Baby Feathers Avian Aloe ™

soothes ruffled feathers…

Aloe vera has been recognized for centuries by people all over the world as a medicinal plant with soothing, healing, and analgesic qualities. Baby Feathers Avian Aloe™ is human grade with no taste. This liquid has been observed to promote healing, while soothing and moisturizing the dry itchy skin, which often afflicts caged birds. The natural magnesium lactate within Baby Feathers Avian Aloe™ is known to inhibit the release of histamines responsible for irritation and itching.

Not all aloe vera is the same! Baby Feathers Avian Aloe™ is prepared by Warren Laboratories.

Avian Aloe™ is fractionally distilled from a specific variety of the aloe vera plant to which wild roadrunners are drawn. The trademarked distilling process removes potentially harmful chemical compounds, while retaining the active compounds, which appears to promote comfort and healing. The resulting liquid is so pure that it does not require refrigeration, yet contains no preservatives. The aloin, which gives aloe vera its bitter taste, has been removed so that birds are not further distressed.

FEATHER BITING, PLUCKING AND SELF-MUTILATION

All birds preen, grooming their feathers and skin free from dirt or foreign particles and straightening feathers. This natural behavior is considered excessive when it involves habitual and obsessive picking at, plucking out, or chewing on feathers. A feather-biting-bird will bite his feathers and snip them off at the base close to the skin or directly at the feather follicle. A plucking bird will pull and pluck the feathers out completely. In a severe case, the bird will remove its feathers from the head down, and even chew on its own flesh. Serious and permanent tissue and muscle damage can occur.

A picked bird has difficulty regulating its body temperature and is more prone to infections. The distress and discomfort arising from plucking and self-mutilation reinforces the need to continue the behavior.

Once all medical conditions are ruled out, bird owners can work toward breaking this vicious cycle with a three-fold approach: determining the cause, treating the symptoms, and correcting the condition.

Causes of feather picking and self-mutilation may be medical or environmental. The first step in determining the cause is a complete physical examination of the bird by a qualified avian veterinarian. The veterinarian will determine whether the condition results from injury, disease such as Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease, a host of less serious bacterial viral fungal or parasitic infections, hypothyroidism, internal or external parasites, allergy, poisoning or nutritional deficiencies.

If no medical explanation is found, the bird may be reacting to boredom, loneliness, stress, or low humidity resulting in overly dry skin. A non-medical cause is likely to be ongoing, although the behavior may be a residual habit from a prior situation, such as improper wing trimming or injury from a fall. Psittacine birds, in particular, need stimulus and contact with humans or other birds, as well as constant mental and physical stimulation. Make sure cages are of adequate size and equipped with destructible toys, perches of different sizes and textures, and activity foods. If the condition is extreme, your veterinarian may be able to help by providing pharmacological intervention and/or a temporary collar while the bird is trained to different behavioral patterns.

In the meantime, break the cycle and alleviate the condition by providing relief from dryness, itchiness, and irritation by using Baby Feathers Avian Aloe™, a pure liquid which has been observed to promote healing while soothing and moisturizing dry, itchy, skin. Spray-mist the liquid on feathers and skin until soaked, two or three times a day. Damp feathers do not seem to be nearly as appealing to a feather plucker.