As usual I got to agree with Hath. Don't cull the birds. Get this professionally checked out. Use an Avairian Vet not a general one.

unfortunatley this chick was dead this morning from what i dont know, he should not have been chilled as i have him in inside aviary with the heating on 25 degrees all night on inspection of him (i was obviously able to do this a lot better after he had passed than when he was wriggling around) he did have good feathers from what i could make out and had lots of pin feathers coming through around the tummy area and the wings and tail although most of them were black (blood filled) i believe and seeing he was itching intensley yesterday (this is the first time i have seen him do this as he has always been in the bex) maybe that was the problem, why else would a chick do this and if he has been itching himself in the nest for so long could that have caused this damage? i am about to call the avian vet and see what she says, i noticed yesterday too mum and dad were itching quite a bit so i done them for mites (which i done so about 6 weeks ago anyway) and will see how they go, depending on what the vet says i may try and breed with them again later on in the season and monitor how it goes but this will be dependant on the vets advice an dhow my other 2 clutches turn out....

Is it possible there are red mites in nestbox and aviary ?

 

INFO........

 

One other type of mite may be seen in pet and aviary birds. This is called the red mite (Dermanyssus). This nasty mite bites birds and sucks their blood. Red mites may be found on any species of bird. Most recently, I diagnosed red mites in a breeding aviary of Queen of Bavaria conures. They feed at night, which often makes the bird restless and itchy. The mites may be found crawling around on the skin or feathers at night. If a bird is examined during the day, no mites may be present on the bird. The easiest way to diagnose them is by covering the cage at night with a white sheet. Examination of the sheet in the morning will show tiny brown or red specks about the size of a grain of pepper if the bird has red mites. After the mites take a blood meal from the bird, they will crawl off into cracks in the cage or perches, nest boxes or even into other areas of the home in the morning. I have seen these mites infest an entire New York City apartment! Unfortunately, red mites aren't very fussy about who or what they take their blood meal from! They can bite and feed on human blood, as well as the blood of household pets. During the day, mites can get into furniture, carpeting and woodwork, where they lay their eggs. Clean-up requires removal of the mites from the environment as well as from the birds. Birds may be treated with ivermectin at 7-10 day intervals, or a pyrethrin spray or 5% carbaryl powder may be used on the bird. Because the mites suck blood, an avian veterinarian should be consulted, as the bird may be anemic from continued blood loss! Although unlikely, the mites could transmit certain other diseases to birds, as well.

Edited September 25, 200618 yr by Bubbles

Try geting some A.I.L you can get it from good Pet Stores, Vets or Produce Stores.