Got 3 new finches and didnt place on quarantine

[cindy]

Bit of information.... avian viruses, some can live within a bird for more than 90 days (Birds can be carriers and not immediately effected by the virus but share it with others).

Not a good idea to put new birds in with others in the same room... many things are passed via the air, in dried feces that becomes airborne, nasal discharge, sneezing.... you can literally make your existing birds ill or worse.

Also not a good idea to introduce new birds to your flock with out quarantine and treating first with topical Scatt..... oral ivermectin (s76) can irritate the gut lining, irritate the throat... even the slippery elm they place in these products can cause GI upset. Because of that the birds are less likely to drink... so it can be unreliable. I have had certain waxbill refuse to drink if something has been added to water.... so watch for signs of dehydration... bird stands stretched out, tall, eyes are squinty, as they stand stretched out tall they may sway a little, skin becomes dark, dry looking.

If the birds have feather mites (and you do not quarantine) and you do not treat (or your treat after you have introduced them to your flock) they will be spread to your other birds and once in the environment they are very tough to get rid of.

They do make an oral moxidectin that is also a dewormer Moxidectin Plus. It gets all types of worms including tape. Many breeders I know have been using this and has had good results from it.

Topicals do not go through the liver, GI tract..they are skin absorbed and enter the blood stream via skin absorption... topical ivermectin is done one drop on the back of the bare neck for a total of 3 doses one week apart. stays in the body for about 4 to 5 days... repeat again in a week. Some vets are recommending a third treatment on week three to be sure the cycle is broken.

Vets are finding that the Scatt which is topical moxidectin even though it states one drop stays in the body for 21 day it is not at full strength.... so they recommend overlapping with a second dose on the back of the bare neck at 14 weeks ( vital in active cases of feather mites, ASM and scaly mites (Also scaly mites can be present within the bird for 6 months to a year before you actually see signs of it... they burrow into the skin and beak, skin around the beak...the scales you see start to show up on legs, face and beak are actually feces from the mites... very important to treat any new bird coming in. I often hear they look perfect when they arrive home so why treat.... well because 6 months to a yr later you may notice scaling and then have the difficult task of getting rid of it.) The Scaling on the legs, the feces can cause bacteria, staph infections, swelling. Scaly mites can get into the sinus and cause infection, swelling in the face, feather loss.

just a note... rubbing Vaseline on the scaly legs does not kill the mites... it actually traps the bacteria and staph against the skin. Vaseline is petroleum based and should not be used on birds, if ingested it can cause stomach upset and irritation...... best to wash the feces off with Hibiclens (chlorhexidine)... it takes care of staph, bacteria on the skin.

Bottom line it is worth the preventative measures to quarantine for your existing birds. I treat as I mentioned above with either Scatt or Ivermectin when getting a new bird(s) and never treat again and never have had mites, ASM in my flock.

[cindy]

Ants... to get rid of them go for the entry point they are getting into your cage... filling a moat around your cage is not going to work... fire ants float in waters... we see it down here in Florida.

Instead go to the Home Improvement store and get Terro... place it in the trail of the ants as directed... do not give your birds access to this, or your pets, children.

Within 24 hours the ants are typically gone.

[cindy]

If the birds do indeed have feather mites you will need to treat all cages, the area around them and the base boards...ends of perches, cracks between the cage sides... Avian Insect Liquidator (AIL) contains a growth regulator and has a residual effect... it can be sprayed around the birds... do not drench the birds with this...use as directed.... http://www.glamgouldians.com/product-ail.php

removing birds that are treated from their cages... bleaching the cages with a hand held sprayer outside helps... toss all nesting material... bleach toys perches..... sun dry and treat with AIL is another option but difficult to do when you have a lot of cages.... your environment, room will still need to be treated... feather mites crawl off the bird during the day, feed at night. They retreat to nooks and crannies... you can hang a white sheet over the cages' sides and back before lights out... in the morning if you have feather mites you will see trails of blood spots on the sheet.

also check under the wings of the birds, mites tend to retreat there, feed upon that area most.

[lovezebs]

cindy

Thanks Cindy,
A very informative write up.

[wildbird]

If you can't get rid of the ants, try rubbing alcohol as a moat instead of water. Worked for me.

[cindy]

Birds should not be inhaling alcohol. see section in red.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm ... 7&aid=2253
quote:
"Toxin
Isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol)

Source
Isopropyl alcohol is found in skin lotions, after-shave lotions, perfumes, colognes, cleaning solvents, window cleaners, and sanitizers.

General Information
Isopropanol is a potent nervous system depressant. It is more toxic than ethanol. Toxicity can result from breathing of the vapors or from ingestion.

