Vet's Tip : 
Egg bound hens - I've been told to hold them over steaming hot water (not boiling - ouch!) to increase humidity
+ might help them pass it!

N.B: NEVER try and expel an egg yourself— you can kill your bird and it will die in agony!
       
            Here is a picture of a poor budgie that died during the night while trying to lay her egg.
            Not a pretty picture but it just shows you what can happen.  We had had quite a few very
            Hot, sunny days and overnight the weather changed to cold winds and more like winter again
            I'm not sure if this had any direct bearing on the poor hen ending up like this but ?? Click to enlarge picture ►
 
CAUSES:

• Laying too early in the year when the weather is too cold. Lack of calcium, minerals and other nutrients,
  can create an egg with a soft shell that is larger than normal or abnormally shaped. It also causes weaker muscles which are unable to contract properly to expel the egg.

• The soft shell causes the egg to get trapped inside of the hens' body because the muscles in the ovary and cloaca can’t get a good grip on it to push it out.

• Other causes of egg binding include other nutritional deficiencies, lack of exercise, being overweight and
  over-breeding.

• So, it is important to build your bird’s condition up towards the Breeding Season, so it is healthy and fully fit
  b4 it is allowed to breed.

A solitary pet bird

• may also lay an egg or even a full clutch but they won't be fertile.

• It could also become Egg bound.

• If your Pet bird does lay eggs it's best to let her sit them, if she wants to, as removing them could stimulate her to lay more and this could deplete her body's calcium reserves.  
   

To Help Reduce the Chances of your Pet Bird Laying Eggs

• **Often reducing daylight hours, by covering your Pet birds' cage earlier during the summer months, when daylight hours are long, can help prevent solitary Pet Hen Birds from laying unwanted eggs. 

  • You only need to do the above if your Pet hen bird is laying eggs already

  • no need to do it if she isn't - as a light, airey environment is healthy
     

• Also, cut out high protein foods (i.e. titbits of cheese/chicken etc.,) 

• Fruit and veg etc. is fine, in fact, necessary!

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IMPORTANT INFO. ON PERCHES (to help prevent Bumblefoot)
(for all Pet & Aviary Birds)

• Your parrot will spend most of it's life perched on her feet. Providing safe and comfortable perches is
  paramount to good foot health. Not only does a properly sized perch keep your parrots' foot muscles
  in good condition, it can also prevent problems such as Arthritic feet or “Bumble Foot” -
  (an inflammatory or degenerative condition of the foot. In mild cases, redness or swelling on the
  plantar (bottom) surface of the foot, while severe Bumble Foot involves deep-seated abscesses and
  infection of the bone. (Urgent Treatment / Anti-biotics from Vet reqd). 
   

• There are numerous styles of perches to choose from including natural wood, plastic, acrylic, dowel style,
  and “Conditioning” (concrete/sandy). The diameter is the most important thing to consider. Your birds' feet should rest round the top half rather than wrap completely around the perch. Perches that have a variable, uneven diameter and surface, such as natural wood, (i.e. clean, non-poisonous tree branches—fruit tree /
  Elder / Willow etc.) allow your parrot to choose the most comfortable spot to rest.  They encourage safe chewing, as well as helping to exercise it's feet and improve foot strength and dexterity. Just using smooth Dowel Rods of all the same diameter (usually too narrow) contributes to the onset of medical conditions, as mentioned above. Keeping the Perches clean and free of caked droppings is also essential.
   

• Don’t forget Caged birds will also appreciate appropriately-sized, clean branches, instead of dowel rods,
  to help their feet and encourage safe chewing but not so they clutter the cage—they must still have
  plenty of room to move / fly about.  

• Sandpaper sleeves you can buy in pet shops to cover Caged Birds perches can be quite damaging to a birds' foot.  They are meant to keep the nails trimmed and the perch clean but in fact they serve to irritate and abrase the bottom of the foot.  (Imagine if you had to stand barefoot on a sandpaper-covered pole and keep your balance - you'd soon have sore feet!!) The ridged plastic perches which tend to come in most cages, when you first buy them, are not much better.    
  
  

AFRICAN GREYS

• can suffer from a deficiency in Calcium & Vit A.  (see page on A. Greys for more in depth info).

