About 2 weeks ago during random checks of my birds, I discovered tiny feather mites on the flight feathers of most of my aviary birds

 

They look like tiny bits of dirt in the feather ( a flight feather tip from one of my birds)

 

Zoomed they look like this (not my photo)

 

It is unknown when the mites got introduced to my flock, but it was sometime during autumn as my inside birds (who came inside in autumn) are clean from the mites.

 

A little bit about the feather mite

 

Feather Mites: These tiny arachnids are so extremely small that to the naked eye they appear to be tiny dirt particles on the bird's body, wing, and tail feathers. On the Purple Martin, "colonies" of them can be seen on the long wing and tail feathers between the feather barbs, but you'll have to have the bird in your hand to see them.

 

These tiny (0.5 mm long) feather mites get their nourishment by chewing on the feathers. Although these parasites are typically harmless, they can severely damage an individual's plumage during heavy infestations.

 

Other species of feather mites, known as quill mites, pass their entire life cycle within the hollow confines of the wing feather quills. These types feed on host tissue fluids by piercing the quill wall with their sharp mouth parts.

Treatment

AVIAN INSECT LIQUIDATOR

A.I.L. is an effective water based insecticide and insect growth regulator that gives three way protection for all avian species.

3 Way Protection. When used directly on the bird, A.I.L. penetrates deep into feathers to kill lice and mites. When sprayed around the environment A.I.L. kills insects on contact and the residual action guards against re-infestation for up to six weeks. Also, the growth regulation effect of A.I.L. prevents insect eggs from hatching and newly hatched insects from reaching maturity.

 

Directions

Use a 5% solution (1 part concentrate: 19 parts water – 20 parts total) NOT FOR USE WITH REPTILES OR FISH. Hold trigger pack 30-40 cm from bird/s and spray directly on to birds/s. use 4-5 pumps per bird. Cages, aviaries, perches and nest boxes should also be sprayed thoroughly with the diluted product. Repeat in 6 weeks or as necessary.

 

Guaranteed Analysis

Permethrin 25g/L

Piperonyl Butoxide 125g/L

Methoprene 0.4g/L

 

 

I found AIL too hard to get here in SA so i used Coopex to treat my birds which contains the same amount of Permethrin as AIL when a 25g sachet is made into a 10L solution. I treated all my aviary birds, cleaned out the entire aviary and treated all the perches and surfaces - it was very comforting to see happy birds and dead bugs everywhere

 

Next time you are looking at your birds, check for little speaks of "dirt" in the flight feathers - you may need to treat for feather mites too.

Edited October 2, 200816 yr by KAZ

for such an informative article Liv.

Topic Pinned

Good to hear it is or sorted Liv ...

 

I am going to add to the use of AIL, make sure that you dab some under their wings and pit area along with under their throat ....

Edited October 2, 200816 yr by Neat
typo

Good to hear it is or sorted Liv ...

 

I am going to add to the use of AIL, make sure that you dab some under their wings and pit area along with under their throat ....

 

This is a really good post.

 

I recently had some budgie friends over and after hearing about all the bad luck they had had I offered them some budgies out of my retirement village. They were happy, I felt good about being generous and that was the end of that - NOT!

 

A few days later a little present arrived in the mail and when I rang to say thank you I was huffily told that 'the budgies' were covered in mites, did I know? .... NO! Of course not and I apologised profusely and promptly treated.

 

Goes to show, No good deed goes unpunished!

Excellent, I will add to the FAQ, can I upload your pics to the BBC photobucket?

Excellent, I will add to the FAQ, can I upload your pics to the BBC photobucket?

 

Of course, you dont need to ask Elly

Hmm. I have some dirty looking monsters with tatty plumage in my aviary, I better have a look at them this weekend.

Excellent, I will add to the FAQ, can I upload your pics to the BBC photobucket?

 

Of course, you dont need to ask Elly

 

It has been added.

Some pics of the damage feather mite can cause

Some pics of the damage feather mite can cause

They are quill mites arent they Matt ? Not the average feather mite ?

WOW great photos!

 

feather mites live on the feather, but quill mites live in the feather shaft right?? How do we get rid of quill mites???

Yes they are Quill mite , You will find them on the primary flights and the tail feathers. A healthy bird will naturally preen the mite off the feather , But regular spraying with a mite spray will keep them at bay.

