African Grey Hygiene
Picture of Kaja by Paulina Szajek
An African Grey parrot keeps clean by spending several hours every day grooming or preening its entire plumage. Patiently it pulls one feather after another through its beak, removing any dust on it and making it smooth. Several times in the course of preening the bird shakes itself vigorously to get rid of any loose feathers, down or dust.
It is essential to allow a healthy bird to bathe. In thewild African Greys will enjoy the warm spray of tropical rains that penetrates through the branches and foliage of the trees where they live. You should make up for this by showering your parrot with lukewarm water on a regular basis. Some birds may prefer to bathe in a container or sometimes their water pot, others prefer the fine mist from a clean plant spray bottle, but all healthy parrots love to bathe.
It is essential to allow a healthy bird to bathe. In thewild African Greys will enjoy the warm spray of tropical rains that penetrates through the branches and foliage of the trees where they live. You should make up for this by showering your parrot with lukewarm water on a regular basis. Some birds may prefer to bathe in a container or sometimes their water pot, others prefer the fine mist from a clean plant spray bottle, but all healthy parrots love to bathe.
HYGIENE
The best thing you can do for your parrot is to keep it's enviroment clean and healthy. Food and water pots should be cleaned in hot soapy water daily or before if they become dirty and soiled to prevent bad bacteria from entering your birds system. Poor hygiene can lead to numerous health problems for parrots as the bacteria and dirt enters its system. Problems such as breathing difficulties, yeasts and salmonella can occour if hygiene is not kept up to scratch so it is essential for you to keep your birds enviroment as spotless as possible.
Droppings and leftover food should be removed from the bottom of the cage daily and dirty perches should be scrubbed clean with hot soapy water. I do not recommend using any harsh household cleaners for this as most can be harmful to birds. A good pet shop should stock special bird disinfectants which are great to use on all your birds surfaces and keep germs at bay.
Droppings and leftover food should be removed from the bottom of the cage daily and dirty perches should be scrubbed clean with hot soapy water. I do not recommend using any harsh household cleaners for this as most can be harmful to birds. A good pet shop should stock special bird disinfectants which are great to use on all your birds surfaces and keep germs at bay.