• They do need a Calcium-rich diet OR supplementation (ie. Calcivet or a good Vit/mineral supplement, which is high in Calcium and Vit A.) fed in soft food or water. (Depending on how much your A. Grey drinks tho.) 
  Carrots are high in Vit A.     
  

WORMING  

• Birds should be wormed twice per year.  Esp. those that spend a lot of time on  Aviary Floors foraging.

• The Spring worming should be done a couple of weeks, before you are due to pair up for the Breeding Season. 

• The 2nd worming should be done at the end of the Breeding Season to make sure their systems are rid of all parasites before the onset of Winter, to give them the best chance of being healthy before going into colder weather.

PANOMEC "SYSTEMIC" WORMER (from VET)

• To get rid of internal worms and external parasites (i.e. lice, Red Mite and Scaly Face mites) 
  one drop of an Ivermectin based Wormer (“Panomec” - from Vets) on the back of the birds neck —

  • blow apart the feathers and put it where the birds can’t preen. *Wear rubber Gloves before you apply
    and be careful of handling the bird for a few days after, as it’s systemic, so it is absorbed thru the
    skin. (Your skin as well as your birds!)  It's a similar idea as using "Frontline" on Dogs and Cats

PANACUR LIQUID (from Vet) administered Orally

• You could use "Panacur" liquid (From Vets), which is administered via the beak with a syringe
  (remove needle first!!) 

• If you are not used to dosing via beak, or haven't done it before, it's best NOT to try it without an
  experienced person present to show you the correct/safe way. You could accidentally get the liquid into
  the Birds' trachea (windpipe) it could then aspirate (i.e. choke) and poss. die.  It's quite a specialised task,
  as you have to make sure you get the Syringe tip into the right-side of the birds' throat to ensure the
  liquid goes into the crop and not the wind-pipe!

• Panacur is also the treatment for Giardia (see index above for full details) . . .
  

WORMER in the WATER (From Pet Shops)

• Alternatively, you can buy little bottles of "Wormer" (e.g. "Expel" by Aviform) 

• you just put a few drops into the birds' water over a 3 - 4 day period. 

• However, this just creates an "unfriendly" environment for worms rather than killing them off. 

• It also depends on how much water your birds actually drink! 

• However, if you have birds that would get too stressed being caught up to administer the "Panomec" or "Panacur", then "Wormer-in-the-Water" would be a much better alternative than not worming at all.
   

• A member recommends you put 1 teaspoon of Household Bleach (yes, plain domestos!) to 1 gallon of Fresh Water and then give to you birds to drink.

• This helps keep the drinkers clean and helps keep the birds free of parasites and keep their digestive tracts working well. (Has been known to help keep “Young Bird Sickness” at bay). John and Ray have used this for years with no ill effects—only good ones!

The Australian Budgerigar Council recommends "adding a few drops of Raspberry Cordial to help keep your birds’ water clean and bacteria-free". 
                                                              

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POISONOUS PLANTS, FOODS & Household items

• XMAS Poinsettia

• WINTER CHERRY - with it’s orange-red berries-can be deadly if eaten by parrot-like birds. 

• Chocolate

• AVOCADOS (deadly to most birds) 

•  MUSHROOM 

•  RHUBARB

• AEROSOLS  any and all (a birds' lungs are not the same as ours and can't tolerate any type of aerosol being sprayed anywhere near them!

• PLUG-IN Room fragrances - once again lethal to birds

• VAPONA Fly repellants (the ones you hang with the yellow insides)

• Cigarette SMOKE

• ALCHOHOL or CAFFEINE 

• ANY BULBOUS PLANT -  Hyacinths and daffodils. 

• Fumes off TEFLON (non-stick coated) Cookware can KILL

  • your bird in a very short time after exposure!  

  • Once the pans are heated they give off LETHAL FUMES which can permeate the house - 

  • So keep the Kitchen Door SHUT if you are using Non-stick pans, esp. Frying Pans 

  • NEVER have your Bird in or near the Kitchen, esp.  when you are cooking.  

Be wary of FROST —  NEVER let a bird eat frosted Fruit or Veg

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To Help Prevent Splayed Legs in Chicks.

• The N. box base must either have a concave or something that the chicks can push against when moving
  about, while their legs are developing. 

