FINCHforum

I've been reading up on air sac mites, since I had the problem with my gould hen awhile ago. She seems fine now, but for precaution, I want to treat all my birds for the mites. I read that S76 is a medication for air sac mites that you can put in the water of an aviary, so that all birds will get it into their system. I don't have any S76, only SCATT. Then I read that you can't apply SCATT on a finch younger than 6 months old.

So should I just treat everyone with SCATT, or buy the S76?

I have not used SCATT, but that may be the way to go with not too many birds. I have 30, so went with the S76. You put it in the water, but you have to do it for two days in a row, for three weeks in a row. To make sure my birds drink plenty of treated water, I take out their baths for those two days each week. This is supposed to break the cycle of the air sac mites. This is the first time I have done it, so don't have prior experience, and I treated every finch, regardless of species.

Hi Emily,

My Avian vet uses a single drop of an Ivermectin solution, applied to the skin. (LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivermectin)

My next vet appointment is this Tuesday, I would be happy to ask them about how they mix it if you'd like.

I am not sure how old the birds must be to use this treatment, but I will ask.

The SCATT says it can't be put on birds younger than 6 months.

ABBA also has a product for treatment in the water called Ivermectin Solution. The ABBA product only requires you to treat treat twice - unlike the S76 which requires you treat for 2 days per week for 3 weeks. For the ABBA Ivermectin you give the initial dose and then repeat in 2 weeks. ABBA recommends giving this treatment twice per year as a preventative.

Thanks for that info, Tammy. Catching 30 finches to individually apply something just isn't what I want to do, so anything that goes in the water works for me. I use ivermectin wormers on my horses, so why not for the birds!