African grey bathing, is it important?

[Bird]

Hi, I am not very new to birds but I am new to these parrot forums. I
am not sure where to post a question about my birds bathing, under
this category or a differnt one. Anyway I posted on a couple
different forums like theparrotforum.com and | Meet The Parrots and a
couple more and I am still confused about bathing my bird. Ok so the
store that I bought him from told me that I am supposed to give the
bird a shampoo bath with this shampoo that they sold me , I think it's
made by kings? Andyway they said I'm supposed to bath him once every
month to help with the dust removal off of his feathers.... Should I
be concerned about him being too dusty ? They said it might lead to
feather picking ( dust will)
any suggestions?

 

[greycloud]

Welcome to the forum! This section is fine for your question.
I do not use any shampoo on my birds. Never have in 35 yrs. I will, dry seasons use aloe in the water and do mist baths. My birds do not like to get in the shower. Greys are dusty birds. Bathing about 2-4 times a week helps some as well as an air filter or purifier. Hope this helps.

 

[CrypticDelirium]

Oh my. I'm very glad you got the poor baby out of there!
If there were NO dust it would be quite unhealthy, and I've NEVER heard of dust causing feather picking. I personally wouldn't trust bird shampoo, it sounds like unnecessary chemicals that can do nothing good. A spray bath daily is very nice, along with a real good total soaking at least once a week bare minimum, though at least twice is much better. You could let them play in a bath, or even get a shower perch. = ) It's adorable watching them bathe, they're quite the comedians sometimes.
Enjoy the laughter that will follow!

 

[Bobby34231]

I have to agree, a daily bath (warm water) lose the shampoo, and make sure its warm where he'll be drying, about 75 degrees, during the winter you can use a blow dryer on low speed low heat if he'll put up with it, some birds actually enjoy it, bathing promotes good feather health

 

[Bird]

24 times a week???

 

[Bird]

K yes, it makes sense, in the wild they wOuldnt shampoo their back hahaha , i do let him play in the sink but he hates the shower, so I guess I just won't use the shampoo then, maybe they will let me return it haha
thank you everyone !

 

[greycloud]

I meant 2-4 times a week. Sorry. I use a spray bottle and dial it to fine mist.

 

[Beilana]

hehe 24 times a week and the birdie would be wet all the time

 

[nofearengineer]

If your grey hates the shower and DESPISES the spray bottle, get him a wide, shallow ceramic (heavy) dish. Fill it with warm water. Start vacuuming (you own a parrot, so already I know your carpet could use a good sweeping). This almost never failed to get Gandalf in the rub-a-dub-dub mood. Hilarious to watch too.

 

[Vivica]

nofear... my bird takes a bath every time the vacuum is on, too! I thought I was just going insane.

 

[wildheart]

Bird, pet shops will try and sell you EVERYTHING in their shop! I wont be surprised if they try and sell you toothpaste for your birds tongue as well.

 

[bogo1]

Vacuum equals bath mania? I thought that was just my crazy birds! Funny!

Welcome to the forum, have you figured out yet that we're all pretty anti-chemicals here. Honestly you can loose the shampoo. Chances are excellent that all you need to do is provide the means and your gray will happily find the way!

 

[nofearengineer]

I think the low frequency rumbling of the vacuum rolling around on the floor just brings out their instincts. They think it's a thunderstorm approaching, so it's bath time.

 

[Halo]

Hi

I have recently joined this forum.
I am fairly new as an Grey owner. my boy is called Halo due to the blue tint that circles his body and he is 4 month old, photo included. I have had him for 1 month and we have bonded fairly well.

I spend a lot of time learning on youtube how to tame and train them as well as the things all grey owners should now before hand. My bird produces very little powder to the extent that I dont even notice it. he has been tested for beak and feather decease and that came back as negative which is good news. is it normal to have such little power at this age? i bought home some sand for him to self clean based on what the parrot specialist said however I would have thought they prefer a bowl of water as they are dusty birds?

 

[Halo]

also I am observing some strange behavior. I cant make out if its anger or happiness,. i have a video but i dont think I can upload it. I would love for someone to look at it and tell me what they think the bird is doing. I can send a link in dropbox to the video;

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rgqjs7q3rskuq07/20170904_064828.mp4?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q2nn90sjlljllld/20170904_065422.mp4?dl=0

he comes to the door in happiness when he sees me, I took him out and sat him at the top of the cage, I made 1 scrambled egg, which I give him once a week and once cooled down put it in the cage and put Halo in also. i left the door open but when i went close to him he has bopping his head with beak open like he was telling me he is really hungry feed me fast. then i was seeing signs telling me to piss off. so not sure.

his diet on a daily basis is a mixture os nuts and little seeds with 80% tropican high performance pellets. I also give him apple, blue berries, melon on a daily basis also

 

[LordTriggs]

Welcome and congrats on your new baby.

I haven't looked at the videos, but it will depend on a couple other things. Are his fathers round his neck ruffled? and does he sway side to side when doing this? Those are signs of a threat display. If he's just bobbing up and down with his mouth open, most likely making a couple little noises then he's begging for food. If he is begging it may be an idea to give the breeder a call and see if they can feed him for a couple weeks until he's fully weaned again. They can sometimes revert back to an unweaned state and beg for food again, I wouldn't hand-feed yourself it's just too dangerous.

Maybe try offering some sweet potato mash before going back to the breeder but a phone call to them to ask wouldn't be a bad idea.

As for dust really right now it's just the start of decline from summer to autumn so losing less downy feathers isn't surprising. When a molt happens get ready! It'll look like he exploded with the amount of feathers everywhere

 

[Halo]

Welcome and congrats on your new baby.

I haven't looked at the videos, but it will depend on a couple other things. Are his fathers round his neck ruffled? and does he sway side to side when doing this? Those are signs of a threat display. If he's just bobbing up and down with his mouth open, most likely making a couple little noises then he's begging for food. If he is begging it may be an idea to give the breeder a call and see if they can feed him for a couple weeks until he's fully weaned again. They can sometimes revert back to an unweaned state and beg for food again, I wouldn't hand-feed yourself it's just too dangerous.

Maybe try offering some sweet potato mash before going back to the breeder but a phone call to them to ask wouldn't be a bad idea.

As for dust really right now it's just the start of decline from summer to autumn so losing less downy feathers isn't surprising. When a molt happens get ready! It'll look like he exploded with the amount of feathers everywhere

if you could have a look at the video it would be a big help. i dont normally hand feed and he normally eats most of the fruit and his daily mixture of pellet and nuts. his appetite is good. i really cant tell and dont want to annoy the bird thinking its signs of happiness and to then continue stroking him. I know im going a little off subject now so apologies.

 

[Flboy]

Hi, and welcome! You posted in a 7 year old thread! You may get better responses in your own! Beautiful baby!!

 

[texsize]

No Soap/shampoo.
Soap (Dawn dish soap) should be reserved for when your bird gets into something nasty like oil.

 

[Halo]

Hi, and welcome! You posted in a 7 year old thread! You may get better responses in your own! Beautiful baby!!

thank you . yes he is a bit of a poser. here is his flirt with the chicks pose