Lice

Fudge, so apparently Dr. Morris found a louse on Tiki's feathers. I find that strange, since I should've noticed feather lice. Anyways, I have to weigh all my birds so we can medicate them. Dr. Morris wants to use Revolution (flea, tick, heartworm, etc., medication for cats and dogs), but I've never heard of using that for birds. Dr. Morris phoned my dad for some reason instead of our home phone number, so I'll have to phone the vet to find out what's actually happening, since Dad doesn't know anything about birds and is always misinterpreting information.

he could of got it from anywhere.... no need to be defensive,unless anyone comes on MOG no I'd tend to go with the CAV advice.

MOG? I assume you DON'T mean "multiplayer online game" . I'll mention Ivermectin to the doctor to see if there's a reason he wants to use Revolution instead.

I wonder which of the birds brought in those bloodsuckers. I'm suspicious that the Montreal trio (Rumi, Lara, Pollo) are responsible. Rumi and Pollo have odd barring on their flight and tail feathers, so I'm going to blame it on them .

I meant omg oh nvm

want to joint my circle of friends?, you seem like we'd get along.

Sure !

Man, I can't believe I have to smear medicine on each of them >_<.

Eew. Just finished weighing everyone. Tiki's lost a lot of weight (he used to be 65g, now he's only 57g), and Lara weighs 68g! And yes, I weighed her at least five times! I even reset the scale each time! Poor girl, it must be the tumours.

Teddscau said:

Fudge, so apparently Dr. Morris found a louse on Tiki's feathers. I find that strange, since I should've noticed feather lice. Anyways, I have to weigh all my birds so we can medicate them. Dr. Morris wants to use Revolution (flea, tick, heartworm, etc., medication for cats and dogs), but I've never heard of using that for birds. Dr. Morris phoned my dad for some reason instead of our home phone number, so I'll have to phone the vet to find out what's actually happening, since Dad doesn't know anything about birds and is always misinterpreting information.

Click to expand...

I can't imagine the circumstances where a licensed veterinarian would recommend using any kind of prescription flea and tick product manufactured for dogs and cats on a bird. Even if the products were safe for avians and I can't believe they are, what's to say a flea and tick preventative would rid your bird of lice or mites? I would have a serious discussion with an avian vet if I were you.

Apparently, Revolution is used quite a bit in the backyard poultry industry! But as they say there, it is being used off label!

I definitely think you should ask your vet about Ivermectin. That is what is recommended by our avian vet for mites/lice, and Scatt for air sac mites.

I had no idea these products were used on Avians. I approached this topic from a dog owners POV, wrongly perhaps. Personal experience has caused me to lose faith in pet industry manufacturers, I'm suspicious of any and all flea and tick meds, even for use on dogs.

Mom faxed in the weights for me this morning (it's raining, and I can't get anything done on dreary days), and I phoned a little while ago concerning Lara's weight (I know she's really heavy, but I don't think she should be getting far more medication than the kākāriki who are larger in surface area than her), and concerning Ivermectin vs Revolution. The receptionist said that Dr. Morris had written in his notes that Ivermectin only works for mites? I didn't argue with her or anything, I just said that Ivermectin was normally used for mites and lice, and I was wondering why Revolution would be used. They'll be phoning me back about the whole Lara scenario, either way (I can't believe she weighs 68g!).

As for the safety of Revolution, we've used the stuff with at least four different dogs with no bad reactions. As for what you said concerning pet products, Allee, I agree. A couple of years ago, Morris started pushing the K9 Advantage or whatever it's called (well, not pushing it, more promoting it), since it has better coverage in terms of parasites it wards off. Long story short, our smallest chihuahua, Abby, ended up getting painful abrasions on her feet from kicking so much (she had hot spots from the medication), and Teddy, my shih-poo, had this huge, green, raw, weeping patch on his back. They reacted really baldly to that medication, so we had to put them back on the Revolution. Gizmo, our other chihuahua, was fine, but we put him on the Revolution too.

Thanks for replying guys ! I'm glad nobody's started talking smack yet about Lara being so heavy. I swear, I try to take pretty good care of my birds. Some days we don't have as many organic veggies as I'd like, so they only get Goldn'obles III, a couple of veggies, and some millet thrown on the bottom of the aviary for them to forage for. I also don't rotate their toys very often, and I might not clean as often as I should...

Man, Lara was such a good girl when I had to weigh her repeatedly! She didn't nip me once! Noah's my only hand tame bird, so I'm impressed! She's always been gentle with humans, though. Oh, and she hasn't been maiming the kākāriki lately! Now she just gently grabs them by the foot and releases them after a few seconds (they haven't been crying out in pain or limping). I had to separate her a while back because there was a string of "mysterious injuries" on the kākāriki's feet (I felt Noah wasn't responsible). And Noah is being quite gentle when he picks on them, too. Wow, it sounds like I'm keeping the kākāriki in an unsafe environment . I swear, they're fine! If they felt threatened, they wouldn't be eating from the same plate as the bullies.

Right, I'll have to talk to them again about the Ivermectin. Mom says Dr. Morris knows what he's doing and that I shouldn't really be doubting him, but compared to the average guardian, I actually know a thing or two about the species I care for.

Allee said:

I had no idea these products were used on Avians. I approached this topic from a dog owners POV, wrongly perhaps. Personal experience has caused me to lose faith in pet industry manufacturers, I'm suspicious of any and all flea and tick meds, even for use on dogs.

Click to expand...

Hell, I don't trust most of what they give people...

Hmm, I found an interesting report on Ivermectin and selamectin's effect on cancer cells: The river blindness drug Ivermectin and related macrocyclic lactones inhibit WNT-TCF pathway responses in human cancer - Melotti - 2014 - EMBO Molecular Medicine - Wiley Online Library

Taking the weight of Birds only has meaning when it is done first thing in the morning after the Birds first movement and before being provide any food or water. After that is done for several days and you having written down the day, time and weight.

The weight of Birds vary greatly though the day and therefore if a medication is based on body weight not following the above approach will assure that an incorrect amount is provided! But, that is just by two cents!

SailBoat, by all means come over to my house and weigh my birds :16:. Nah, but you're right . To be fair, I find their weight only varies by 1–3g throughout the day. Okay, for birds as small as they are, I guess that does make a difference.

As for Ivermectin vs selamectin (Revolution)... Well, Wikipedia told me that it's easy to overdose with Ivermectin (doesn't specify whether the ODs occur with ingestion or topical application), and that it kills many intestinal worms, most mites, and some lice, but not fleas, ticks, flukes, etc. It is approved for use with both humans and animals. Selamectin kills both topical and internal parasites and is considered very safe, however it's not approved for use in humans.

FUDGE! GAVE RIA, LARA, AND ZIGGY TWICE AS MUCH AS THEY SHOULD'VE! Fudge! Do I wash them with soap!? Revolution is the medicine!

Start a new thread to get this seen!