Pictures cleaning my tiels' oily cheeks

[Jason Wong]

Hi!

So on a suggestion from our avian vet, we put the prime nutrients/vitamin mix into flax seed oil and put an 1/8th of a tsp into their dry food. the only problem is that it makes their cheeks dirty and a bit matted and we can tell that they're bothered by it. they shake their heads a lot and one of them is cranky lately. we've tried holding them in a washcloth and comb with a mascara brush but they are very unhappy and they bite on the brush.

what can we do?

Thanks!

Jason

 

[charlieboy]

I wouldn't use a mascara brush unless it's never been in mascara or anything at all. You could mist them or offer them a bath And if they let you scritch their cheek feathers, you could do so once they are wet

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Maybe it would help if you could find a feeding vessel that's not so deep? Something more plate-like, so their cheeks don't touch the food?

 

[Tara81]

If your bird eats vegetables, ask your vet if the vitamins can be sprinkled on them instead?

 

[Jason Wong]

Thanks for the ideas everyone much appreciated! that brush has never touched mascara. right now they don't trust the brush or us touching their faces so we're just going to work on getting them more comfortable with pets and then try that. they don't really seem to like baths so i usually spray them with some water but that probably won't help with the cheeks. and spraying soapy water isn't viable. but yeah maybe i'll try giving them their vitamins in different ways instead. Thanks!

 

[charlieboy]

Never use soap on birds, just in case you didn't know. Spraying them with water sounds like the best option Even though it may not work you should try it and you may be surprised

 

[Lady Jane]

Dawn dish detergent removes oil. That is what they use on birds that get caught in oil spills in water.

 

[Tara81]

Dawn dish detergent removes oil. That is what they use on birds that get caught in oil spills in water.

just remember to avoid the eyes and rinse well :] I've used soap on my birds feet before, when she flew into one of my dirty pans by the sink, or walked into her own poop.

 

[Tara81]

Thanks for the ideas everyone much appreciated! that brush has never touched mascara. right now they don't trust the brush or us touching their faces so we're just going to work on getting them more comfortable with pets and then try that. they don't really seem to like baths so i usually spray them with some water but that probably won't help with the cheeks. and spraying soapy water isn't viable. but yeah maybe i'll try giving them their vitamins in different ways instead. Thanks!

Before I knew pellets existed, I gave my budgies vitamins by sprinkling the dry vitamin powder on the wet fresh veges. now that I have had them on pellets for the past 6 years , they dont need vitamins, pellets have the vitamins most birds need :] only exception would be perhaps breeding birds, and laying females may need extra calcium then. There is pellets specialized for breeding birds too.

I got my budgies to transition to pellets by grinding them up and sprinkling like i did with the vitamins. Then after 3 days, i didn't finely grind the pellets, but crushed them with a spoon and sprinkled half crushed pellets on the vegetables. when i noticed they were trying the pellet pieces I then put regular sized pellets on top of the vegetables. Then when they ate them i put a new bowl with just pellets.