What is this!

[kyle]

Elana. Well it's another week and not much change. He still very happy and is totally acting normal bright eyed so whatever it was was a isolated incident.


MiaCarter. I thought as well if one of them had mites all of them would have mites. I'm treating them for mites with Scatt just in case but I'm quite sure it wasn't mites. The fledgling in the background is the last to get his colors. All of the finches including the guy with the wound just finished their first adult molt. I'm hoping his feathers will grow back but if not it will happen next molt. To be honest I'm so relieved he isn't sick.

[lovezebs]

kyle

Are those little pin feathers coming in, or are those broken feathers?

I really think there is something on there bothering him, and he's rubbing it on something. As to what that might be, I have no idea.

[kyle]

Elana. It does look like pin feathers at least around the eye. I'm curious how much regrowth he'll get if that is new feathers comming. I think it was night fright that did the damage. Its only happened a few times and the day after they had night fright i noticed the damage. never see him rub it or react to it in any way. It definitely looks better the skin is healthy despite the feather loss. I don't think he is aware of it. I'll take pics next week.

[lovezebs]

kyle

Keeping fingers crossed and wishing your beautiful little boy all the best.

[MiaCarter]

kyle - You know, I just recalled something that happened about 9 months ago with one of my red-headed gouldian boys.

I came in one day and he had a bald spot right below his eye, around the point where the red meets the black. It extended bak to the area around his ear hole.

It was a pretty good sized bald spot, maybe nearly a centimeter square? There was no upset to the skin or surrounding feathers (so it didn't look like he'd rubbed the area, as that tends to damage/break the surrounding feathers.)

Like your guy, the bald area was totally bald - like they'd been plucked out.

I never figured out what caused it.

It stayed bald until his next moult and filled back in. It was quite odd. I never figured out what caused it. My best guess was that it was someone else plucking him, but odd to do it just once (and so thoroughly in one spot.)

It happened overnight, while he was in his cage. None of his cagemates has ever been plucky.

It hasn't happened since.

It befuddled me.

So perhaps whatever caused my guy's mystery spot is the same as what caused yours. It's been a mystery that's bothered me for a while!

[debbie276]

MiaCarter
Mia, if you look at the 3rd picture on page one "Before. Perfection" I can see black and what looks like inflammation on the beak where it went bald. Not exactly sure what it is, mites or infection of some sort, but the beak does look better after the Scatt treatment.
Any thoughts?

[cindy]

if this was any type of irritations or mites the bird may have also been rubbing that spot against cage bars or a perch causing the issue seen in the first sets of pictures... the bird does look much better.

[kyle]

MiaCarter. Your experience sounds very similar to what's going on here.
Cindy. It does look like he was rubbing his beak or had been plucked but these are indoor birds and I spend evenings watching them. I've never seen anyone doing any abnormal rubbing especially since this mysterious injury has made me so suspicious.
Debbie276. After reading your post I could see the blemish you're talking about. I posted two more pictures that was taken the same day as the picture labeled before perfection. I took those photos that day because he was looking so great. Odd that I had not noticed any problem with his beak. Could mites cause a problem with the beak? If that picture shows a problem with his beak how did it migrate to his face leaving his beak unscathed? your input is much appreciated!

[lovezebs]

kyle

Hi.
If you look at the large front facing picture, you can see something also going on on the right side of his beak as well (below eye level, right up close to the beak) so it's not just the left side that's affected.

[debbie276]

I do see a small indent in the beak and it looks slightly off color in spots, that's what made me think mites. Scaley mites can and will affect the beak.

[MiaCarter]

debbie276 -- Ooh, you're right. I see that little area of strangeness.

The color almost looks like a beak bruise....which would be consistent with some sort of trauma.

That would seem to support the theory of some sort of trauma. And even if the actual injury didn't cause the feather loss, rubbing it or similar definitely could.

And beak mites could definitely cause discoloration, rubbing and irritation too. The texture is smooth and healthy still, which would suggest an early phase infestation if that was the case.

[kyle]

it's 3 1/2 weeks since it first appeared and I'm not quite sure what to make of it. I gave them their second treatment of scatt today. Is there something else I should be giving them? I know that scatt treats scaly face and air sac mites but could this be a different type of mite? None of the other finches are showing any symptoms at all. And the Finch in question is acting normal eating and singing.

[debbie276]

Looks like Scaley mites in the picture. The beak doesn't look smooth at all as it should.
How were you treating with the Scatt? Directly on the beak?

[kyle]

Debbie. I've been applying I on the thigh.

[debbie276]

The application hat I've always heard for scaley mites is this:
Treatment with SCATT
Apply a drop of SCATT for 30 grams of body weight to the upper part of the thigh one time and then again 3 weeks later. After applying the drop, place several drops onto a Q-tip and gently wipe it across the affected area. Take care when working on the beak not to get any liquid into the bird's eyes & nostrils. Each week thereafter apply the SCATT liquid only to the affected area using the Q-tip method.

Never had scaley mites so not sure it will make a difference. Hopefully someone with more experience in that department chime in soon.