dry skin

Question
Hello,
any advice you can offer me will be greatly appreciated!
I have a 3 and a half yr old cockatiel who has dry/flakey skin on his feet and beak. how can i correct it? he is healthy and happy. diet consists of hagen premium mix 4 cockatiels and vegetables as well at vitamin suppliment a few times a wk. his feathers and rest of his body are in excellent condition and he has never been sick.
thank you very much

Answer
Hi, Michelle.  Thanks for posting!

It depends on how badly the skin is flaking/how dry the skin is and what might be causing the problem.  This time of year, particularly if you live in an area with 4 seasons, the air inside our homes is dry resulting in dry skin on us humans, as well as our animals (dogs, birds, cats, etc.).  You could try adding some humidity to your home and see if this helps.  If your bird's feet skin is dry, most likely the rest of his/her skin is dry.  This dryness can be caused by ambient conditions, diet, medical problems, etc.  If only dry on the feet, could be a medical condition.   

Dry/flaky skin on the beak is another story.  Beaks "peel" so to speak, as they are made from the same type of material our finger and toenails are made from.  Is your tiel's beak "peeling" or is there dry/flaky skin around or actually on the beak?

You can also use aloe oil drops in the bath water or spray mister when your bird bathes.  Just add a couple of drops directly from an aloe plant leaf into the water.  Don't use oil/lotion made for humans on your bird's feet.  

Your tiel's diet might have a part to play in this.  Seed is seed...doesn't matter if it's called "premium" or "fortified."  An all-seed diet is a poor diet for a parrot.  Also, if you are placing vitamin supplement in your bird's drinking water, stop this practice, as adding things to a bird's drinking water contaminates the water.  In addition, adding vitamins or meds to water only waters the vitamins/meds down too much for the product to be any good.     

Chrys