Cleaning Grease From Feathers

[goulian]

Hello, All


Apparently, my feral flock found a new place to wallow in grease. Some have just a tad, others have a great deal of grease on their plumage. One that I know died probably because it could no longer insulate itself from the cold due to the huge amount of greasy, stiff and matted feathers. What I need to know is twofold. What is the best stuff use to clean grease from feathers safely and what is the best way to accomplish that without harming the bird? Any input is greatly appreciated as I am contemplating giving the worst case greasy feathers pigeons a bath in the hope of helping them out. I don't want to lose any more birds to this problem.

Thank you.

Mike

[Pidgey]

Oo. When you clean them, they're going to lose their waterproofing, so you can't just clean them and let them go--it's going to take awhile for them to get that back. Anyhow, there are different strategies, depending. Dawn dish detergent is one of the old favorites but other things are used. Lemme' see if I can find an old thread for you...

Pidgey

[Pidgey]

Here's a post mentioning "GooGone" (something like that):

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showpo...8&postcount=17

Pidgey

[goulian]

Thanks Pidgey, that is what I needed to know. Also, I had not even thought about their natural waterproofing being removed with the grease. I wonder how long it takes for that to retuen to normal. Thanks again.


Mike

[Tilly]

Poor things. They are lucky to have you for a friend.

[Pidgey]

Easy to test--just sprinkle water on them and if it runs off, they're probably fine.

Pidgey

[maryjane]

That's really unfortunate that they got into a greasy area. I've only dealt with major cases of grease/oil, and it took weeks and weeks to get it all off.

Do you still have a room set up for pigeons? Maybe you could bring the worst ones home for a "vacation" time in your house while you help them degrease. Dawn has always worked great for me. It just takes several baths to get any real progress in. Good luck.

[philodice]

If you bring the worst ones home for a couple of weeks they will clean themselves. Or just for a few days but that will take some nice warm baths and a gentle soap.