Yes they are Quill mite , You will find them on the primary flights and the tail feathers. A healthy bird will naturally preen the mite off the feather , But regular spraying with a mite spray will keep them at bay.

I have a bird in quarantine which arrived with quill mite from QLD and so far has defied any and all treatment including that advised by our avian vet. I am told they can enter the bloodstream ?

Edited January 13, 201015 yr by KAZ

Yes they are Quill mite , You will find them on the primary flights and the tail feathers. A healthy bird will naturally preen the mite off the feather , But regular spraying with a mite spray will keep them at bay.

I have a bird in quarantine which arrived with quill mite from QLD and so far has defied any and all treatment including that advised by our avian vet. I am told they can enter the bloodstream ?

Would you like to pick up some S76 for it? Remember this is a Rob Marshall product that is ingested orally and enters the bloodstream.

Also you could try contacting Hamish, he explained a very effective 'dunking' method for eradicating the most stubborn of mites.

Would you like to pick up some S76 for it? Remember this is a Rob Marshall product that is ingested orally and enters the bloodstream.

Also you could try contacting Hamish, he explained a very effective 'dunking' method for eradicating the most stubborn of mites.

 

I have S76 Renee....have had it for a long time. despite vet assurance...it defies all such treatments including dunking. I may offer this $400 budgie up to my avian vet for "research" and testing

Would you like to pick up some S76 for it? Remember this is a Rob Marshall product that is ingested orally and enters the bloodstream.

Also you could try contacting Hamish, he explained a very effective 'dunking' method for eradicating the most stubborn of mites.

 

I have S76 Renee....have had it for a long time. despite vet assurance...it defies all such treatments including dunking. I may offer this $400 budgie up to my avian vet for "research" and testing

Oh No, not one of the 'special ones' .... why is it so often so?!

Would you like to pick up some S76 for it? Remember this is a Rob Marshall product that is ingested orally and enters the bloodstream.

Also you could try contacting Hamish, he explained a very effective 'dunking' method for eradicating the most stubborn of mites.

 

I have S76 Renee....have had it for a long time. despite vet assurance...it defies all such treatments including dunking. I may offer this $400 budgie up to my avian vet for "research" and testing

Oh No, not one of the 'special ones' .... why is it so often so?!

Yes, Renee.................seems like the $400 budgies get things the $15 budgies dont

I was thinking about this Kaz , when we spoke before , What if you tried fly spray . Obviously in a controlled way. Hold the bird for a while then wash it in Coopex . I am going to try this with one that im having the same issues with .

Have you had a positive diagnosis of quill mite? Or are you just going on the feather damage as seen in the picture?

I have had great success in the past placing the bird in a show cage and spraying with Pea Beau{not sure of spelling] I also place one drop of Ivermec on the back of every bird in the flight twice yearly. Best of luck Clearwing

I have had great success in the past placing the bird in a show cage and spraying with Pea Beau{not sure of spelling] I also place one drop of Ivermec on the back of every bird in the flight twice yearly. Best of luck Clearwing

 

I was told about the Pea Beau by an older club member years ago , also for air sac mites , I wont say how to do it as I might be frowned upon by some people from another forum.

if you don't fancy using the Pea Beau you can place a good sized leaf of AloVera plant into a lT of water place in the fridge overnight, it will thicken as the AloVera gell blends with the water, next day dilute with water about 50/50 and spray directly onto the bird, also spray out cages perches etc. Clearwing

if you don't fancy using the Pea Beau you can place a good sized leaf of AloVera plant into a lT of water place in the fridge overnight, it will thicken as the AloVera gell blends with the water, next day dilute with water about 50/50 and spray directly onto the bird, also spray out cages perches etc. Clearwing

 

I'll give that a go....at this stage I will give anything a go. BUT the flyspray worries me :raincloud:

Kaz, have you used Ivomec? It is the best Budgie drench I've ever found, one drop on the back of the head and no more internal or external parasites. Clearwing

Kaz, have you used Ivomec? It is the best Budgie drench I've ever found, one drop on the back of the head and no more internal or external parasites. Clearwing

Yeah. I used the spot on the first time, then also ran some along the affected feathers. Gave it a few days, then pulled the affected flights out and burnt them. More time in the quarantine cage. New feathers grew in and have quill mites still. Drenched in A.I.L. as per vets advice, also gave S76 in water as per vets advice. I now wait to see if we have won the battle.