Oily birds are usually kept at SANCCOB for a week or more before they are washed. They have to be isolated so that clean birds do not get contaminated and if a volunteer works with the oilies for the day they cannot handle any other birds and have to wear specific oil skins and gloves. Every new oily must be evaluated and cleared as strong enough to be washed, as it is a very stressful experience for most birds. There are a select few that quite enjoy the warm water and one even fell asleep in my hands while we were waiting to move him over to the rinse station (he wasn't too happy when we had to wake him up and rinse him with cold water!)
The first step in cleaning an oiled bird is to remove the wing tags and record which bird is being washed so they can be re-tagged afterward. Then the more prominent spots of oil are sprayed with a solution (the bottle on the floor next to me) that begins breaking down the oil before the bird is even washed. We wear gloves during the entire cleaning process as a lot of the cleaning supplies we use, although safe for the birds, isn't great to be used on skin for hours at a time.
Once the bird is prepared to be washed, it moves to the first station. Here the bird is moved back and forth between two tubs of warm water that are changed each time the bird is washed in them.
A bird is scrubbed in one tub with toothbrushes and soap until the water begins turning brown with oil.
It is then moved to a new tub and scrubbed head to toe while the first tub is cleaned and refilled. Three volunteers usually run the wash station and two work at the rinse station.
At each, there is one volunteer whose job is simply to hold the bird while it is washed while a senior volunteer scrubs or rinses, and another volunteer cleans and changes water. Every job is equally demanding as water must be cleaned and treated with soap almost every five minutes and even faster for very oily birds.
Holders (the job I did the most) is extremely physically demanding as the birds are very strong and stressed out. The positions that they must be held in order to clean feet etc. are also much harder positions to both hold and control the bird. Finally the senior washers and rinsers are tasked with making sure each bird is thoroughly cleaned and rinsed as even a tiny spot of oil left over means the entire process being repeated.
All the while every person must be fully aware of not slipping on soapy water, tripping over buckets and containers and crates, fighting birds, and other people running around in a frenzy. By the end of the day my arms were exhausted from struggling with the birds and I was soaked but it was such a rewarding experience.
I worked in the oily's pen for the few days before they were cleaned and then the day of and the day after and it was amazing the difference it made in their overall demeanor. The SANCCOB saying was proven true to me that day: a clean bird really is a happy bird!
Oily birds are usually kept at SANCCOB for a week or more before they are washed. They have to be isolated so that clean birds do not get contaminated and if a volunteer works with the oilies for the day they cannot handle any other birds and have to wear specific oil skins and gloves. Every new oily must be evaluated and cleared as strong enough to be washed, as it is a very stressful experience for most birds. There are a select few that quite enjoy the warm water and one even fell asleep in my hands while we were waiting to move him over to the rinse station (he wasn't too happy when we had to wake him up and rinse him with cold water!) 
The first step in cleaning an oiled bird is to remove the wing tags and record which bird is being washed so they can be re-tagged afterward. Then the more prominent spots of oil are sprayed with a solution (the bottle on the floor next to me) that begins breaking down the oil before the bird is even washed. We wear gloves during the entire cleaning process as a lot of the cleaning supplies we use, although safe for the birds, isn't great to be used on skin for hours at a time.
Once the bird is prepared to be washed, it moves to the first station. Here the bird is moved back and forth between two tubs of warm water that are changed each time the bird is washed in them. 
A bird is scrubbed in one tub with toothbrushes and soap until the water begins turning brown with oil. 
It is then moved to a new tub and scrubbed head to toe while the first tub is cleaned and refilled. Three volunteers usually run the wash station and two work at the rinse station.
At each, there is one volunteer whose job is simply to hold the bird while it is washed while a senior volunteer scrubs or rinses, and another volunteer cleans and changes water. Every job is equally demanding as water must be cleaned and treated with soap almost every five minutes and even faster for very oily birds. 
Holders (the job I did the most) is extremely physically demanding as the birds are very strong and stressed out. The positions that they must be held in order to clean feet etc. are also much harder positions to both hold and control the bird. Finally the senior washers and rinsers are tasked with making sure each bird is thoroughly cleaned and rinsed as even a tiny spot of oil left over means the entire process being repeated. 
All the while every person must be fully aware of not slipping on soapy water, tripping over buckets and containers and crates, fighting birds, and other people running around in a frenzy. By the end of the day my arms were exhausted from struggling with the birds and I was soaked but it was such a rewarding experience. 
I worked in the oily's pen for the few days before they were cleaned and then the day of and the day after and it was amazing the difference it made in their overall demeanor. The SANCCOB saying was proven true to me that day: a clean bird really is a happy bird!
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