Dry birdie feet

Chipper is doing well now...and in fact sometimes he's an obnoxious little brat! But one thing I have noticed is that his feet seem really dry. We have central heat in the house, and we do run the heater. So I'm wondering if maybe the humidity is too low and it's drying out his skin? Or is there anything else I should be concerned about? I have seen him drink water from his bowl, and he has a lot of energy, so I don't think he's dehydrated.

It doesn't seem like his feet are bothering him though. He perches and climbs around fine, and he doesn't care if I touch his feet.

I admit that I've never given him a bath or misted him since I got him in November. Since he was sick, I was so afraid of getting him wet and making him worse. He just barely got over the illness, so I'm still kind of scared about getting him wet.

What do you think I should do? Would it be safe for me to mist him? Or is there anything I can put on his feet that might help?

You could call the vet if you are concerned about it, and see if its safe to mist him. He very likely just needs a shower. Can you take him in with you? When Mango doesn't want to get wet, he still gets damp from the humidity of the bathroom all steamed up from the shower. You dont have to soak him, but the heat and humidity of the shower might help. I know aloe is good for their skin. If he doesnt mind having his feet touched, maybe put some aloe into some water and put it just on his feet. If his feet are dry though, he is probably dry everywhere.

Central heat will pull the humidity out of your home. Comfortable humidity levels for us range between 40% & 60%, give or take a few percentage points. You can get a good hygrometer for under $15 at your local Ace hardware or order one at:

Taylor® Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer-Hygrometer (1523) - Home Thermometers - Ace Hardware

You want a digital reading, as opposed to one with display hands. Also, if you decide on one other than the Taylor model referenced above, check to see if that particular brand/model has a history of problems. Before the holidays Bed Bath & Beyond offered one, at about the same price, that had display problems.

If you end up using a humidifier, make sure it is completely empty of any previous medications that may have been used in it & that it is free of any PTFEs (teflon type materials) in the heating unit.....some manufacturers use it in their products.

One other thing about humidifiers (individual table top, room type or whole house units) is that they need to be cleaned & sterilized on a regular basis, because the dampness & heat will grow mold.

If you don't want him to get wet, you can get some cotton balls, moist it with water and wipe Chipper's feet. Never tried it, but it might work I guess.

I've been wetting his feet by just rubbing water on them with my finger. He doesn't seem to mind, but of course that only helps for a little while. I'll probably just call the vet on Monday and see if it's safe to mist him, or what else I should do. He seems fine otherwise, his skin just might be kind of dry.

There's another thread you may want to read: http://www.parrotforums.com/off-topic/26624-humidifier-not-bird.html

I called the vet today, and the doctor said it would be okay for me to mist Chipper. I didn't want to just use plain water, because I figured that might just leave his skin drier. I thought he needed something else that would actually absorb into his skin and soften his feathers. He's been scratching a lot lately, and his feet looked really dry, and I thought that if the rest of his skin was that dry, he really must not be feeling good. So I bought a bottle of Ecotrition "Bird Bath Spray." It said it has natural preen oil and aloe vera, and helps with irritated skin and eases excessive molting. (And Chipper is molting right now).

I put him on his play gym, and misted him while he was on the top perch. He didn't like it at first. He didn't squawk, but he moved away and then jumped off the perch and kind of ran away. I put him back on it, and I misted him again, but from a little bit farther away. He stayed a little bit calmer that time. I don't think he was really scared, I think he just didn't know what was going on and he wasn't sure what to think of it. But WOW...what a huge difference! After I misted him, he seemed to be feeling much better. He was very calm, and then started preening his feathers, and grinding his beak. He just seemed more comfortable. I sprayed some more of the stuff on my hand and I rubbed it on his feet. It was a big help. Even after it dried, his feet looked much better.

I held Chipper and petted him for a while. He definitely seemed a lot happier. And his feathers felt much softer. When I put him back in his cage, he started chirping and bobbing his head and climbing all around his cage. He seemed so happy.

Right now, he's still chewing on his toys. It definitely seems like he's feeling better. I'll probably mist him 2-3 times a week, since the air is probably pretty dry in our house.

Plain water is best the majority of the time.

The bath sprays and such should not be used every time you give a bird a bath, if at all. If you use it too often, the stuff inside the sprays can potentially build up on their feathers, causing more discomfort than help... so just keep this in mind, and try using water more often than a spray.


Diet also plays a role in skin health. The better the diet he is on, the better his skin may become.

Ok, I'll definitely keep that in mind. The next time I mist him, I'll use plain warm water. But I'll use the spray bath sometimes too, because it really did seem to help him. He seemed so content afterward, the way he was sitting calmly and grinding his beak and everything. And then when I put him back in his cage, he was so happy, chirping and climbing around his cage and playing with his toys.

By the way, I have Chipper with me right now and I just took this picture. I couldn't help but post it here. Whenever I'm using my laptop computer, he wants to play around with it too.

He's like "Are you talking about me again?"

LOL! Well, budgies are curious little creatures! They have a nack for getting into things they shouldn't!

You might try giving him some wet leafy greens. Some budgies *love* these to bath in! It looks so hilarious, yet cute! Or maybe giving him his own personal bath? Something like the following?

Lixit Bird Bath - BATHS, SPRAYS & GROOMING by MY SAFE BIRD STORE