• If you don't have a layer of  bedding that the chicks can get a purchase on and push against or concave
  sides to the base, then you could get "Splayed legs", which can be a big problem.

  • (Lack of calcium, while the hen is feeding the chicks, can also predispose to this condition).

• The worst thing you can have is nest box with  a slippery, flat bottom and no bedding.
   

Splayed legs

• 
  **Red-mite live in small cracks and crevices of Aviaries, cages and Nestboxes and only come out to feed
  at night-time.  

• You rarely see them during daylight, so you are often unaware you have a problem. They can reek havoc on a
  nest of chicks.  

• They are called red-mite 'cos they suck the blood, which turns them red.

• If you suspect you may have mites in your Bird Aviary, place a bunched up white handkerchief on top of the
  cage at night. 

• Mites come out to feed at night and then retreat to dark crevices at daylight.

•  In the morning, carefully unfold the handkerchief and look for the mites. 

• They will appear as small black or red MOVING dots on the fabric.
  
     

• To keep Red Mite out of your Nests/NestBoxes/Aviaries - You can make your own spray by adding 20 drops
  of Eucalyptus natural Oil and 20 drops of Tea Tree (both can be bought from Health Shops or Chemists)
  into 250ml of warm water in a (clean) spray bottle then spray your nests/boxes etc. before you put the
  bedding in. 

• (DO NOT SPRAY if EGGS in the Nests) .

• The Tea Tree is a Natural Antiseptic, as is the Eucalyptus which also has the added advantage of being good for the birds’ breathing and an effective germicidal and anti-bacterial.     
   

• Another important point to note re: Budgies is that they can be overdosed with Calcium, they don't seem to need the same extra  supplementation that other Birds do.  So, be aware of this at Breeding Time, if you are using a Calcium Supplement (i.e. Calcivet) for your other Birds. 

• Over-dosing can be just as bad as a deficiency and creates it's own problems.  
  

• However, BUDGIES DO NEED IODINE in their diets.

• So putting an Iodised Block (the Pink cubes you can buy at Bird Sales) in with them gives them free access to use it, as and when they feel the need. (see Goitre Below)
  
  Vet's Tip:  

• Budgies - 

  • I've always been advised to feed Trill as only diet with iodine already in it. I've certainly seen budgies with iodine deficiency when only fed pink iodine blocks.
    

Goitre

• Goitre (or enlargement of the thyroid gland)
• This can be a problem in adult budgerigars.
• In pet budgerigars the result of lack of iodine in the diet  is a common cause.
• Feeding a nutritionally complete diet will prevent this.
• Sluggishness, and laboured breathing accompanied by a high squeaky voice
  • (this is because the thyroid gland enlarges and presses on the voice box.) are the symptoms.

Goitre can be treated, so contact your veterinarian if your bird exhibits these symptoms.

www.birdcareco.com  for a range of Feed Supplements

www.avianmedicinechest.com
One of our members recommended the above website, which they find very useful and will send you regular newsletters and can help with Avian medicine advice.  
 

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Wet or loose Droppings (Diarrhoea)

You can get loose, wet droppings for all sorts of reasons:-

• Too much wet, green food. (lettuce can often be a culprit if fed in large quantities).

• Wild foods that have maybe been contaminated with weed sprays, dogs droppings etc.,

• Bacterial infection. (Salmonella etc.)

• Food poisoning

• Chills or colds (often during damp, wet, windy cold, weather) 

• Digestive upsets for multiple reasons inc. mouldy food

• Pregnant Hens (normal) Their droppings are copious, in quantity and loose.

• Egg-bound Hen (see above)

• Any toxins (irritants/poisons - inc. "poisonous" plants etc. including those that may be growing near enough to the Aviary, so that the bird has access thru the mesh) that have disagreed with the birds' digestive system

• Chewing Aviary panels that may have something on them that disagrees with the bird.

• Chewing Aviary Mesh - Zinc poisoning (see above)

• Frosted Fruit or Veg.

• WORMS
  

• Diarrhoea is nature's way of ridding the body of something that the digestive system is not happy with. 
  The droppings can be lots of different colours, which can denote, in many cases, what has caused the diarrhoea. (If it's really bad and you are worried - consult an Avian Vet
  - Don't delay, as one days' illness in a bird is equal to 7 days in a human).  

