Aloe spray

12-28-2007, 09:01 AM

If one wanted to make there own aloe spray, how would you do it? And would it need to be stored in the fridge? A friend of mine wants an aloe spray for her newly adopted plucking grey, But all the aloe sprays that she sees also have ammonia in them, and she does not want to use them because of this, but she has access to loads of big juice fresh aloe leaves.

12-28-2007, 03:50 PM

I never tried an aloe spray although I have heard a lot about them. I do think that you would have to refrigerate it after it was mixed with water but I am not sure.

I use a mixture of Buddy Rinse which is an all natural conditioner for dogs mixed with water to make a spray. It has lanolin, jojoba and othe natural ingredients like lavendar and mint. I tried it a few years back when my GW as plucking. He seemed itchy and after having all sorts of tests run on him we decided to go the natural route. It is made by a company called Cloud Star. They have a website CloudStar.com -- "Good stuff for good pets" and it is not too expensive.

12-29-2007, 06:00 AM

I have lots of aloe in my yard. You would definitely have to refrigerate it or it would get mold. Why doesn't she just put some in the water or give him a cutting to chew on? I believe the benefit of aloe is when taken internally. (may be wrong)

12-29-2007, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimba

If one wanted to make there own aloe spray, how would you do it? And would it need to be stored in the fridge? A friend of mine wants an aloe spray for her newly adopted plucking grey, But all the aloe sprays that she sees also have ammonia in them, and she does not want to use them because of this, but she has access to loads of big juice fresh aloe leaves.

I think it would definitely need to be refrigerated. Other than expressing the gel fromn the leaf I don't know what the ratio of leaves to water would be.

Here's a few articles I found that explains what parts of the leaf are important and the processes that may be helpful.

Quote:

ALOE VERA -- The most popular herbal remedy for the care of parrots seems to be aloe. One popular use of aloe is a topical spray to sooth the irritated skin of birds that engage in feather plucking. Dramatic results can be obtained with this protocol when used on parrots who are destroying their feathers due to an itchy condition of the skin. Even in cases of psychological plucking, the aloe spray has been known to slow down feather destruction, due to the fact that damp feathers seem to dampen the urge to pluck. The easiest way to obtain a quality aloe spray for parrots is to buy it from a health food store. I recommend George's Aloe Spray, which comes in a spray bottle with eight ounces for approximately five dollars. Otherwise, a spray can be made by obtaining a new and clean spray bottle and filling it with a solution of one part pure aloe vera juice to three parts distilled water.
The Kitchen Physician Herbal Remedies for Parrots

Quote:

This Whole Leaf Aloe Vera Juice has 2-3 times more potency than regular Aloe Vera Juice. Many of the Aloe Vera products you find on the market today do not use the entire leaf of the plant claiming that it's of no efficacy. However, the greatest concentration of Aloe Vera's active ingredients is where the rind interfaces with the inner gel of the leaf.

Pharm-Aloe employs the entire leaf for all of their products. They grind the leaves into a puree and then filter out the rind and aloin, leaving a clear Aloe Vera Juice that has 2-3 times more potency than Non-Whole Leaf Aloe Vera Juice or Gel.
* Whole Leaf Aloe Vera Juice

Quote:

Benefits
Nourishes the digestive and intestinal systems
Soothes the internal tissues of the digestive and intestinal tracts

Contains vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients
May be used topically to moisturize dry, healthy skin

The mineral and active ingredient profile of aloe vera is as follows. The principle ingredients in addition to water include aloin, isobarbaloin, ester of cinnamic acid, ethereal oil, emoding lucosides of d-Arabinose, barbaloin, emodin, resitannol, cinnamic acid. Inorganic ingredients are calcium, chlorine, sodium, potassium, manganese. Monosaccharides and polysaccharides include glucose, mannose and uronic acid. Vitamins include vitamin B-1, vitamin B-2, vitamin C, niacinamide, vitamin B-6, choline. Aloe vera also contains 18 amino acids.

Two major products are derived from the aloe vera plant. One is a bitter, yellow juice present in the cells beneath the surface of the thick "skin" of the leaves. This juice is the source of the aloe, which is a harsh purgative. The other product is obtained from the fleshy interior of the plant. This is called aloe vera gel.

