Feather problems in my cockatiel flock

[annip]

In the past few months I've noticed some of my cockatiels having feather problems. For a while I just thought it might be a really rough molt, but as it didn't go away I started wondering what it might be...

I have one male that has always been a bit bald under his wings. It seems to come and go and all his sons had the same problem (not breeding him anymore - partly because of that). Now since this all started he and four others (one of them is his son - others totally unrelated) have developed quite large bald spots under wings. There are also some thinning noticeable in the crest (looks like it's done by cage mates) and around the eyes of these birds and a couple others. All affected birds are acting normal; they're lively, chirpy and playful and don't appear sick even the slightest.

There is no apparent itching or anything going on that would suggest giardia or other parasites, but I've had two tests done for giardia and both came back negative (other test was done with an autopsy of a female that passed away and the other from 3 days worth of poop samples). I've contacted avian vets in my area and they have no idea what it might be. (It's probably important to mention that there aren't many known parrot parasited or diseases in my country and even the specialized vets have very little experience with parrots compared to other countries.) So I'm turning to you guys on this... Does anyone have similar experiences? Any ideas?

At the moment the problem seems to be only cosmetic since the birds are lively and well otherwise, but I'm moving soon and worry that the stress might bring up something. I will take this opportunity to change everything: pedding, cages, perches, toys etc. and use anti-parasite spot-on (ivermectin) on all of the birds. Every travel cage and food dish has been (or will be) thoroughly washed and disinfected just to make sure. I have no idea what might be causing this or how to proceed from here. I know the bird room has been a bit too dusty and dry lately and hasn't improved enough even with air purifiers and humidifiers. But it can't be all, can it? It will fortunately get better in the new place after we move.

Any ideas, experiences or tips would be appreciated. I'm very worried that things might make a turn for the worst and will do anything to prevent that.

 

[Peeker]

If it were me I would have one tested for PBFD as well as a CBC and any other testing an avian vet might recommend. It sounds like it may be contagious so you want to find out what it is right away and hopefully treat it.

 

[crimson]

good that you have Ivermectin. If it is parasite of any kind, it will kill them within 24 hours after you apply it.
just remember to repeat the treatment 10 days later.

you might want to clean everything one more time in a couple of days

If that doesn't cure it, I would seek vet care.

 

[annip]

I don't know if there even is a possibility to test PBFD here, but I'll look into that. I've never seen a case of PBFD in my hobbyist years though so I hardly think there is any possibility my birds could be infected. The symptoms don't add up otherwise either. But I'll ask the vets more.

I also don't know what a CBC is but google suggested complete blood count. Is that it? I strongly suspect it's not possible to get that either (but will ask around as well)... we really have very little tests available here because bird hobby and parrot health problems are so rare. It's a good thing because it probably means there isn't anything serious going on here but on the other hand it makes diagnosis really hard. I'm still hoping it could be a combination of mites or lice and poor room-air quality which could be quite easily treated with the move, but still I'm very concerned and stressed.

I will visit the vets again (probably even if the ivermectin seems to work) and disinfect everything regularly afterwards too.

 

[weco]

While I don't know how your flock is setup with respect to each other, but a problem that causes feather loss in several birds at the same time is a problem that can affect your whole flock.....

Since local veterinarians are not familiar with avian diseases, you would be wise to contact the nearest veterinary medical school, explain the problem to them and inquire if one of their veterinarians knowledgeable with avian diseases would be willing to work with a local veterinarian on a telephone/internet consulting basis...this would also mean finding a local veterinarian willing to work in this capacity on your end.....

Since you chose not to divulge your country, I'm going to make a wild guess that it' one where where there is a lacking of naturally available water and where much of it it supplied/consumed bottled. I have a couple that seem to stand out, but will respect your to withhold this information. Some avian diseases are transmitted by airborne conveyance and may come from imported birds that were never properly tested. There is also the possibility that a disease might be transferred by the brushing against the clothing of the owner of an infected bird or birds.....once the transferred disease finds a host, it is easy for it to expand throughout a whole flock.....

