Feather mites may be munching away at your canary right now.
As the name indicates these mites live in and feed
on the feathers of your canary or other pet bird. Some of these mites
even burrow into the shaft of the feather and eat until the feather
is dead! Although these feather mites are not a threat to
your bird's life they may be a threat to his sanity! ***Symptoms*** A pretty good indication that there is a mite
problem is... Bald Spots. No one likes a bald bird... Don't confuse bald spots with the annual molt
however. During molt your canary will look a little shaggy but an
otherwise normal looking canary with a bald spot is probably feather
mites. Bald spots may me be due to unhealthy feathers falling
out or... Feather Plucking. Your bird may get so irritated by these feather
mites he will start plucking his feathers out. And... Once your canary starts feather plucking it can
develop into a terrible habit-->He may continue feather plucking even
after all mites have been sent packing... I suggest you treat for feather mites on a regular
basis to prevent this from happening. See how in a minute.
But first... If you suspect feather mites hold your bird up to a
light, spread his wing out and look for... Tiny Holes in the Shafts of the Feather. Some feather mites actually burrow into the shaft of
the feather. If you see holes...you've got mites...or at least your
canary does.
Not all feather mites burrow into the feathers so...
Just because you don't see the holes doesn't mean
your canary has no mites. But...
If you DO see holes it's definitely time to step up
your canary care and start...
***Eradication...*** These spray treatments will only kill the adult mites. You'll have to treat 3 or 4 times at 7 day intervals to make sure your getting the mite larvae as they hatch out. Mathew M. Vriends gives good advice on the use of mite treatments...
Use a feather mite treatment every 3 months even if you DON'T see feather mite symptoms. It will help keep your bird's feathers and skin mite free and... ...will keep him singing...and FLYING! Mite and lice spray is very affordable. You will find it at your local pet store or at Petsmart.com. For more on how to "LISTEN" to your canary's body language and how to recognize subtle symptoms see CanaryBirdLISTENING.com
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Sign up now...It's FREE. Have you read about Red Mites yet? Please do...These pests are the vampires of the mite kingdom...sucking blood at night and going into hiding during the day...Click here now to go there. Return from Feather Mites to Canary Disease Main Page.
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