Toxic Dose
Symptoms can be seen after ingestion of less than 1.3 ml per pound of body weight.

Signs
Vomiting with or without blood, retching, abdominal pain, central nervous system (CNS) depression, decreased respiratory rate, and coma. The pet will appear drunk and the breath often has an alcohol odor.

Immediate Action
Vomiting may be contraindicated due to rapid onset of CNS depression. Seek veterinary attention.

Veterinary Care
General treatment: Gastric lavage is performed and activated charcoal is administered.

Supportive treatment: IV fluids and oxygen are administered while blood gases and urine output are monitored. Other abnormalities are treated. Hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis may be beneficial, but typically are not needed, as most patients can be treated successfully with supportive care.

Specific treatment: Unavailable.

Prognosis
Guarded"


The goal is to give the ants bait to take back to the queen, kill the queen you kill the colony.... Terro will do that.

[paul-inAZ]

Another ant option: They are almost always coming in from outside the house. Another bait you can use is the finely granular stuff sold as fire ant killer in the big box stores.
Find their tracks outside and ideally the little mound at the nest entrance and sprinkle some around. They carry it back into the nest and it kills the queen.
Using it outdoors poses no risk for the birds.

I don't know where you live but around here ants are a mobile cafeteria for scorpions. Definitely worth killing to keep scorpions looking elsewhere for food.

[OhNayeli]

I wouldn't use any repellent or any liquid of some sort

Oh Ok Thanks For The Advice.

[OhNayeli]

OhNayeli
If you put the cage on a stand, then place the stand in a container full of water, it should produce a moat to keep the ants away. A few species, such as fire ants, can survive in water, so I don't know how that would work with them.

Thanks, Ive Been Grabbing One By One And i Place Them In A Bowl With A Few Drops Of Soap. They Seem To Be Moving Away From The Cages, I Found Less Than 10 Yesterday. They Have Now Moved Into The Kitchen, At Least They Are Away From My Birds.

[OhNayeli]

Another ant option: They are almost always coming in from outside the house. Another bait you can use is the finely granular stuff sold as fire ant killer in the big box stores.
Find their tracks outside and ideally the little mound at the nest entrance and sprinkle some around. They carry it back into the nest and it kills the queen.
Using it outdoors poses no risk for the birds.

I don't know where you live but around here ants are a mobile cafeteria for scorpions. Definitely worth killing to keep scorpions looking elsewhere for food.

Thanks We Will Be Getting Some, The First Day They Were All Over The Stove And In The Area Were The Cages Are At But Yesterday They Were Inside My Moms Purse And A Few Close To The Cages Than Later At Night They Were Under The Table We Cant Wait Until We Get Rid Of Them.

[OhNayeli]

Bit of information.... avian viruses, some can live within a bird for more than 90 days (Birds can be carriers and not immediately effected by the virus but share it with others).

Not a good idea to put new birds in with others in the same room... many things are passed via the air, in dried feces that becomes airborne, nasal discharge, sneezing.... you can literally make your existing birds ill or worse.

Also not a good idea to introduce new birds to your flock with out quarantine and treating first with topical Scatt..... oral ivermectin (s76) can irritate the gut lining, irritate the throat... even the slippery elm they place in these products can cause GI upset. Because of that the birds are less likely to drink... so it can be unreliable. I have had certain waxbill refuse to drink if something has been added to water.... so watch for signs of dehydration... bird stands stretched out, tall, eyes are squinty, as they stand stretched out tall they may sway a little, skin becomes dark, dry looking.

If the birds have feather mites (and you do not quarantine) and you do not treat (or your treat after you have introduced them to your flock) they will be spread to your other birds and once in the environment they are very tough to get rid of.

They do make an oral moxidectin that is also a dewormer Moxidectin Plus. It gets all types of worms including tape. Many breeders I know have been using this and has had good results from it.

Topicals do not go through the liver, GI tract..they are skin absorbed and enter the blood stream via skin absorption... topical ivermectin is done one drop on the back of the bare neck for a total of 3 doses one week apart. stays in the body for about 4 to 5 days... repeat again in a week. Some vets are recommending a third treatment on week three to be sure the cycle is broken.