Without knowing what the disease/condition might be, there is no way of determining what action needs to be taken.....

Here is a list of other conditions that can cause feather loss in companion birds, but veterinary testing is necessary and laboratory study may also be required. Following the listing is a link to Avian Biotech, one of the top laboratories in the world, while this link is to their U.S. facility, they also have one in the U.K.

Allergies
Dermatitis
Folliculitis
Granuloma
Hypothyroidism
Internal tumor
Malnutrition
Metabolic disease
Parasites
Zinc toxicity

Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD)

Good luck.....

 

[Betrisher]

A few years ago, I noticed a poor, bald Sulphur Crested Cockatoo among the large flock that flies over our house. I'd been putting out bread scraps for the smaller birds and you can imagine my pleasure when the flock of SCs came to share! We had about fifty of them plonking all over our tin roof! Heaven!

Anyway, this one poor bald bird also had a deformed, crossed beak. The upper mandible crossed over the lower and both were vastly overgrown, since they had nothing to bite against. There was no way this bird could possibly eat seeds or normal foodstuffs. He was emaciated and clearly unable to feed properly on account of the deformed bill. Over the course of a few days, he became quite tame and eventually brought himself into our patio looking for more bread chunks (which he could eat easily). I felt so pleased to have been able to help the poor starving creature.

Sigh. So, what happened next makes my blood run cold. It was raining. The flock had been and gone, or so I thought. The bald bird had stayed in our patio area out of the rain (he was shivering). The family was going about its business when all of a sudden we heard this deafening screeching. Our dog (an English bull terrier), had seized the bird and was shaking it like a rag. Oh Lord! I ran for the first time in years!

I don't know how I got the bird away from the dog, but I did. The poor bird chewed and chewed on my thumbs, but I was so horrified I didn't feel a thing. I wrapped him in a towel and we drove the thirty minutes or so to the after-hours vet in town. Now here comes the *really* sad part.

The vet said that the bird had PBFD and that's why it was bald and had the deformed bill. I offered to keep the bird and spoon-feed it for the rest of its life. Sigh. The vet said that, no, I couldn't. It's against Australian law for him to release a wild native animal into the care of anyone without a native animal care licence. Did I have such a licence? No, but I'd be happy to get one. Sorry, that would take too long. So, they put the bird down.

 

[henpecked]

That's a sad story, but i thank you for caring. The fact is , PBFD is a real issue in your country. Fact is that bird had probably condemn the rest of the flock to a ugly death. How would you feel ? Unable to feed yourself,in pain. Maybe it was all for the best, but thank you for caring enough to try.

 

[annip]

Since local veterinarians are not familiar with avian diseases, you would be wise to contact the nearest veterinary medical school, explain the problem to them and inquire if one of their veterinarians knowledgeable with avian diseases would be willing to work with a local veterinarian on a telephone/internet consulting basis...this would also mean finding a local veterinarian willing to work in this capacity on your end.....

By local, I meant in my country. I've contacted every avian vet we have here (which isn't more than four of them I'd even bother asking).

Since you chose not to divulge your country, I'm going to make a wild guess that it' one where where there is a lacking of naturally available water and where much of it it supplied/consumed bottled.

Sorry, wasn't my intention. I live in Finland and all our tap water is safe to drink so I don't buy bottled water.

I know how viruses can be transferred but unless I got something from wild birds (which I do not handle for the sake of mine) I don't see how I could've gotten anything. I imported some birds recently myself but before that they've all lived with the same owner for a few years without any signs of this or other things. I have a few birds that are not my own, but I know who they've been in contact with. That's why I'd suspect parasites or something of that nature since there has been no known disease outbreaks in the whole country and only symptoms include poor feathering. I've seen worse, but as I compare my birds on what they previously looked like, there's a slight difference. Here's a video of few of my birds. They look like that and a few of them have those bald spots under their wings that I've mentioned. So the situation is not that bad, just a noticeable difference from before. (And as you can see, he doesn't seem to be very ill..) [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRNgaOxvPz4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRNgaOxvPz4[/ame]


Thanks for the list. I'll look into those. I forgot to mention that putting apple cider vinegar in their misting bottle (with water of course) seems to help when done frequently, which could suggest some sort of parasite. Pyrethrin (or however you spell it..) didn't seem to do much but I'm hoping the Ivermectin would.

