dusty parrot

[tonnaparrots]

hi my african grey seems really dusty she won,t go in bath or shower have been spraying her but do i need to kno do i do this everyday would appreciate any advice.

[Eckobird]

Yes I would spray her everyday if she is really dusty. Do you have any Aloe Vera Juice? This also helps. You can buy it at Walmart for $9 a gallon, its really good for their dry and itchy skin.

[Azzie]

A follow on question from that. Cleo is dusty too, and won't shower or bathe. She detests being lightly misted with a spray bottle as well, and tries to run away in her cage. I've tried warm and cold water with the same result.

 

Do I just persist in what I see as terrorising Cleo with the water bottle in the hope she will accept it? How important IS bathing/spraying for greys? I understand they produce a powder they use to preen and don't produce a lot of oil for conditioning the feathers.

 

I'm rather stumped on this and I would really appreciate some advice. It's never been a problem with my 'keets, they just plonk themselves in the kitchen sink when I fill it with cold water.

 

Thanks guys!

[danmcq]

You should mist your Grey with 100% Aloe Juice atleast 2x a week.

 

This should be done until they are completely soaked and dripping wet on the breast and underbelly, back, tail and try to shoot a stream in between the front wing and chest.

 

They do hate it, but you must just do it anyway as they climb around the cage trying to avoid it.

 

The dust is created from their skin, they do have a preen gland that supplies the Oil they use to preen their feathers.

 

When it's warm and sunny, I roll my Parrots cages outside and spray a mist in the air using the hose with a nozzle attached which soaks the Parrots and their cages, then blast the cage clean with a high pressure stream of water.

 

They get this 2x a week during warm months.

[LindaMary]

I think so much of what our parrots are willing to do depends on presentation.

 

Neither of my birds was initially willing to go into a shower. I bought a shower perch, and started out by putting Max on the perch (outside the water stream) while I was showering. I didn't try to get her wet the first few times, but I let her watch me shower and made a big fuss of how much fun I was having: gargled the water, made excited noises, etc. (The moisture in the air was good for her anyway, even if she didn't get wet.) I think I only did this routine three times before she was willing to step up and let me run her under the (cooler!) stream of water, sitting on my hand. I would always give her a count of three first, as in "one..two..three... wheeeeee!" as I ran my hand and her under the water. She held on like an eagle at first, but she has now relaxed and apparently learned that it is not the end of the world, and actually feels good. By contrast, she STILL hates it and squawks and tries to bite me when I mist her (whether with water or with aloe). I think the difference is that when I am misting her, it's ME doing something to HER, whereas when we are in the shower together, it's more like we are playing together. It doesn't infringe on her dignity as much.

 

Give it a try!

[Dave007]

Although I agree with the statements concerning the aloe juice, I feel that it's still important that a bird should be bathed with water first. If a bird is afraid or dislikes water, he/she will feel the same way about aloe juice. Water as well as aloe will not clean a bird if it's not used properly. All fluid will simply run off a grey's waterproof feathers if applied only there. Using aloe juice on a bird who hasn't been properly cleaned and washed with water first will not benefit from any fluid. Aloe isn't meant to clean a bird. The prime reason is to work on the skin where the feathers come from.. Neither aloe or water will slow a bird's production of dander which is frequently referred to as dust. All greys and cockatoos produce this dander with the cockatoo producing the most.

A while back I wrote an article about Aloe juice and no where in that article did I mention the use of aloe as a substitute for water as far as bathing goes. As far as importance, I never said that it would benefit a bird's flight or tail feathers. I simply said that the use of aloe on the feathers that weren't waterproof would benefit the skin of a bird as far as making that skin softer, less dry and less itchy. Aloe will also run off of a birds outer waterproof flight and tail feathers. Using aloe on a bird who is full of dander with dry skin is the same as a person using hair conditioner without first shampooing their hair.

It's the act of misting or bathing with any fluid which the bird fears or dislikes, not what's in the mister. If any person needs to learn how to bathe their bird, it should water that's first used.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/04/08 18:59

[Tycos_mom]

i totally agree with Dave i don't use aloe on my berds at all just pure spring water it works great

[danmcq]

I use both water and Aloe. First I get my Grey drenched, then spray thoroughly with Aloe.

 

One thing I do know, is there is a HUGE difference between using just water and no Aloe. The Aloe makes the Skin it reaches much more supple. You can feel it when giving head/neck scratches.

 

Also, I have noticed when only water is used, the dander comes back much faster and in larger quantities.

[Azzie]

Thank you all for the advice! A shower with Cleo sounds like an awesome idea, especially if it's made into a game as suggested. Once we have that down pat I'll go on a hunt for Aloe juice. Thanks again!!!