• Treating diarrhoea is not as easy as it sounds

  • esp. if it's bacterial problem, as Anti-biotics often cause more problems than they help fix.

• Anti-biotics kill off bad bacteria which may be causing the problem but also kill off the good bacteria essential for the bird to digest it's food

  • These bacteria have already been compromised by the bacterial infection and are now further destroyed by the Anti-biotics

  • So, you really do need a vet's advice and help on this one.

  • You can end up with dehydration and a depleted population of good bacteria in the birds digestive tracts which can cause major problems.
     

Abnormal droppings

• A healthy budgerigar's droppings are firm and black (with a small white component - the urates).
• If the droppings become green, the budgerigar has diarrhoea, which may be caused by eating too much green food.
  • Or it could be the sign of a bacterial infection.
  • Esp. if the droppings are sloppy or slimy.
• In that case, stop feeding greens immediately and the droppings should return to normal after 24 hours.
  • If you have not been feeding greens, or the symptoms do not disappear after 24 hours,
  •  it is likely that your budgerigar has a more serious problem and you should seek veterinary advice immediately
• Other abnormal dropping colours to look for are yellow, grey, red, all black or all white.
  • Completely white droppings indicate the bird has been starved for a period of time
    • the white is just urates (your bird's urine) with no facaes i.e. denoting food has not passed thru the system.
  • If this occurs check that your bird has had enough seed/food and that it has actually been eating it.

• Yellow urates denote a problem with the Liver i.e. toxins

• Red is shows blood is mixed with the urates - could be a potential problem

SIGNS/SYMPTOMS of an UNWELL BIRD
 

• Remember birds won't show they are ill until they are really ill.  It's their way of protecting themselves in the Wild, when predators would pick off any bird that looked different to the rest + other birds would pick on them.
  
   

• The last thing you really want to use to treat diarrhoea are Anti-biotics, as the guts' natural Good Bacteria is already compromised and using Anti-B's kills off bacteria - both good and bad. 
   

• The best thing you can do if the bird appears unwell, as well as having loose droppings, is to keep it warm
  - use a hospital Cage or improvise - see above.
   

• When a bird is off colour, for whatever reason, it feels cold, that's why it sits fluffed-up.  The very act of sitting means it isn't keeping warm by flying around.  It's usually off it's food too. 
   

• Once you have it in the hospital cage, make sure the atmosphere is not too dry, (have a shallow bowl of
  water in the cage)  as the bird has lost body fluids in the diarrhoea, and will be prone to dehydration
  esp. if the atmosphere is too dry and it's not eating or drinking.

• On the hospital cage floor, use layers of paper which are easily rolled up and disposed of, as they get soiled 
  or "Easibed"  which will absorb the droppings, so that the bird is not paddling around or sitting in them.

• Offer tempting foods (depending on the bird species) - nothing sloppy - no fruit/veg at the moment. 
  Poss.  EMP egg food, lightly dampened with boiled, drained sweetcorn.  You can add a sprinkly of Electrolyte/Pro-biotic to this.  Millet Sprays are taken by most birds and are easy to digest.

• Putting a pro-biotic into the birds' drinking water (check the tub for quantities). This helps replace lost
  body fluids + essential sugars, salts & minerals that the body needs to survive.  

• It's like an electrolyte that athletes use after sweating a lot, to replace the body's essential fluids, that
  have been sweated out.  It also has the effects of Actimel, which replenishes the good bacteria in the
  digestive system.  

• The Good bacteria are necessary to digest the food that the bird eats.  Bad Bacteria kill off the good
  bacteria and the food doesn't get digested properly and starts to ferment (then you get Hubble, bubble,
  boil and trouble syndrome in the guts!!) - hence the digestive upset.

•  You could also add a little glucose to the water which will help encourage the bird to sample the drink
  and will also act as a food source.

• Encourage the bird to drink.  If, and only if you are proficient in feeding a bird via a crop tube or feeding syringe,  should you dissolve some pro-biotic in warm water and feed it straight into the birds' crop. 
  If you are not proficient, please don't even try.  

• You could try and tempt the bird with some of the above solution off a bent funnel spoon.  Don't tip it into
  the beak, let the bird take it very slowly, becos. if you force it into the beak then the bird could aspirate
  (i.e. choke becos the fluid goes into the lungs instead of into the gullet and then down into the crop).

