TheTameParrot.com - Say “BYE” To Your Parrot Problems

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Many new bird owners are confused about how to properly care for their birds. One example is hygiene….how do you bath your bird and keep it clean?

For starters, birds do not smell. In some cases, especially in the wild, some birds omit a natural odor from their oil glands that protects it from predators in the wild. This is not the case for pet birds.

If you do smell odors from a bird, in most cases it is coming from the cage. This is the result of bird dropping decomposing, stale water, or old food. Proper cage cleaning will always eliminate this smell.

But birds do need their bath!

SHOULD YOU FORCE YOUR BIRD TO TAKE A BATH?

Never force a bird to bath. Dropping the bird into a sink of water, or improperly spraying it with a mister only terrorizes them. You need to experiment a little and find out what the bird likes. It will vary widely from bird to bird. Some birds can barely tolerate a light misting with a bottle of warm water. Others love to sit on a shower perch and have water spray all over them until they are a dripping mess! That is how my wife’s Military Macaw wants his bath!

Experiment a bit to learn what your bird likes. Start by getting a spray bottle and lightly mist the bird. If he’s interested, he will stand on his perch, spread his wings out and beg for more. If not, he runs away from the bottle and looks for a place to hide. Obviously this is not his “preferred method”.

Offer a bowl of water. The bird will sit on the edge and splash water on himself (and everything else in the area).

Another method is to place the bird in a sink and run a thin stream of water into it. The bird will run in and out of the water to bath. Or try buying a “shower perch” and install it on the wall of the shower. Run the shower (but not on the bird directly) and let him move in and out of the spray.

BIRD SHAMPOO? NO WAY!!!

There are a number of products on the market designed as a shampoo or bathing aid for your bird. NEVER use these products. If the bird is properly cared for there is never a need for them. To make matters worse, they can make a bird sick.

The only time I can ever recommend such a product is if the bird got extremely dirty.

That goes double for “mite and lice” sprays. Very rarely do birds get these pests, and if the cage and environment are kept clean it will never occur. Never use this sort of product without the close supervision of an avian veterinarian.

This advice also goes for those bird perfumes or anything that you would spray on a bird. Your bird already has the natural instincts to care for itself, preen it’s feathers, and keep clean. So save your money, or use it to buy a nice birdy toy.

OK, now that you have made up your mind and are convinced an African Grey Parrot is right for you, let’s look at some of the aspects of these birds.

SUBSPECIES- There are actually two common subspecies of Grey’s. Congo and Timneh.

Congo’s are slightly larger. They are a light grey in color, but are very distinctive by their cherry red tail and black beak. They are also a bit more noisy. Timneh’s are a bit darker in color, and have a maroon tail, with horn colored mandible.

Both species are excellent talkers. But the Congo does exhibit more intelligence. Timneh’s are known to be less neurotic of the two, and less prone to feather plucking. The reason for this is not readily known. Timneh’s have not been widely bred over the past few years, and we are just now learning a lot about their personalities. They are more even tempered then Congo’s and are becoming more sought after.

INTELLIGENCE- Beyond a doubt, African Grey’s are an extremely intelligent bird. University studies have proven that Grey can talk in a cognitive manner, and can understand what they are saying. They do not just mimic sounds, but can actually communicate. Their ability to recognize shapes, colors, and even food items is documented. This makes them a highly sought after pet.

KNOWN PLUCKERS-Congo African Grey’s are known feather pluckers. This neurotic condition is not as common in the Timnah species.

This is due to boredom and lack of human interaction. If ignored, this self mutilation behavior can result in permanent damage to the skin, making it impossible for the bird to re-grow feathers.

It is first necessary to rule out possible medical conditions that could be causing the plucking. Liver disease, mites, or other health issues could be a factor. This can only be determined by making a visit to a qualified avian veterinarian. Once it’s determined that the problem is mental, you need to determine the cause and work on correcting it.

THEIR PERSONAL FEARS- This is a complex issue with Greys. Wild Grey’s do not exhibit irrational fears, so what causes it with domesticated Greys?

Research is showing that it’s a combination of both instinctive and associative behavior. For example, instinct tells the Grey that danger comes from overhead. If you take your Grey outside and an airplane flies overhead, the Grey becomes terrified. This does not happen with wild Grey’s because they have associated, through parent training, that only a few dangers come from above, such as hawks. Domesticated Greys have not been taught this, so they tend to have lots of irrational fears.

Even toys can terrify a pet Grey. It’s not unusual for a Grey to cower in the corner of their cage to get away from a new toy introduced by their owners. Even new foods can scare them.

For this reason, the pet owner needs to be very aware of the birds surroundings. Sure, you know that thump in the night is just the furnace kicking on…but to the Grey it’s a lurking predator. Your bird needs to be trained to understand that instinctive fears must be controlled. He must trust you. And this will only be resolved over time.

Remember, captive pets are totally dependant on you, the owner. If the do not accept this and give you their complete trust, they will always fall back on their phobias. This will always result in an unfriendly pet.