Bird smell

[Alacranred22]

Hello all,

We got a 20 yo African Grey about four months ago. My wife, who has an amazing smell sense has complained about the smell. I don't smell anything. Is there anything same that I can use to neutralize the smell? Might have to build a big cage iny back yard and the "issue" will be that I can fit more birds seriously any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

 

[GambotheGreyt]

Hello all,

We got a 20 yo African Grey about four months ago. My wife, who has an amazing smell sense has complained about the smell. I don't smell anything. Is there anything same that I can use to neutralize the smell? Might have to build a big cage iny back yard and the "issue" will be that I can fit more birds seriously any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

The smell is the poop. Just remove poop more frequently and wash down the cage regularly.

 

[texsize]

Hello all,

We got a 20 yo African Grey about four months ago. My wife, who has an amazing smell sense has complained about the smell. I don't smell anything. Is there anything same that I can use to neutralize the smell? Might have to build a big cage iny back yard and the "issue" will be that I can fit more birds seriously any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

I think a big cage in the back yard would be perfect…. To keep your wife in it.
LOL

 

[Alacranred22]

The smell is the poop. Just remove poop more frequently and wash down the cage regularly.

Thank you. I switch the paper every day but I need to wash the cage. The issue is that he doesn't trust us enough to let us grab him or take him out of his cage. I will figure something out to wash his cage maybe even wash it with him inside since he flips the bathing tray as heavy as it is. Thank you

 

[texsize]

I use to do that.
wheel the cage + bird outside and grab the hose.
more difficult now, have electric heaters mounted to the cage.

pressure washer can be a good investment.

 

[PeentPeent]

Check the water bowls my parrot loves to put pellets in the water all the time it has a very strong smell. I have to change them so often we call it 'making cereal'

 

[Esther]

We put custom plexiglass "walls" on three sides of our cage to help contain "bird residue" and it certainly helped with keeping things cleaner and more pleasant. Not sure that it will resolve your smell issue, but if anyone in your house wants "less residue," it's amazing. I posted about our solution here: https://www.parrotforums.com/thread...if-you-want-need-to-minimize-the-mess.101607/

Good luck

 

[hiriki]

I actually think bird poop, if cleaned daily, has almost no smell--if left for a long time to pile up in little poop mountains, perhaps you might start getting a bit of a "chicken smell," but of all my birds the only one whose poop has an actual noticeable odor is my dove. My parrots' poop has never registered to my nose as an unpleasant smell.

So I would look elsewhere in the cage. Do you dump & scrub water bowls daily? Those can really build up bacteria quickly, even if your bird isn't making "cereal" (lol @PeentPeent my birds do the same, but we call it soup ) they're still eating and then getting crumbs from their meal in the water when they take a sip. If you feed veggies or fresh chop, then any food flung from the bowl onto cage bars, perches, or the wall will eventually start to smell, so you need to stay on top of cleaning that. This may be difficult if your bird isn't trusting enough to leave the cage, as you'll most likely need to use a cleaning tool to get caked-on food waste or poop off of perches, and that will almost definitely scare your bird.

If your cleaning regimen is stellar and your wife still complains of smell, it's honestly probably bird dust. Birds are extremely dusty animals, and if they don't regularly bathe themselves they do get kind of a musty smell... idk if musty is the right word, but it's definitely a scent lol. Typically, birds lubricate their feathers either with oil from their preen gland or with dust, or a combination of the two, and according to Google, greys are the dusty type. Some dust is normal and healthy, like I said it's how they lubricate their feathers and it also kind of waterproofs them, but if they never bathe then it builds up and has A Smell(tm). If your wife describes it as being kind of a sharp musty odor, subtle but kind of sticks to the back of your nose, that's how I would describe bird dust smell, although my parrots have to really get in my face for it to bother me.

Ugh, sorry, I always write walls of text, I really hope this is helpful. Anyway if it's a dust issue you just want to encourage bathing. Providing a water bowl big enough to hop into in the cage is a start, he may start flicking the water on himself the moment he has a large enough water source to fit. Some birds don't dunk though, some birds prefer running water or spray bottles, so you can try shower perches or letting him near a gentle stream of water from the faucet. Some birds like cold water, some like lukewarm, it can be a bit of a struggle to figure out the perfect conditions to convince your bird to bathe, but the key is that if he's ever uncomfortable with getting wet, don't push the issue because you're going to end up making him hate water even more if you force it.

 

[GaleriaGila]

I thought it was a well-accepted fact that Amazons have a musky smell... pleasant to some... I wonder if that's at work. When they get excited, they release it more so.
In my humble experience, Amazons smell like that. Cockatiels and 'toos smell like sun-dried laundry. My Patagonian smells like chocolate wrappers.
Could Greys have an odor?

 

[texsize]

I thought it was a well-accepted fact that Amazons have a musky smell... pleasant to some... I wonder if that's at work. When they get excited, they release it more so.
In my humble experience, Amazons smell like that. Cockatiels and 'toos smell like sun-dried laundry. My Patagonian smells like chocolate wrappers.
Could Greys have an odor?

Yup Amazons smell like your coat closet when the weather starts turning cold for first time. You open the closet to get the jackets out.
that’s how they smell to me.