• There is a very fine line for error when feeding the bird via the beak, as the bird has to physically to shut
  off the access to it's trachea (windpipe) when it's feeding and drinking.  If it's stressed becos it's ill and/or
  you are trying to get it to take liquids then, in it's panic, it could breathe the liquid in or the "shutting-off" process doesn't happen. Either way the fluid could go into the lungs - or come out of the bird's nostrils. 
  Neither of which is ever a good thing and can in some instances Kill the bird!!

• If the bird has had digestive problems over a few days then squashy droppings can accumulate and clog
  the vent area.  This can create it's own problems, as the bird then has difficulty in passing any more
  droppings, as the vent becomes blocked!  This in itself can put a bird off eating, as it's digestive system becomes back-logged and has no outlet!

• You must then catch the bird up and GENTLY soak the area with warm water (never hotter than your blood
  heat - test the temp on your wrist first - it must not feel hot or too cool).  Use a wadge of cotton wool and keep irrigating the clotted mass of droppings until they are soft enough to remove - never force them off as
  you can rip the skin and feathers off the birds' vent area.  

• Once you have removed the droppings, thoroughly dry the vent area.  Then apply vaseline, olive oil or
  anything you would put on a baby's bottom for nappy rash.  This helps prevent droppings sticking in
  future and also soothes the area.  

• Keep the bird warm until it dries out.
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Loss of appetite

• A bird may lose his appetite for many different reasons.
• If your bird stops eating, you must treat it as an emergency because a budgerigar cannot survive without food for very long.
• Droppings that are just white - denoting just urine and no faeces show the lack of food in the diet.
• Lack of or sparse droppings show the bird is poss. not eating or drinking or doing so very little.
• Birds may become seriously ill after only 24 hours without food.
• Check for seed husks building up in the feed bowl from time to time during the day,
  • or watch that it is eating regularly, if you are concerned.
  • A healthy bird eats small quantities of seed at regular intervals.

NOTE: Sometimes birds can stop eating if they are given a sudden change of diet.

• If you decide to change your birds diet, you must do so gradually.
• Add the new seed mixture to the old in increasing quantities over a period of at least seven days.
• The healthy bacteria that is in the gut to help digest the seed/food may not digest the new seed/food if it is
  very different to what the bird is used to eating and needs time to develop new healthy bacteria to digest the seeds/food properly
• So the best way is to offer small quantities of the new seed/foods alongside the food your bird is used to eating.
• This should help prevent digestive upset.
• Adding a good Pro-biotic to the birds' water 2-3 times per week helps populate the gut with healthy bacteria.

Scaly Face (in budgies)

• Scaly face is an unsightly condition which effects mainly budgies, altho. Kakis can also be prone to the condition, as can other parrots.

• It can cause permanent malformation of the beak if not treated fairly immediately after being recognised.

• Scaly face is cause by Scaly Mites, which can be seen under a microscope.  They burrow into the Cere (the fleshy part above the beak) of the Budgie. 

• The mites create snail-like tracks above the beak, which soon spreads to create coral-like encrustations around the side of the beak.

• Scaly face is highly contagious (i.e. spread by contact). 

• The mites can be passed onto other birds in the same cage/Aviary esp. amongst Budgies, who spend a lot of time feeding each other beak to beak and wiping their beaks on communal perches.

TREATMENT

• You can either get a proprietary treatment for Scaly Face from a  Pet Shop.

• Smear the affected areas with vaseline. This kills the mites by blocking off their breathing tubes. 

• Continue treatment for a few days after obvious signs of infection have disappeared

• Get some PANOMEC (an Ivermectin-based solution)  Check out info on Panamec above for instructions on how to use, as it's systemic ie absorbed thru the skin.

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CUTTING a BIRDS CLAWS

• If you have a good selection of branches and perches for your birds their claws should not become over-long. 

• Pet Birds can benefit from man-made perches designed to help kept their claws trimmed - not to the exclusion of natural branches/perches.

• These Man-made perches can be rough and irritate the bottom of the bird's feet and make them sore, if that's all they have to perch on. (they can even cause "Bumble Foot")

• However, inevitably some birds end up with over-long claws that can effect their balance and even curl right round and back into their feet!

