My son has about 9 birds (more including babies) and he has them in an aviary and a large flight cage.

 

His old budgie Oliver has started going bald.

 

Oliver has never been 100% healthy since he escaped and was gone for many months before my son got him back. he developed scaly face which we've treated many times but just to be on the safe side, he was kept away from the other budgies. Well we've noticed that his feathers seem to be falling out. The scaly face also seems to be coming back again. he is completely bald on his body under his wings and even though he's been in a huge flight cage, getting plenty of exercise, he can no longer seem to fly. I've put him into a smaller cage to get a better look at him and treat him for scaly face again but he looks really shabby. He has very patchy feathers and quite a lot of bald patches up to 3-4mm.

 

What on earth could this be? Is it just because he's getting old and he's had a rough and adventurous life on the run for 5 months? He must be about 5 years old by now.

 

I'll try to get some photos when my son gets home with his camera. I think it was a wise thing to keep him apart from the other birds.

it sounds like but I am not an avian vet that he may have mites and the scaley face may have never completely gone away, my personal opinion woud be to get him to an avian vet so he can be treated properly and looked at to ensure it is actually mites and not some underlying cause. You don't want to medicate a bird for something he may not have and it seems like you have been going back and forth with the scaley face which is caused by mites.

Oh thank you for your reply Elly.

 

I forgot to add. He most definitely had scaly face because we took him to the local "small animal" vet and by sheer good luck, she was away on holidays and the locum vet was an avian sub-specialist. She told us how to treat the scaly face and warned us that it can be hard to get rid of and can return again and again. So I am sure you're right and that the scaly face never really went away. He was out on the loose for so long when he escaped, goodness knows what else he might have come into contact with. However, I was aware of that likelihood so we never returned him to the other birds because it was just too risky.

 

However there is no option of going to an avian vet because we live out in the outer suburbs and I do not drive.

 

I have to hope the normal "pet vet" will do.

Sorry to hear your having troubles with one of your birds :yellowhead:

 

Well done for keeping him separate, because he is contagious to the other birds.

 

I have easily treated scaly face with Castor oil. It's non toxic and works a trick. I just put some on a cotton bud and gently dab it on the infected area (not around the eyes though). Do it twice a day for 3-7 days (depending on the infestation). The Castor oil simply suffocates the mites and they die, no poisons or medications .

 

As for his father loss?? i am not sure - is plucking them out himself??? It could be a boredom/anxiety thing???? Or It could be more mites like Elly said. A vet trip might be in store.

 

Good luck!

**Liv** I cannot say for certain that he is plucking out his own feathers but I don't think so.

 

It's small tiny areas of patches that he has lost but a large area under each wing. I have never ever seen him pluck his own feathers. It's almost like they are just not growing properly anymore.

Do you have a picture? It could help us a lot with working out what is wrong.

Hi. I'm sorry to hear Oliver is have issues. Although an Avain vet is prefered, a normal vet may be okay. You could try calling them and explain your problem and see what they have to say. I am also not a vet, but I would 'guess' they would take a skin scrape to look at under the microscope, and possibly blood for further testing if this shows nothing??? Once 'illness' or a medical condition is ruled out, other solutions/ideas could be of use... distraction techniques(if it's stress related) etc... Good luck and let us know how you and Oliver get on.

One drop of ivomec on the back of his neck will clear up the scaly face and any mite problem .

as said a picture could help if you have a picture of him

if an avian vet is too far then a regular vet that sees birds (make sure you ask and ask how many birds they deal with on a monthly basis) will be okay. Some vets say they see them but see a bird a year.

budgies are not known to be the feather pluckers of the bird world unless there is an underlying cause and plucking occurs in one area mainly not in patches.