I only notice my cockatiel’s odor after a bath (wet chicken).

Bella my grey wet/dry I have not noticed anything.
but I can’t get my nose real close to her feathers only her beak .

when you compare the smell from even multiple birds to just 1 cat……

and dogs…. By themselves if well kept they might be ok.
but how many times does your dog lay next to you and let out a real stinker of a fart.

birds might poop on you but they don’t fart. And the poo doesn’t smell (unless your bird is sick.

 

[hiriki]

I thought it was a well-accepted fact that Amazons have a musky smell... pleasant to some... I wonder if that's at work. When they get excited, they release it more so.
In my humble experience, Amazons smell like that. Cockatiels and 'toos smell like sun-dried laundry. My Patagonian smells like chocolate wrappers.
Could Greys have an odor?

Chocolate wrappers!! I want to meet your Patagonian, that sounds so pleasant.

I have a pair of male rats, and if you ask anyone in the rat community they'll agree that male rats smell like tacos. Or, more specifically, tortillas. Truly strange. Chocolate wrappers made me think of that, because I can't seem to figure out in my head what would make a creature smell like chocolate wrappers OR tacos, but here we are

 

[texsize]

Chocolate wrappers!! I want to meet your Patagonian, that sounds so pleasant.

I have a pair of male rats, and if you ask anyone in the rat community they'll agree that male rats smell like tacos. Or, more specifically, tortillas. Truly strange. Chocolate wrappers made me think of that, because I can't seem to figure out in my head what would make a creature smell like chocolate wrappers OR tacos, but here we are

I always thought that the back feet of cats smell like buttered popcorn.

 

[hiriki]

I always thought that the back feet of cats smell like buttered popcorn.

brb, I've got to find one of my cats to sniff their feet, if you present me a statement like that I simply must do my own research LOL

Update: wow...... you're kind of right??? They do smell a bit like buttered popcorn????

 

[texsize]

brb, I've got to find one of my cats to sniff their feet, if you present me a statement like that I simply must do my own research LOL

Update: wow...... you're kind of right??? They do smell a bit like buttered popcorn????

I told a cat person at work that and they were sure I was pulling their leg.
they must have scent glands in there paws so when scratching a tree they leave the scent behind.

 

[hiriki]

I told a cat person at work that and they were sure I was pulling their leg.
they must have scent glands in there paws so when scratching a tree they leave the scent behind.

They definitely do have scent glands on their paws--somehow it just never occurred to me that the scent would be strong enough for my feeble human sniffer to pick up on it

 

[GaleriaGila]

I betcha that just about every animal has a smell of some extent or type.
We could organize a scent adventure... like f'r'instance, dinner.
Cockatiels for fresh napkins, male rats for tacos, Patagonians for chocolate.
at paws for the movie later...
We could flesh this out for a real journey!

 

[Botsari]

Hello all,

We got a 20 yo African Grey about four months ago. My wife, who has an amazing smell sense has complained about the smell. I don't smell anything. Is there anything same that I can use to neutralize the smell? Might have to build a big cage iny back yard and the "issue" will be that I can fit more birds seriously any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

I know it is defintely very true of Greys, but many parrots have evolved feathers with ultra fine tips that break off and become a very fine dust. This is "working as intended" and is supposed to be a kind of lubricant or conditioner for the feathers - think powdered wig from days gone by. I suppose it might be in birds from climates where they may sometime have to go a while between getting full water baths. Feathers take a lot of maintenance. Anyway, if you manage to catch them back lit, or otherwise in just the right light when they preen or fluff themselves you can see the dust like a cloud get airborn - kind of like pigpen from the Peanuts comics. Except I guess in the parrot's case it is not technically dirt since it has a "function". I have always associated that sometimes "musky" smell when they are up close as due to this feather dust - not droppings which is a diferent smell when perceptible at all. But I don't really know how to prove it is not something else. If a particular person is extra sensisive to that dust it may be hard to get away from completely. But because of the very fine particulates these birds constantly give off I can't even imagine having parrots without at least one high quality HEPA filter in the house - possibly more than one. If you don't already have one perhaps start there. You should probably get one without an ionizer for bird safety, but that is a whole other can of worms disussed elsewhere on the forums. But one or more of those will do wonders with the ambient floating feather dust, not to mention other sources of smells. But if the bird is sitting on your shoulder it will probably not help completely with the stuff jumping directly from bird to nose.

 

[tassanil]

I thought it was a well-accepted fact that Amazons have a musky smell... pleasant to some... I wonder if that's at work. When they get excited, they release it more so.
In my humble experience, Amazons smell like that. Cockatiels and 'toos smell like sun-dried laundry. My Patagonian smells like chocolate wrappers.
Could Greys have an odor?

I'm still learning about my Willy, and I've noticed he has a musky smell, especially after a bath. I'm wondering if this could be due to his infection, his age, or if it's just a normal smell for his species.

 

[texsize]

I'm still learning about my Willy, and I've noticed he has a musky smell, especially after a bath. I'm wondering if this could be due to his infection, his age, or if it's just a normal smell for his species.

I would say normal .
getting wet always seems to amplify the smell of your bird.

 

[GaleriaGila]

What Tex said!