• To cut a small birds claws, esp. those that are pale coloured is not a problem.
  
  

  • Catch the bird up gently and hold it in a towel to stop it struggling.

  • It's best if there are 2 of you - one to hold the bird and one to concentrate on cutting the claws.

  • You ideally need nail clippers, (the ones used to clip Dogs toenails are ideal) rather than scissors and a bright light/torch.

  • Hold the foot up to the light and look for the vein that runs 1/2 way down the claw.

  • You can cut the claw just below the Vein.

  • If you cut the vein by accident - have some flour, cornflour, un-perfumed talc or powdered anti-biotic powder to hand.  

  • Dip the end of the bleeding claw into the powder - it forms an effective seal to stop the bleeding and aid the healing.

  • If it is a bigger bird with a dark-coloured claw and you can't see the vein - you are much safer just clipping off just the very end of the claw and not taking much length away unless, of course, the claws are very long!  Better to be safe than sorry!

  • Just remember that birds need the pointed end to their claws to help them grip onto perches/branches..

  • So, if it's just that their claws are sharp and not necessarily too long but their claws are sticking in you when you let them perch on your hands etc., you are really not doing them any favours if you clip them , just yourself!
    
    
     

BLEEDING : 

Vet's Tip:  

• I tend to advise using flour/ cornflour in an emergency to stop bleeding.

• Damaged blood feathers are best pulled out if flour doesn't stop them bleeding 

• but best to see a vet within 24hrs as it is a common trigger for feather-plucking. 
  

  • I've seen 2 Feather-plucking birds which definitely started as blood feather injuries 

  • They usually need a painkiller. 

  • Obviously, blood feathers shouldn't be pulled out willy-nilly as this can damage re-growth.
    
    

ASPERGILLOSIS

(A contagious Fungal infection found inside the birds mouth/beak)

• If your bird is having difficulty or seems uncomfortable eating and drinking :
  
  
  • If you look in the bird's beak and can see white lesions on the roof of his mouth
  • or white swellings 
  • These can be caused by a fungal infection 
  • which is usually caused by the fungus "Aspergillosis".
    
  • The fungus is spread by contact (contagious)
    •  i.e. parent feeding chicks or it's mate.
    • or wiping it's beak on a branch used by other birds doing the same
    • sharing food and water dishes
      
  • You need to get in touch with your Vet for diagnosis and treatment.
    
  • Medication is : Nysatin, an Anti-fungal Medication 
  • (the same medication as you would give to human babies, when they have "Thrush" in their mouths 
    • - looks like a white coating on the tongue in babies) 
      
  • to be given into the bird's beak, twice a day (follow dosing instructions on container)
     
    • Lamisil is also a fungal treatment
      
      

AIR SAC MITES :

• Air Sac Mites are truly microscopic. 
• You cannot see them even with a powerful magnifying glass. 
• You will need a microscope of at least 100x to see them. 
• Furthermore, air-sac mites cannot be found on the outside of the bird, nor in its faeces or saliva generally. 
• If the bird sneezes, (which may be a symptom?) 
  • -some may be forcefully expelled out of the lungs into the air.
• Air-sac mites do not cause any external change in appearance. 
• They infest the alveoli, the air-sacs of the lungs, where oxygen enters the blood and CO2 exits. 
• The only symptom will be sneezing, labored breathing, gargled song (cocks),
• and clicking sounds during the night. 
• If you suspect air sac mites, hold the bird up to your ear and listen for a clicking sound
• This is the easiest way to detect air sac mites.
• In some cases, the birds' beak may have a calcified look about them during advanced infestation,
• but this is neither a common indicator nor uniquely associated with air-sac mites.

TREATMENT : 

Ivermectin - a Systemic treatment which kills Internal and External Parasites.

INTERNAL   :  Worms, Air Sac Mites
EXTERNAL  :   Red Mite, Feather mites, Lice etc.,
SYSTEMIC  :   This means that it can be absorbed thru the skin into the blood stream and if You 
                    don't wear protective rubber gloves - it will be absorbed thru YOUR SKIN and into 
                    Your Bloodstream also.  This can give you a very unpleasant taste in your mouth 
                    - some people have quite a nasty reaction to the effects and it can make you feel
                     pretty ill.
 

