FINCHforum

Noticed difficulty breathing in my OC hen a couple days ago - yesterday she was not looking good and was open mouth breathing, makign strange swallowing motions, and gulping for air it seemed. Like she was trying to dislodge something in her throat. I know air sac mites aren't common in OCs and all the other birds look fine - including the aviary where I got her from. Gave her and her mate one drop of ivermectin to the skin yesterday and today she seems fine. I've been trying to upload a video but it doesn't seem to be working - what do others think? Air sac mites?

I know ivermectin is a toxin so I'm loath to continue treatment if it's a wrong diagnosis. She does seem better. Would you continue the treatment? I think I'm supposed to repeat for 5 days. I had them in with a pair of RCCBs that could be contaminated as well... for now I have them isolated. Should I just wait to see if the CBs develop any symptoms?

Thanks in advance for your input.
Jenny

I don't know if any medication can work that fast against air sac mites, though maybe it can. Though air sac mites are most prevalent in Gouldians and canaries, other species can get them too. Whenever a hen acts like she is in distress, the first thing I try to determine is if it could be eggbinding, though the ivermectin wouldn't have had any effect on that. If you suspect air sac mites, I would administer the doses according to the manufacturer's recommendations, and I would also dose the other birds in the same cage/aviary.

I would treat all exposed to the Ivermectin on the skin once and then repeat in five days. The daily treatment for the five days is in the water. Many times, if you space the treatment once a week for two or three weeks, that helps kill any larvae and eggs too. But, if you kill them all at once, the finch can suffocate due to dead mites in their lungs and throat. I hope everyone stays healthy.

When using S76, you should apply one drop directly on the skin, but you would need to do it for 5 days in a row since S76 will only remain in the bloodstream for 24 hours after each application.
Studies have found that the pregnant adult female mite produces eggs that hatch within the female and are then born alive as nymphs. Laboratory experiments with the air-sac mite indicate that the life cycle (from egg to adult) is completed in less than 6 days.

I think you're right that the Ivermectin wouldn't have worked that fast. I've decided to just keep them separate from the other birds for now and watch them and discontinue treatment. She has really bounced back and someone else I know wondered if maybe she was just stressed. I noticed today she is moulting a bit. Watchful waiting for now. The main thing is she and the rest of the flock look healthy Will post some pictures sometime soon when I figure out how and get a few nice ones of them all...

Jenny

So after about 3 weeks she was showing symptoms. And now I've seen symptoms in the birds she was originally housed with when I first brought her home. I've given 2 doses to the orange cheeks spaced over 2 weeks and will give a final dose this wednesday... They have perked right up but I'm worried about the environment. If I treat all my birds but they keep picking mites up from the cage I'm no furrther ahead.

I've been looking for the best disinfectant methods... here are a few I've seen. Let me know which you would recommend most:

1:10 bleach to water
1:1 White vinegar to water
1 tsp : 1 gallon Virkon to water

With virkon my understanding is it kills bugs (bacteria/viruses) not mites

What do others think?
Thanks
Jenny

I believe Pet Focus is good for killing mites and other bugs, but I'll have to check the label for sure. There are also sprays for lice/mites that can be sprayed over the cages with birds inside. I have not tried those yet. Otherwise, the best thing is to get rid of all nests, perches and disinfect the bars, grates, and dishes all at once, so to speak (within the same day). I had a similar problem last year and went cage by cage, cleanig each one and removing anything I could throw away like wooden perches and wicker nests. Everything else was disinfected twice: once with the Pet Focus and second in the dishwasher on Sanitize. As far as the cage itself, I just washed that with hot water and mite killing spray and then again with the disinfectant. It took me all day, but once I was done, the finches have not been sick again.

Thanks so much for the reply! I looked up Pet Focus and I think it's similar to Virkon for bacterial/fungal/viral bugs but not mites. Does anyone know of the spray on products that can have birds inside? I currently have a pair on eggs and I'd really like to give them a chance rather than pull the eggs treat for a month and let them start over...

Thanks so much,
Jenny

FOUND IT! I knew I bought some last year, but I had to look for it in my finch room, which is quite a task if you've seen the pics here. The Brand is "Eight In One" Ultra Care Mite and Lice Bird Spray. You must remove all food and water dishes and then spray lightly in 3-4 bursts on birds, from a distance of 12-18 inches, avoiding the birds eyes and face (which is the difficult part to me). I hope this helps.

Thanks so much Deborah! I will set about getting my hands on some ASAP. Jenny
PS - I'm a psychologist too Studying for this darn EPPP and whining a bit that I have to learn the US ethics rather than my own Canadian ethics I already know!

Cool. I haven't met another psychologist on the FF. What EPPP are your taking? Is that a Canadian Board Exam? Here, you have to get licensed in each state you want to practice, as there is not a national exam. The jurisprudence exam is based on a state to state basis. So, in Texas, it is Texas Law, California, their law and so forth. I studied in California and was licensed there and here in Texas where I finished my internship and post doctoral fellowship.

I think it may have had gapeworm which infests the respiratory tract of birds -- many times finches and canaries. The gapeworm is also common in birds housed outdoors

Due to the parasite's infestation of the bird's tracheal wall, it will suffer from an irritated respiratory tract and have difficulty breathing.
The infected bird will also tend open its beak wide (gape) for air. Sometimes during advance stages, the birds will die from lack of oxygen. Birds with gapeworms will also usually have pneumonia.

If your bird shows any sign of respiratory distress like: difficulty breathing, sneezing, coughing, wheezing, noisy breathing, along with lack of appetite, weight loss and weakness, it may have Gapeworm

irrespective, ivermectin treats the worms and the airsac mite, so it looks like you did the right thing. ASM does not survive well outside the finch and iseasily eliminated by a bleach or insecticide solution such as Coopex. It can be picked up from an infected finch from beak wiping on the perch, however this method of transmission is not very effective. Of more interest is information that the ASM probably is never totally eliminated from the bronchial system of a particular bird and consequently under times of stress the mite emergesagain. Whilst the OC are not usually effected most finches are able to harbor ASM under the right circumstances. The ivermectin is a good "catch all" for worms (other than tapeworm) and ASM. It has a wide range of tolerance, so overdosing would be difficult. With the spot on treatment I do this day 1 and day 3. With the warte based treatment I present at 5ml/ltr for 3 days repeated 1 week later. As a preventative treatment I dose in water at the mentioned rate for 48hrs every 3 months.

Thanks for the replies... If the mites can never be fully eliminated from the respiratory system does that mean all my birds are pretty much going to be affected at some point? I can try to keep on it with preventative treatment down the road... but if this is a never ending problem I need to really consider whether I should be breeding any birds and definitely not selling them to other places.

One more question... does the longer I leave the infection without treatment impact a birds long-term health. I understand the dead mites may never leave their system. If so I need to get on the cordon bleus. I think if I treat them they will abandon their eggs. Should I just foster them to a pair of clean society finches... Will that put the societies at risk or are mites more transfered with food/water dishes.

This whole mite situation is really driving me crazy...
Jen

ASM is a terrible problem and deadly, so you need to treat the ones not treated so far. If the disease gets too far, they can suffocate as dead mites fill up the airway. Better to kill a few mites at a time and stay on top of the problem.