feather query

[ruby 5]

Please can anyone tell me what this could be...I'll try and post a pic but until then the best I can describe it is, my normal green breeding cock has for some time had very tiny brown specs on his body only. He is not scratching or behaving any differently, I thought it was because he was in breeding condition maybe, but it seems to be getting worse. The little dots are so small you have to be up very close to him to notice them.

[barrieshutt]

sounds like feather mites Ruby, apply one spot every 6 months

[ruby 5]

This is a picture of Freddie's feathers.

[barrieshutt]

Ivermectin 0.1% or one spot from your pet store , also supply guardian angel for a week as he has no sparkle in his eyes

[ruby 5]

Thank you Barrie, he is still feeding 6 chicks, the youngest is 20 days, is it ok to treat him now? The birds live indoors so how do they get feather mite? I push the cage to an open door could this be where it came from? Also will the other birds need treating, I haven't noticed anything on them.

[Hezz]

Treat all the birds, Ruby, and disinfect the cages.

Barrie, what about the chicks? Should they be done too? How old are they now Ruby???

If they are sitting in a doorway and native birds around with mites have gotten close, that could be how Freddie has become infested. A friend recently was telling me she had to move a sunbird's nest and the parents and nest and chicks were all heavily infested, so it makes sense to me that yours have picked them up from your open doorway and the wild birds. Least it is easy to treat!

[barrieshutt]

we can carry mites in on our clothing .................treat chicks at 6 weeks old and parents now ............use this product using an empty washing up liquid bottle as a puffer, puff into the nest box under the bedding and around the birdroom / cage wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/diatomaceous_earth_mites.html

[ruby 5]

Thank you for the replies. I will treat all the birds as a precaution although I can't see any sign of anything on them. Can feather mites spread in the home or to people or other animals? Also should I use spot on for the parrot who is in the same room?

[ruby 5]

Sorry........also will the spot on cure Freddie after one use? I am worried a bit about using the spot on as he and his mate are always preening each other.

[birdguhl]

I'm not an expert at all but budgie skin is naturally quite red so I don't think this will be caused by the ivermection. I know what you mean about it looking absolutely awful afterwards though. Mine have always been a lot better the next day then pretty much normal the day afterwards. Luee was the worst with it though - he was scratching his next with his foot so much I was worried he was going to damage his skin. He was much better about it the second time around.

[Hezz]

Sounds a bit more than feather mites, then, Lesley. Unless he is getting reinfected with them all the time from the aviary or wherever they are living. If you are dosing him every few weeks I am not surprised that his skin may be reacting to the spot-on.

That's six months ........ I would be looking for an educated opinion into what is going on and why.

[Hezz]

It was recommended to me to dose them each week for three weeks running when I had a bird with just the tiniest bit on his legs.

[Hezz]

No, Lesley. I'm in Australia; we can't many of the things you guys have access to. It is actually a sheep/cattle spot-on the concentration is 0.08% ivermectin, so a little less strength than what you are using. Actually just looking at the bottle it does say once a week for a month, not three weeks. But was talking to the vet around the same time; they recommended three weeks. The bottle I have is simply some decanted from a larger drum ........ it is hard to get hold of this stuff without either getting a stock animal supply or seeing a vet. I got lucky.