•  Once the Air Sac Mites have entered the respiratory system the need for Ivermectin spot-on is apparent.
•  Hold the bird in your one hand and either blow the feathers to the side or wet the feathers of the neck under the bill and "comb" them to the sides exposing the trachea or "windpipe". 
• Sometimes upon careful inspection and the use of a light source on the side of the neck you may even see the mites as tiny black spots under the skin and located along the trachea, (depending on how bad the infestation). 
  
• Place a healthy drop of Ivermectin directly upon this area and hold the bird until the Ivermectin has absorbed.    
  • Remember the rubber gloves!
    
•  Do this once every two weeks for a total of three treatments in infected birds. 
• This will help to kill mites in the larva, and egg stage, that may not be affected by the first application.
• Placing Ivermectin under the wing or back of the head will only slow the eradication process down as it has to absorb into the blood stream and then be carried to the area of infestation.
  
• Prepare a clean cage (clean thoroughly with vinegar and water and left in the sun to dry)
•  Ivermectin to be used for birds should have  1% sterile solution obtainable from your Vet.
• Horse wormers contain 1.87% of Ivermectin, which would be too strong for birds

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FEATHER MITES

There are quite a few species of feather mites.  They are flat and live in the grooves of the feather barbules. They don't suck blood.  They live on the feathers and can ruin the quality of the plumage. The smallest feathers on birds usually have some feather mites.

These tiny arachnids are so small that to the naked eye they appear to be tiny particles of dirt. 
On a Purple Martin's feathers, you can find "colonies" of them, esp. on their long wing and tail feathers and between the feather barbs.

The mites get their nourishment by chewing on the feathers.  Although these parasites are fairly harmless to the
Purple Martin, they can severely damage their plumage during heavy infestations.

Other species of feather mites, known as "Quill Mites" are "habitat specific" and live their entire lives within the hollow confines of the wing feather quills.  They feed on host tissue fluids by piercing the quill wall with sharp mouth parts.

In the same way Bird Lice spend their entire lives on their hosts, so do the feather mites, laying their eggs on the feathers.

Life cycle of these Mites is very similar to that of the RED MITE and treatment for eradication is the same
i.e. IVERMECTIN (Check the Red Mite page for full application instructions and precautions when handling).

Inside Birds Mouth and how it differs from Humans

• At the base of the tongue, the glottis and the laryngeal mound are located. 
• The larynx of mammals is used for vocalization, 
  • but it is the syrinx, located down much further, that is responsible for sound production in birds. 
    
  • The is located on the roof of the mouth. 
  • It is a slit that connects through some passages to the nostrils. 
  • One really neat difference that birds have is that the glottis will fit snugly into the choanal slit when the bird closes its mouth, 
  • and the bird will then have a closed connection from the nostrils to the windpipe. 
    
    
• When a human breathes through our nostrils, 
• the air goes through the back of the throat
•  which is an open area to the trachea through the larynx. 
• The Choana is a cleft in the palate thru which the oral and nasal cavities communicate.

   

• In a bird however:
  
  • There are little projections, called papillae, 
  • that normally are found at the edges of the choanal slit. 
  • Other papillae, pointing towards the back of the throat, may be found in the oropharynx.
  •  A second, smaller slit is located behind the choanal slit. 
  • This is the opening to the middle ears in birds. 
  • It is called the infundibular cleft,  
  • This is connected by a tube, called the pharyngotympanic tube. 
  • Birds with middle ear infections often have a red, swollen cleft. 
    
    
  • This cleft is important for birds that fly at great altitudes, as it helps equalize pressure in the middle ear.
    
•  I'll bet you never thought that birds ears might pop when they ascend during flight, like ours do when we humans fly or get up to altitudes.
  
  
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• An excessive amount of bubbly saliva may indicate infestation with gapeworms.
• Gapeworms lodge in the trachea and sound like a respiratory infection (audible phlegm).
• Without treatment for gapeworms, birds can suffocate to death.
   
• Thick, white or cream-coloured material adhering to the mucosa of the mouth, oesophagus, pharynx, larynx or trachea  may denote a possible deficiency of vitamin A.

The egg tooth is a dorsal process on the beak, which aids hatching in chicks and disappears soon after hatching. 

On a different note:  I would like to know if any of you have used  Corn-on-the-cob substrate base in Nestboxes
or in the containers holding your Hand-reared babies?

