Poor Sky

[Billie]

Hi All

Poor Sky, a few weeks ago Sky finished her moult and still had feathers in pin above here cere. Sky scratched them a lot and they bled. Now the feathers are out of pin but she is still scratching and making the area bald and bleed. I have seperated her in case the others giver her grief. She hasn't scratched as much since I bathed her face. Her cere has been very dark and seems quite big but I thought that was just birds way of becoming mature???

Any thoughts, I think I might take her to the vet in a couple of days if there is no improvement. Poor love.

Billie

[Berserka]

Have you given them a squirt with Mite & Lice spray? It's getting Spring/Summer your part of the world isn't it? That's when the mites & lice get very active and breed. Even if the others aren't scratching I'd treat them all & their cages too.
I wouldn't worry about Sky, she probably just remembers how itchy & uncomfortable her pins were & is scratching the 'phantom' itch.

[Billie]

Well having seperated her she hasn't bothered them at all. I think I have worked out what may be causing it and also what might have given Minty his snotty nose.

I use a veterinary disinfectant called F10sc to clean all their stuff I use it dilute, and although everything else gets rinsed in clear water after being washed in it when I wipe down their perches I leave it on to dry. I wonder if it has built up a residue on their perches as it is Sky and Minty who rub their faces most on the java branch. I am going to make sure i rinse the perches down in clean water after I wash them in the future.

Sky is having her claws trimmed tomorrow so I'll get the vet to look at her while he's at it.

Billie

[Billie]

Well you will be relieved to hear that Sky is fine. The vet said that she was most likely to be scratching due to severe moult due to her being in season. The vet siad to take her back if she is still scratching in a couple of weeks but it was unlikely to be mites as if her reaction was so strong that the other birds would be showing similar symptoms which they aren't.

Well her feathers are back to normal except for one bald spot and I have a theory. Here's what happened.
1.Sky hardly scratched in the small cage.
2. Minty wasn't scratching or sneezing once Sky was in other cage.
3. I cleaned the entire cage and disifected everything
4. As soon as they were all intogether Sky and Minty went into a scratch and sneezathon then rubbed snot over every perch they could find. Then later settled down.
5. They are the dominant pair of the aivery.

My theory were they scent marking the aviery. If birds do scent mark their space in any way then my disinfecting everything would have removed it all so they were 'putting it back'

Has anyone else seen thier birds scent mark stuff???

Billie

[judy]

no havent heard of it billie, but glad sky is ok. Another natural suggestion Ive been told about for cleaning branches and cages which is completely safe for birds, is dettol. Dilute it abit and that also keeps away lice. Also alovera is good for birds as well. Although I havent tried either of these yet, Ive been told its safe to use.

[Billie]

Well, she's at it again! All was well and her feathers had returned to normal. Then last week there were splashes of blood on the cage but no one had any sign of injury. Now she is scratching her cere till it bleeds. The vet said the other birds would be scratching madly too if it was a mite problem so I'm , no idea what's going on.

They naver have a bath even though they are offerred one, although I have got them to like a shower. They do enjoy it if I mist them from a spray bottle and behave as they would in a bath .

I'll give it a couple more weeks and see if it settles and if not take her back to the vet, sooner if she looks miserable with it.

Odd isn't it.

Billie xxx

[matthaismouse]

good luck and i hope sky returns to her normal self soon.

[Billie]

Hi All

Well after a few weeks of being ok Sky was up to her old tricks of scratching only this time she looked thourougly miserablew and slept a lot. I got her to the vet as was worried and he said if it hs been going on for this long on and off then it is probably a mite and she has had a dose of Ivermectin. Well she has come back a different bird that was a couple of weeks ago now and she is shouting a scrapping for all she is worth all better then PHEW

Bless her and thanks to you all for all the advice

Billie xxx

[Berserka]

That is wonderful news! It is truly great that she is back to her old self.

[Billie]

I jinxed it Sky started scratching again yesterday and today she has made her cere bleed again.

Poor Sky, DH doesn't think its mite as none of the others show symptoms I don't know what to do.

Poor baby

Billie

[Billie]

Got another Vet appointment for tomorrow will let you know what happens. For today I have bathed her cere and the feathers just above it which is where she mainly bothers about. Since bathing it she has calmed down conciderably, before she was constantly scratching and rubbing her cere on every available surface.

Poor little baby

Billie

[Liz]

I'm sorry to hear about Sky, I hope the vet can figure out what is going on. I can't imagine how tough it must to be fight with this so long.

I'm no expert on budgie health, but I'm just guessing... maybe eczema? Eczema is an allergic reaction of the skin. In birds, symptoms include itchy bald spots on their thighs, under their wings, and other similar areas and are constantly scratching, picking their feathers etc. Unfortunately, must times the vets can't even figure out what is causing it. That would explain why it just effects Sky and not the others, and why she is always scratching. I've never seen a bird with eczema or anything, I just read and thought it seemed to match her symptoms. Maybe you could ask your vet about it?

[Billie]

Well the vet gave her another dose of Ivermectin and she is ok again. The vet gave us another dose to give her in a week to 10 days if she has another go. Not heard of excma in birds but if we have more trouble will definately mention it to the vet.

Thanks

Billie