Vets are finding that the Scatt which is topical moxidectin even though it states one drop stays in the body for 21 day it is not at full strength.... so they recommend overlapping with a second dose on the back of the bare neck at 14 weeks ( vital in active cases of feather mites, ASM and scaly mites (Also scaly mites can be present within the bird for 6 months to a year before you actually see signs of it... they burrow into the skin and beak, skin around the beak...the scales you see start to show up on legs, face and beak are actually feces from the mites... very important to treat any new bird coming in. I often hear they look perfect when they arrive home so why treat.... well because 6 months to a yr later you may notice scaling and then have the difficult task of getting rid of it.) The Scaling on the legs, the feces can cause bacteria, staph infections, swelling. Scaly mites can get into the sinus and cause infection, swelling in the face, feather loss.

just a note... rubbing Vaseline on the scaly legs does not kill the mites... it actually traps the bacteria and staph against the skin. Vaseline is petroleum based and should not be used on birds, if ingested it can cause stomach upset and irritation...... best to wash the feces off with Hibiclens (chlorhexidine)... it takes care of staph, bacteria on the skin.

Bottom line it is worth the preventative measures to quarantine for your existing birds. I treat as I mentioned above with either Scatt or Ivermectin when getting a new bird(s) and never treat again and never have had mites, ASM in my flock.

Thank You For Responding This Was Very Helpful, Can You Recomend Something I Can Put On One Of My Finches Eye His Left Eye Is Completely Closed Its Been Like That For A Long Time His Right Eye Is Normal. His Left Eye Seems To Be Itchy And He Is Missing Some Feathers Around.His Eye There Is No Discharge And I Can Still See His Eyeball Kind Of Moving Around.

[OhNayeli]

Ants... to get rid of them go for the entry point they are getting into your cage... filling a moat around your cage is not going to work... fire ants float in waters... we see it down here in Florida.

Instead go to the Home Improvement store and get Terro... place it in the trail of the ants as directed... do not give your birds access to this, or your pets, children.

Within 24 hours the ants are typically gone.

Thank You We Will Definetly Buy It They've Been Around For A Few Days And We Get Rid Of Them In One Area Then They Appear In Another They Aee Very Annoying.

[OhNayeli]

If the birds do indeed have feather mites you will need to treat all cages, the area around them and the base boards...ends of perches, cracks between the cage sides... Avian Insect Liquidator (AIL) contains a growth regulator and has a residual effect... it can be sprayed around the birds... do not drench the birds with this...use as directed.... http://www.glamgouldians.com/product-ail.php

removing birds that are treated from their cages... bleaching the cages with a hand held sprayer outside helps... toss all nesting material... bleach toys perches..... sun dry and treat with AIL is another option but difficult to do when you have a lot of cages.... your environment, room will still need to be treated... feather mites crawl off the bird during the day, feed at night. They retreat to nooks and crannies... you can hang a white sheet over the cages' sides and back before lights out... in the morning if you have feather mites you will see trails of blood spots on the sheet.

also check under the wings of the birds, mites tend to retreat there, feed upon that area most.

Thank You I Do Plan On Cleaning Everything Before I Treat The Birds And After Aswell. I Will Move Them To Another Room And Clean The Area Were They Are At Right Now I Dont Want To Habe To Worry About This Again. After I Treat Them Will I Have To Treat Them Again In A Few Months?

[OhNayeli]

If you can't get rid of the ants, try rubbing alcohol as a moat instead of water. Worked for me.

Thanks I Might Try This On Other Areas That Are Far From The Cages While I Get Some Ant Killer.

[cindy]

If the birds do indeed have feather mites you will need to treat all cages, the area around them and the base boards...ends of perches, cracks between the cage sides... Avian Insect Liquidator (AIL) contains a growth regulator and has a residual effect... it can be sprayed around the birds... do not drench the birds with this...use as directed.... http://www.glamgouldians.com/product-ail.php

removing birds that are treated from their cages... bleaching the cages with a hand held sprayer outside helps... toss all nesting material... bleach toys perches..... sun dry and treat with AIL is another option but difficult to do when you have a lot of cages.... your environment, room will still need to be treated... feather mites crawl off the bird during the day, feed at night. They retreat to nooks and crannies... you can hang a white sheet over the cages' sides and back before lights out... in the morning if you have feather mites you will see trails of blood spots on the sheet.

also check under the wings of the birds, mites tend to retreat there, feed upon that area most.

Thank You I Do Plan On Cleaning Everything Before I Treat The Birds And After Aswell. I Will Move Them To Another Room And Clean The Area Were They Are At Right Now I Dont Want To Habe To Worry About This Again. After I Treat Them Will I Have To Treat Them Again In A Few Months?

If you do that I would treat all birds, treat the cages with AIL before moving them to another room or you will contaminate the other room with mites.... you will just be moving the issue then have two rooms with problems. When using topicals give at least 24 hrs to let it get into the system... best to spray the AIL on the cages between cage sides, on nests, on perch ends on the same day. if your cages are on wheels, spray under the hood over the wheels also... and hole they can climb in and hide they will.

treat the cages and birds before moving them.....