Huge Bug On My Budgie

[coffeegirl 0]

Hi, my budgies (5x outside aviary) have not been looking a picture of heath lately. I dosed them about 4 & 6 weeks ago with the mite stuff I got from the Bird Vet last time I was there, he commented one had some type of mite. I was instructed to put a few drops on their neck. The ceres on them all look crusty. I am now out of the stuff from the Vet, so to keep up maintenance I bought some AristoPet Bird & Mite spray and sprayed them today. I noticed looking up to my all white budgie I could see something black under the feathers between it's wings on it's back. So I caught it to see what was there and to my surprise it was a huge fast bug. Every time I tried to get it or flick it off, it burrowed deep under more feathers. yuk it was completely gross. Very fast moving and took some effort to get rid of as it seemed to get a good grip and hide itself among feathers. It's only downfall was easy to see being on an all white bird. It was the size of a small fly !!!!!!. It was black and when it fell to the bottom of the aviary I noticed it jumped about. I am so creped out, I thought bird insects were small and tiny, difficult to see. I am really scared others may be living on my other birds just not as noticeable. Any ideas what it was? I have tried Googling but not much comes up.??

[hilly 0]

Hi Coffeegirl,

Sounds like what you had was a pigeon fly, they are a black flat fly that crawl in and out of the feathers.

Your mite spray should do the job there, you don't often see them on budgies but I have on occasions.

Your mite spray won't stop the crustiness on the ceres though.

You will need ivermectin for that which sounds like what the vet gave you last time.

Cheers Jenny

[coffeegirl 0]

Thanks, yeh did a bit of research and it was one of those pigeon flys. Yuk. This budgie is very quiet all the time, doesn't chirp or mix with the other birds. Has always been like that, when I got it I wondered if it was a tame bird that had been an inside pet because it's not as feisty as the others and lets you catch it easily without biting but I wonder if something is wrong with her. I read those flies are more likely to visit weaker birds. Disgusting! So creepy the way they dart about.

Anywhere you can get ivermectin to the do the job without vet consult or is that still difficult to come by?

[hilly 0]

Hi Coffeegirl, Vetafarm make a product for scaleyface now so if you know of someone locally who supplies their product you should be able to get it, not sure it's name though. If you do a search on scaley face I'm sure it Is mentioned somewhere. As for the pigeon fly the lice and mite spray should kill it.

It does sound like the bird may be unwell and it wouldn't hurt to separate it from the others to somewhere warm , while you catch it you can feel it's breast muscle to see if it is underweight.

Cheers Jenny

[coffeegirl 0]

Thanks I will try pick some up. I just did a Google on it actually and found a good YouTube video showing photos. I think what my hens have is hyperkeratosis rather than scalyface. Would it be normal for most of my birds to have this same condition though? I have 5 budgies. One of them had this horn like cere but it's now gone and nice and smooth. The others are all very similar to this photo

http://www.birds-online.de/gesundheit/gesallgemein/wsanatwachshaut_en.htm

[Finnie 0]

I know I'm reading this a little late, but if you could post photos of your birds actual ceres and beaks, we might be able to tell you if it looks like scaley face. The spot on Ivermectin usually clears the scaley face right up, although sometimes it takes a second application. If you used up all that the vet gave you, I would think the scaley face ought to be gone by now. So maybe it is something else.

[coffeegirl 0]

okay thanks, I have been meaning to do this for a while to find out what's going on so here they are ... note the green budgie seems to of cleared up.

I dont know what to do with the all white bird, this is the one that had the fly on it. The day after I posted, I came outside and found it on the bottom of the aviary covered in gunk. I had cleaned up the night before and obviously she had fallen down and not been able to get up and the remnants of the cleanup had dried on her. It was really hot, so I bought her inside and after a day she bounced back and cleaned herself up. Kept her in for a week and she regained strength and looked good. Put her back in the aviary and today she keeps falling down. Right after I took these photos I heard plonk onto the bottom of the aviary, so I have put her in a cage again. Problem being I have a (bird hungry) cat inside so trying to work out how to manage a caged bird and a cat. I just dont think she is suited to the aviary. She was good as gold after being in the cage for that week.

Also they are all hens aren't they?

I have a chronic egg layer, I suspect is the green one.

I'm wondering if I have a vitamin deficiency going on with the beaks. They are mostly seed fed. Put other stuff in there but just dont seem to eat it so I dont bother so much anymore. I buy Trill brand. They have a vitamin bell.

 

Edited March 19, 2013 by coffeegirl

[Finnie 0]

I'm no expert on scaley face, because none of my birds have ever had it. I've just seen photos that other people posted. But your birds don't really look like they have scaley face to me. Maybe someone else will be able to give a better opinion.

 

The white one does seem to be a little off, in the photo. It's possible that whatever is ailing her gets exagerated when she is in the aviary, so yeah, I wouldn't put her back in there, unless she gets better, and proves it over a matter of months.

 

Is there anywhere in your house that you can make off limits to cats? I know with my cats, I would not trust them unsupervised in a room with a bird cage.

 

Oh, and yes, all hens.

[robyn 0]

I have never heard of the pigeon fly thing. Can maybe Hilly or someone tell us how they affect the bird? Do they suck blood e'g. maybe it has infected bird with something or else made it a bit anemic. Maybe some soluble vitamins in water may help.?

 

p.s.

Just found an article on this pigeon fly. It is mainly a dove/pigeon pest but can effect many other birds, it does suck blood. It said it can give a malaria type infection to adult birds but can be fatal in chicks. A budgerigar being a lot smaller than a dove/pigeon I suppose it could have a bigger affect.

 

Only thing it didn't say what treatment to give. Hope this is of some help Coffeegirl.

Edited March 19, 2013 by robyn

[coffeegirl 0]

I did notice on the wings, each side, had one feather that looked red and missing bits, like something had been feeding off it. But it looked minor. I dont think it had been there long and the bird was down in the dumps prior to this I think and from what I read, that makes them perfect prey for a flat fly. Apparently once they find their perfect host, they actually loose their wings!!! ugh shudder .. makes me shiver at the thought of this creepy black thing living on the bird. She's still inside. Will just see how she goes. I have her in the laundry, not much of a life shut in a laundry all day though. I dont think my others look like scaley face either .. if it was, surely it would extend past the cere, but it's only the cere effected. The rest of them looks pretty good?