Warm Mist Humidifier for Plucking

[lplummer52]

My friend has an 11-year old Grey she adopted a couple weeks ago. Since she's had Nellie, her breast feathers have started to grow back. She's heard that a warm mist humidifier helps. Does anyone out there have any experience with these type of humidifiers and if so, which brands are the best?

 

[MonicaMc]

Increasing humidity may help, but so can providing a good diet, foraging opportunities, more bathing opportunities, training new behaviors that are incompatible with FDB...

I don't have a recommendation for any particular brand, but just wanted to know if your friend has taken Nellie in for a full medical exam?

 

[Allee]

It was kind of your friend to adopt an older bird. Humidity levels can aggravate plucking, if the air is dry it can cause dry itchy skin. Maybe someone can give you a brand name, I have a cool mist humidifier but I haven't used it lately and I'm not sure of the brand.

Plucking is complicated, there's really no short answer. Here's a link for your friend, it covers the basics, hopefully she can pinpoint the cause.

http://www.parrotforums.com/behavioral/52217-plucking-search-answers.html

 

[Aquila]

From what I understand, you have to be very careful choosing a warm mist humidifier, as the majority have teflon heating elements. I recall the Vicks brand specifically being unsafe.

As for effectiveness, I'm not really sure, I think it's really species and individual bird specific. I think dry air can have negative effects, but I'm not really sure about excessive humidity. If you have central air that you run all year long, it could probably help, as those systems will strip moisture from the air, especially the heat in the winter. All my birds get a misting at least once a day during the warmer months, even if it's just a few sprays and not soaking.

For Greys or other powder down birds, I think a humidifier has a decent bit of benefit, especially if they're like my Gonzo who's entirely water repellent!

 

[lplummer52]

Yes, Nellie had a full avian exam as part of the adoption process through Phoenix Landing. She is otherwise in perfect health. She'd been in a good home whose owner no longer had the time to devote to her due to her profession. This is Nellie's 3rd home and she's adjusting well. Thanks everyone for your input. I will pass it along. My friend Karen joined this forum, but has forgotten her password and hasn't been able to log in.

 

[SailBoat]

Warm Mist Humidifiers are commonly used in areas like the 'Great White North' during Winter because they can more quickly pump the humidity level during short term use. They are commonly used in a sickroom setting. As stated above, I would not recommend the run-of-the-mill mid to low priced units for the stated reasons. In addition; heating elements and heated water is IMHO not a good combination.

Cold /cool water units are safer and easier to clean! NOTE: Humidifiers must be cleaned at least every forth or fifth filling to minimize build-ups and other health based problems.

A water lift pump style that flows the water is much easier to clean and cleaning is very important!

Its Summer in the 'Great White North' and the Humidifier is buried somewhere in the Winter stuff! With the exception of a very few places in North America, humidity is currently more than ample.