Heather?

[hollyhawkz]

Hi Heather,
I have been reading some other posts you relpied to about mites. Wawa, my Black Capped Conure is just around 5 months old now. I don't see any signs of mites or pin feathers, however the last few days he has been scratching more, fluffing up and really rubing his face on everything??? Any ideas? How old do they have to be to first use ivermectin (is that right?). The plan is that he is going to the vet next week for check up and DNA testing. Should I get him in sooner? All else is fine, eating, pooping, energy, snuggliness etc...
Thanks

[Monica]

Heather may not be able to reply ATM...

As for mites, well you could have your vet check for them. From my understanding, birds can be protected from mites as early as a hatchling... Otherwise, here's some sites that talk about bird mites...
Parrot illnesses
Bird Mites
Caged bird: Most frequent diseases. Vet Dr. Tiger gives information and advice.
Beaks,feathers and scales, diseases and conditions

For now, you may want to spray Wawa daily with some water from a spray bottle to ensure that his skin is kept moist.

[hollyhawkz]

Thanks Monica,
He does bath every day, and either enjoys the shower with me, or gets a spray. Clean water only, and I remove him from shower before I soap up. Could it be he is starting to molt and I just can't see the pin feathers yet? I can't see anything else even with a magnifying glass.

[Valo's Moirana]

it's molting season so i wouldn't be surprised if he was indeed molting... see any feathers floating around your house? how old is wawa?

if you suspect mites, i'd definitely have the vet check for them before just giving anything

[Tiki]

Is he your only bird? Moulting and regrowing new feathers does make them itchy, especially if they don't have another bird to preen them.

[hollyhawkz]

Thanks for all the answers. You gals are great! He is about 5 months old, has been home with us for about a month now, and an only bird child(one Catahoula dog). There are no feathers around just yet. I found one small pin feather today. It is just starting under his lower jaw. I guess the skin everywhere becomes a little itchy prior to moulting. I will keep up with daily sprays/showers and baths. Would rubbing his feathers gently with a toothbrush help him? Maybe it would feel like preening.
This is very exciting, I can't wait to see his colour after his first baby moult. I read that they get blacker on the head and bloom with more red in thier wings.
Again, thank you very sincerely!

On a completely different topic.... do your fids seem to save up their poop over the night and explode with a full seagul size first poop of the morning? So far I really watch for Wawa's first poop of the morning, one to check it and two because if it hits me or the furniture... well like I said it's seagul size ha ha

[Valo's Moirana]

since he's still so young, it's probably the adult plumage coming in... and then they're itchy.... i wouldn't use a tooth brush, gentle rubbing and scratching with your fingers will do just fine - if you see a pinfeather that's all out but still has the creatin cover on it, you might gently use your finger nails to take the tip of the cover off... then it's easier for them to remove the rest. but be careful, if it still carries the bloodstream it might not be pleasant for him (and he'll let you know ) so wait until it's fully grown out.

parrots generally don't poop overnight - in the wild that's a protection mechanism so they don't leave smelly traces at the place where they sleep and are vulnerable. so, yes - they save it... and then there's the result in the morning sometimes i wonder how that much poop fits in valo's little body. and bella's - oh my... that's just an unbelievable pile they usually also have to work a little harder in the morning to get rid of all the extra
to make it short - yes, that's normal and we all have the "pleasure" dealing with that - just make sure wawa is not on your shoulder (had to change multiple times after not being careful - there's no such think as wiping off a morning poo)

[Monica]

Charlie sleeps in a carrier at night in the bathroom.... the little dufus!

Within the first couple of weeks of him sleeping in there, he'd poop in the carrier at night. I guess he finally got tired of me using the sink "veggie sprayer" on him to clean him off, so he no longer goes poop in his carrier unless he's out of it, and the bathroom light is on and he's sitting on top, thus when he goes it goes into the carrier... usually, when I wake him up in the morning, I quickly get him from the bathroom, into the bedroom (right next door) and into his cage, so he can go potty! Otherwise, what a bomb!