Sprays for Feathers?

[mizzyam]

Hello Everyone!

I just wanted to know if anyone has had any experience with parrot sprays for bathing and prevention of feather plucking? My african grey has a hard time dealing with molts and tends to chew at his feathers, I read somewhere that there are sprays that can help with that but I do worry they might not be safe or might dry out the feathers so I decided to ask on here? Also please do recommend any sprays you know to be safe and can help my grey's feathers or at least have them be more shiny and healthy!

Here are some that I found:

https://www.carrefouruae.com/mafuae...Mzk62YoEx4bS1xBg8pRzbvUAmj4qdq8BoC56YQAvD_BwE

https://www.dubaipetfood.com/shop/b...SFD9NsqBt1NX14KDsVxDcQjD4MmrRwWxoCqKgQAvD_BwE

https://www.desertcart.ae/products/...mIRSmtyC8AC0rFPS23YM_ZyO38DEQYkRoCoYkQAvD_BwE

Thank you in advance!

 

[chris-md]

Hello there and welcome!

Let me put it to you this way, because it sounds like your gut is telling you something smart: your bird has a plucking issue, and the solution is to put a foreign substance on the feathers that can draw even MORE preening attention.

These marketers are good, I’ll give them that.

Skip the sprays. Instead of finding a magical spray, dig into why he’s having a hard time with molting and work from there.

 

[noodles123]

most can make the problem worse. bitter apple sprays usually contain alcohol which makes them unsafe (even though marketed towards birds in pet stores). King's plucking spray seems to work for some but it didn't help when Noodles was barbering hers.
I'd look at diet, sleep, hormones and enrichment.
1. 10-12 hours on a schedule w/ dark/quiet sleep space=very important for regulating health, hormones, immunity, mood etc. Too little sleep can change hormones, and mood (increasing anxiety, biting, screaming, plucking etc)
2. prevent access to shadowy spaces like boxes, huts, snuggle huts, tubes, under furniture, under clothing/bedding etc (these are nest-like spaces and a hormonal bird is often more prone to anxiety and plucking etc)
3. Get blood work if you can to make sure that there isn't an internal issue (they will pluck from pain sometimes). You might also want a skin swab of the impacted area, as fungal infections etc can also cause irritation and plucking.
4. pet on the head and neck only (again, hormones-- the rest is sexual)
5. Make sure your bird is getting AT LEAST 3 hours out daily and that you have taught it to play with toys and forage when you aren't around.
6. Make sure you cage is not too small--- small cages can often lead to plucking. You should have a pretty large cage for a TAG of CAG.
7.Adjust diet (not cold-turkey) but gradually--- what does your bird eat right now?
8. Do not attend to the feather mutilation when it is happening, but do try to provide an activity that will keep the beak busy before that starts.
9. Try to make your bird feel less anxious by establishing a better routine and teaching key words to associate with absences or activities (e.g., "going to work", "going to the store", "unloading the dishwasher etc". When they associate key phrases with a routine, it helps them anticipate your return etc and that can have a calming impact over time.
10. Make sure you aren't using chemical cleaners, perfumes, scented lotions, air fresheners etc- these are dangerous to their respiratory systems but can also cause skin irritation.
11. Check your humidity and try to keep it around 60% w/ distilled water and a safe humidifier.
12. Provide opportunities for your bird to bathe in a dish of safe water (shallow) or spritz (unless your bird hates that...then do not spritz or force it-- that could make anxiety worse).
13. If you rule out all medical issues and you are providing great sleep, environment, avoiding stimulating hormones w/ shadowy spaces or inappropriate touching, allowing him out of the cage for many hours etc and it continues, then (assuming you rule out medical problems) there are low doses of anxiety meds that could help but only ever allow a certified avian vet to prescribe because standard vets can make some major errors when it comes to dosing, liver impacts etc in avian patients.

 

[Littleredbeak]

I make my own with water, coconut oil and a little aloe Vera (home grown plant- the inside of it). I am also doing feather supplements to help their feather Re growth.

 

[SailBoat]

Everyone is welcome to their opinion regarding topicals, additives, supplements and other magical treatments. In most cases, we lack the science to provide clarity, that said, birds /Parrots have been doing extremely well without such things for eons. Yet we continue to buy and apply it /them to our feathered companions.

The reality is that the same bird/Parrot in their Wild Range do not encounter such things and live very well without them. Especially topicals that are sprayed on feathers. The healthy state of feathers begins with a Healthy diet and fairly common exposure to plain old water., add a bit of preening and you have a beautiful bird /Parrot. The best way to apply is a mist that rains down from above, or a dish that contains water in which the bird /Parrot choses to bath in.

 

[Scott]

I've never used anything beyond showering with water.

An excellent overview of plucking: http://www.parrotforums.com/behavioral/52217-plucking-search-answers.html