Some methods of preparing aloe vera products involve solvent extraction, often with harsh physical and chemical treatments, resulting in a gel that is hardly representative of the fresh aloe. Other companies' products may be as little as 15% aloe vera.

One of the most honored methods of preparing aloe vera juice is used by Nature's Sunshine. This involves filleting the leaf, removing the green outer portion, which contains the aloin, and leaving just the gel that exists in the leaf, That gel hangs together by itself when the leaf is first filleted. just a few minutes later, the enzymes in the gel will break the structure down so that it will become a running fluid instead of a standing gel.

If one tastes the juice at that point, it does have the typical, strong aloe flavor. That's as close to the natural aloe as one can get without actually opening the leaf and tasting it. Many of the aloe products on the market now are advertised as being without taste. In the processing of these products, however, active principles are removed also.

The aloe leaves are filleted just outside the fields soon after they're collected. Then the juice Is stabilized according to Nature's Sunshine's specifications. The aloe has to be stabilized or frozen because it is a good nutrient. Bacteria and other life will thrive upon it to some degree.

In the preservative system that Nature's Sunshine has chosen, we can use ascorbic acid found in vitamin C, citric acid found in fruits and sodium benzoate. Sodium benzoate is the most natural stabilizing system available and can be used in a very low quantity in an acidified medium, such as the aloe gel. It's probably the best for preserving aloe vera simply because it can be used in such small quantities.

When the plant is filleted, the very bitter-tasting aloin that is in the outer epidermis of the leaf and the inner lining of the gel is removed, representing between five and ten percent of the gel. Sometimes when other companies prepare aloe, the whole aloe leaf is crushed. It is much cheaper to crush the leaves than to fillet each leaf separately. When that is done, the aloin is retained, which makes the juice extremely bitter. The bitterness can be removed by distillation, but this distillation also removes all other active principles in the gel.

Nature's Sunshine's aloe vera juice is 100% aloe. It hasn't been processed to remove all of the active constituents to make the flavor pleasant, but instead we've left the active principles. Some people dilute the aloe by putting two ounces of aloe vera juice in a glass of fruit juice or in some other liquid. That basically does the same thing as purchasing a product that is 10-15 % aloe vera. Nature's Sunshine offers aloe vera juice in 32 fl. oz. containers. Nature's Sunshine's Aloe Vera juice is a good way to start the day .. naturally!

Nature's Sunshine Aloe Vera Juice - Nature's Remedy To Soothe Internal Tissues by Natures Sunshine

12-29-2007, 09:24 AM

Thank you so much!!!!!!!

12-29-2007, 09:43 AM

According to a Birds-n-Ways article located at Winged Wisdom Pet Bird Magazine - African Grey Myths: Greys Are Feather Pluckers

"Try filling a spray bottle with four parts pure water and one part Aloe Vera."

12-29-2007, 11:06 AM

I do this all the time for my fids and my dog, who has allergies. I grow organic Aloe on my porch. I take 1/4 cup of squeezed out Aloe gel and mix with 3/4 C of filtered/distilled water. I then whip it in the blender before putting it in the spray bottle or mister. Then, I spray them.

Fiona is no longer plucking, at the moment. Shrek and the tiels look great and it helps to soften the sheaths on pin feathers and takes away the "itchies" on the fids and the dog.

Since I don't usually make up large quantities, I usually don't store it. But I also buy Aloe Detox which is 100% Aloe juice that I put in all my pets' water once or twice week and always keep in the fridge.

12-30-2007, 06:19 AM

I think it depends upon the consistency of the aloe. A store bought aloe that is thin would probably do well with 1/4 to 3/4 water. I read somewhere that 1/10 aloe to 9/10 water is good, probably for fresh, very gel like aloe.

This is the thing about home made preparations of plant stuff and herbs. It's hard to be so precise because the potency, freshness, consistency, etc. all differ. With the aloe, I would start at the suggested 1/4-3/4, spray some on your hand, and judge for yourself. If you think it's too sticky, dilute to up to 9/10 water, 1/10 aloe.