I've understood that with PBFD the feather damage would be more permanent? The condition was getting a little better for a while (lower temperatures, more humidity and the apple cider vinegar misting) so I'm hoping that would suggest it might be something a bit less horrible.

I know I can't expect much from a forum compared to avian vets but as they can't seem to diagnose this I thought asking around wouldn't be a bad idea to perhaps help them with the testing and diagnosis.


Betrisher: I also respect you for caring for that bird and think it was for the best to put him down even though it is sad. Sometimes the best we can do is to let them out. Before they suffer too much.

 

[aliray]

Thanks for the video. Beautiful tiels, and welcome to the forum

 

[Mayden]

PBFD can go unnoticed for years. Birds can be infected but not show signs of illness until one day a stresser 'triggers' the disease and voila, all of a sudden this bird who's had no contact with the outside world that would have seen completely healthy has an incredibly dangerous and deadly disease! Not saying this IS PBFD, but please don't rule out illness because your flock hasn't shown signs of it before

My best guess would probably be mites, baldness is common because they will itch and scratch at the area where they'll be. (Under wings are typically affected because of heat from the bird). Mites (especially red mites) are typically active at night and hide during the day. So whilst you might not notice itching during daytime activities, birds can be hassled at night.

Mites gorge on the blood of our birdies and can make them severely aneamic which can result in death. I'd say mite treat them now also boil and disinfect everything. Cage, toys, perches, feeders, etc.

The Association of Avian Veterinarians | Association
Here is the Vet who is Avian certified, I don't know how close that is to you. But sometimes 'exotic' or 'zooMed' vets have had experience with birds too, so it's wise to look for them. If you go to your vet armed with information and suggestions about what this may be then I don't see why they should turn you away for testing your birds either.
Most vets will have the ability to take swabs and samples from your birds and can send them to a lab (or even the lab of the Avian Vet mentioned above?) and she can assist your vet with the diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

 

[annip]

PBFD can go unnoticed for years. Birds can be infected but not show signs of illness until one day a stresser 'triggers' the disease and voila, all of a sudden this bird who's had no contact with the outside world that would have seen completely healthy has an incredibly dangerous and deadly disease! Not saying this IS PBFD, but please don't rule out illness because your flock hasn't shown signs of it before

I only meant to say it's highly unlikely that it could be PBFD, but I'll still check if it could and should be tested. But there is fortunately more likely things that could cause this.

My best guess would probably be mites, baldness is common because they will itch and scratch at the area where they'll be. (Under wings are typically affected because of heat from the bird). Mites (especially red mites) are typically active at night and hide during the day. So whilst you might not notice itching during daytime activities, birds can be hassled at night.

This is good information, thanks. If it's actually the mites, the ivermectin should take care of it. I'll still check things with the vets, but I definitely hope it could be something like shis, if not something even easier.

The Association of Avian Veterinarians | Association
Here is the Vet who is Avian certified, I don't know how close that is to you. But sometimes 'exotic' or 'zooMed' vets have had experience with birds too, so it's wise to look for them. If you go to your vet armed with information and suggestions about what this may be then I don't see why they should turn you away for testing your birds either.

That particular vet isn't actually avian certified. At least not by anyone other than herself as far as I know.. I do however know four other vets in Finland I'm happy to ask questions from. One of them actually e-mailed me back this morning (I can't get an appointment for him at the moment because I live in the wrong municipality (I don't know if that's the righ word... looked it up on wikipedia)) and suggested that it's probably something that Ivermecting might get rid of, so I'll keep my fingers crossed he's right. I'll still take some birds for a check-up soon. Just in case.

 

[henpecked]

You can check for mites yourself. Touch their leg with the sticky side of a piece of scotch tape. Get a magnifying glass and see if any "bugs" are stuck to it.