fire and it hurts to breathe. The skin on my hands, feet, knees and elbows is especially dry, peeling and cracked. I cannot imagine what it feels like for the birds.... for now the only refuge for me and the fids is a good long hot shower

[babybeaky]

is a humidifier with a warm mist bad?? and i turn it on during the night and off during the day.. is that ok?

[Codys Mom]

I just bought a Honeywell 4 gallon Humidifier, warm mist the one I had last year kept leaking water on me so I threw it out, this Honeywell has a digital read out but it says not to add any kind of water treatment to it,I always used something before like in the one I had last year, this one has filters u have to buy online when the filter gets dried up its time to replace it, it says the filters should last 2 to 3 weeks so should I put some treatment in it? just the treatment for lime and cacium build up?thats the only thing I put in it , I usually don't start running mine until October depending on the weather here in Michigan

[Dave007]

That's really a question that should be answered by the manufacturer or the store you bought it in. You may find that by not following their directions, your warranty may be voided.

Look it up on the PC

--type in the brand name, model # and you could possibly get the info you're looking for concerning any treatments yo may wanna use.

[Joolesgreyuk]

This is a very important thread, so much so that it has made me purchase a humidifier from ebay to take me through the winter months. I will probably only use it in winter and when the heating is on (twice daily) as during the summer it is reasonably humid here, we are on the coast and the windows are usually open.

 

I was very surprised by how cheap humidifiers are to buy as I thought they'd be expensive and beyond my means. This is the one I've bought:

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Alaskan-Portable-Ultrasonic-Humidifier-HUM-35-45-A_W0QQitemZ330348044385QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Home_Garden_Hearing_Cooling_Air?hash=item4cea472061&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

 

Thank you Dan for making us all aware of the potential problems of dry air not just to our greys' health but to our own as well. Karma to you.

[lovethatgrey]

Thanks Dan. This article was very appreciated and very valuable to all of our parrots even the NoN african greys. Since purchasing my humidifier I feel that my skin is less dry too. I can only imagine that Emma and Sachi must feel so much more comfortable and they probably breathe better too.

 

Here's a link regarding the humidifier that I purchased for those who are thinking of purchasing one. I am very pleased with it.

 

http://www.germguardian.com/H2000-Ultrasonic-Humidifier-Details.html<br><br>Post edited by: lovethatgrey, at: 2009/12/16 02:34

[Lena]

This is important tread, I just purchase humidifier ultrasonic Sunbeam and I feel that my bird likes it too.

This humidifier on amazon.com $129.99

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002RCO0KA/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00075M1ZK&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=05F57N3FCET8W5AZWRSC

don’t buy there, I bought in Wal-Mart and I paid just $50, if you want to buy go to Wal-mart they have a lot humidifiers (not in pharmacy section… in section where all heaters, because in pharmacy they have only 3-4 kinds)

I’m pleased with this humidifier, it works perfect, no sound at all, no filters needed and it cleans the air.

I made picture for you to see , and also I want to ask about: is my humidifier too close to my bird? It seems like my bird likes the steam, she moves where the steam are, but it may be too close to my bird?

[tarm]

I wanted to add to this that IMO you should only be using the Vaporizer steam producing humidifiers. The cool mist / ultra sonic/ cool humidifiers that do not use heat to produce steam but instead use a misting spray action are the ideal breading grounds for mold and bacteria and fungus and are the ideal transporters of them to you and your birds. They act very much like a nebulizer basically taking any and all chemicals particles spores bacteria etc that may be in that water etc and making them and inhalant that allows it directly into your birds lungs. No matter how careful you are about cleaning you have many times greater risk using these cool mist type humidifiers. With the hot water steam types you are only getting distilled sterilized water vapor. Steam humidifiers are the only ones recommended for use with infants because of this and their less developed immune systems.

Its a shame this is the way they are as the cool mist ones are nice in they create far great amounts and are much easier to precisely control that heated steam ones. Likely use less power to. They look cool to and make you feel like they are doing a great job with their impressive spray of visible mist. But the dangers IMO are just not worth it if just one time you end up causing your bird to inhale dangerous fungal or bacterial spores into their lungs. Now the fan type cool water humidifiers are not as bad apparently as they use evaporation to humidify the air. They are not like these cool misting ones which are in effect turning the water into a super fine spray that has the water particle size of misting spraying super fine rain along with anything in the water small enough to stay trapped in the small water droplets. The heater and fan driven evaporator types do not have this danger. The safest being the steam heated version as it is sterilizing any water that is turned into steam. The other issue is the heated types tend to raise the temp int eh immediate area thus allowing a higher humidity content to be held in the surrounding air. With cool mist types much of the water ends up stuck and adhering to objects and the floor in the room thus creating even more issues. Where as with heated steam more will tend to stay trapped in the air thus keeping the actual air humidity higher.

Edited August 1, 2010 by tarm