If so, have any of your young (7-12 days old) chicks ingested the hard corn bits 
and if so, did they come to any harm or did it get passed thru them safely?  

Panic over!! - Yes, they do get passed thru - eventually (over a few days) 
- they must soften and go thru the digestive tract - they do not come out whole the other end, so must be digested or semi-digested, as they go!

BAYTRIL  (I found this article while trawling the Internet - was so concerned I sent it to our Avian Vet who replied to me and then sent the info to Bayers, the manufacturers of Baytril. 
> > >   Below are the Responses from both our Avian Vet and Bayer

This is the Article I found  > > > 

"Her bird was given Baytril went blind was under a year old when all this happened, it had tons of problems after that in and out of the vets office about every two weeks till the intestines just shut down.

I know of another VERY young Parakeet that ended up with respiratory problems from this. The owner fought with VETS to get him back to being some what normal again but he still has trouble breathing. I was recently inform that even with all his fighting to survive that he just passed away and he was well under a yr of age maybe about 6 months.

Baytril can cause blindness in cats and as my one VET says and I quote ''Any toxic side effects that happen in one species can, under the right circumstances, happen in another.''

"Cipro" is the same drug as Baytril and also can cause terrible side effects.
Anything with a Quin to the name has some baytril in and can be dangerous to ANY animal. Enrofloxacin is another name for Baytril, Baytril is more of a layman word started by VETs if I am correct.

As far as the respiratory if the bird gets stressed or excited it will leave them giving like a wheezing sound & panting like they are hot yet it may not be hot out or hot in the home.

From one of my vets
''It could cause upper respiratory problems if the bird inhaled any of the stuff it was throwing up. 
A most serious side effect is tendons dissolving or coming loose & gut destruction. I have known it to cause birds to throw up most everything it ate for up to a year.''

 Baytril is manufactured by the Bayer Animal Health.

This the site I found the above article on:
>http://www.practical-pet-care.com/bird_question.php?ID=2.2007033121340371

This is my Avian Vet's Response

"This article is crazy!!

Baytril is an antibiotic licenced for use in birds, it has therefore gone
through rigorous testing to be able to be used in parrot species. It is a
fluoroquinalone - type antibiotic. It is accepted that it can cause
blindness in cats (in rare cases) but does NOT cause this in any other species. It is widely used in poultry. In very young mammals it can cause probs with cartilage formation but as these are very different from birds, even this is unlikely.

If it helps, I had a similar article thrown at me by a tortoise owner quoting that 'leopard tortoises will die if given Baytril' - this is, of course crazy + I checked it out with the manufacturers - no basis at all!

I will forward this to Bayer + let you know their reply but I'm afraid this is typical of the good old internet - it causes a lot of mistrust in a lot of sound products! It is also looks like an american quote where Baytril is not licenced / brought out for exotics.

Obviously, any animal can have an allergic/ adverse reaction to a drug. Care must be given to give the correct dosage as over dosage can be as much of a problem".

This is the response from Bayer - the Manufacturer

Here is my reply, straight from the horse's mouth!

>Email from: animal.health@bayerhealthcare.com

>Subject: Re: FAO Vets - Spurious Baytril info!
>Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2007 16:36:46 +0100
>
In response to your email, you are correct that this information is not to be believed. 
Unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation on the internet.

One fact is true and that is the knowledge that on very rare occasions blindness has been reported following
the use of enrofloxacin in cats.
This is clearly stated in the product data sheet. This side effect has not been reported in any other species
including birds.

Also to clarify a few other issues:

"Cipro" is not the same drug as Baytril - Cipro is a US abbreviation for Ciprofloxacin 
- a fluoroquinolone used in humans.   
Baytril contains enrofloxacin.

"Anything with 'Quin' in the name contains some Baytril" - only Baytril is Baytril!

"Baytril is a laymans word started by vets if I am correct"! - NO! It is a brand name used globally for the
enrofloxacin products produced by Bayer.

I hope this helps!

Kind regards - Best Regards
Animal Health
_________________________________________
Bayer plc
Animal Health
Newbury
Phone:         01635 563000
Fax:            01635 563622
EMail: animal.health@bayerhealthcare.com
Web:  http://www.bayerhealthcare.com