Ivermectin Questions

[Nerien]

I am pretty sure that one of my parakeets has scaly face mites (longstanding problem with long overgrown beak, now looking scaly and discolored, previously just would grow long, thin, fast), and maybe am starting to see changes in some of the others, so I am going to treat them with ivermectin, the one that bird supply of nh sells, as I need to place an order with them anyway.

Since my finches are in the same room, cages in close proximity, I'm guessing it's a good idea to treat them also, at the same time. I have Societies, Spices, and Zebras.

Do I use the same solution (same dilution in water), and the same method, replacing all the water with this for one day, then repeating in 14 days?

Is it okay to follow their technique of removing all water overnight, so that the birds are especially thirsty in the morning to make sure they get a good drink of this stuff?

We cover cages at night, because they are in the living room so lights go off late and come on early (for us people). The parakeets generally go to sleep and are quiet all night, but the finches not so, we will hear them moving or singing, or at least one of the zebras likes to grate on the cuttlebone in the dark. Would it be better/safer to just remove the water for an hour or so in the morning, then replace with the ivermectin solution, so that they are not water-deprived for too long?

Nervous about doing this wrong and harming my little birds.

[debbie276]

Ivermectin when diluted in water only remains active for 7 to 8 hours.

I don't recall a long beak being one of the symptoms of scaly face. Check out the picture towards the bottom of this page, where they talk about Elongated beaks, is it similar to that?
http://ladygouldian.com/node/223

[Nerien]

the scaly, uneven surface & uneven color does match. (and saw a lot of pictures on a budgie site/) the beak was simply way too long at the start, but after the second clipping, the discoloration thing set in. When I clipped it this time, I got a good look, and also the solidity of the too-long part was different, like crispy-spongy, not crispy-solid. Have recently noticed the beaks of a couple of others looking off-color as well, getting darker olive greenish/bluish/greyish, hard to describe, but changing. With 16 parakeets, don't want to wait until I've got a known, definite, serious problem, and doing the drinking water treatment is really the only reasonable way, as they are all together in a giant flight cage.

Finches all look good as far as I can see, but because of the close proximity, I'm guessing it just makes sense to treat them also, rather than find out after that they have been exposed, and then it just keeps going round and round between birds.

[debbie276]

The recommended treatment for scaly face is to apply the undiluted ivermectin with a Q-tip or cotton bud one day a week for 6-8 weeks directly to the affected skin. The same day each week you should administer the ivermectin in the drinking water. From what I've heard other say you will have better luck if you apply it directly then just in the water.
good luck

[PrettyBird]

Maybe this link could help from LG
http://ladygouldian.com/node/223

If it is scaly face/mites I agree with debbie. Treat the bird on skin/beak, and in water treatment. I would also treat all the birds (in water treatment) in and around that bird as a precaution

[Sally]

As far as taking the water out overnight, I always do that when I am going to administer any medication in the water. Many birds don't want to drink that medicated water, but if they have been without water all night, they will go to that water tube as soon as you fill it and take a drink. And as Debbie said, many meds don't stay effective for much more than 8 hours in water, so you want to mix it up fresh every morning. Don't worry about them going without water overnight, it will not hurt them.

[Nerien]

Snowflake was not looking quite right tonight. Going to order the stuff now. Got distracted by the tragedy of today. Hope he hangs on the few days it will take to get here. Whenever his beak would get really long, he starts to look a little bit off, probably hard to preen, maybe difficult to eat, but catching him the other day seems to have stressed him. Probably should have trimmed sooner, but it's scary to do. He's so beautiful, big soft shining white english budgie with bright blue patch on his lower back. Came as one of three of that coloring, all three were a bit over a year old, had been in the local pet store for several months in a tiny cage with nothing but a perch and food/water. We consider getting them a rescue. Poor birds could fly but would only go 6 inches from perch then turn around to return, had not been able to fly farther in the little cage. Did not play with nor explore toys, birdbath, other parakeets for the longest time. Had night terror flights bashing their beautiful white wings on the cage.

Named the three Snowflake, Snowfall, Snowdrift. Will be so sad if we lose one. Hoping Bird supply of nh might ship it out tomorrow so it's here by Monday, hoping that will be soon enough.

[Nerien]

He is still sitting down low in the cage, occasionally on the floor, otherwise on lowest perches or edge of food bowl. Do see him eat at times. He is breathing hard and fast, whole bird is bobbing, but oddly enough, not severely puffed up. Hubby is going to try and find some medicine locally, I doubt he will succeed, tho there is one petstore in town that might have something, tho if there is is probably years old, it is a horribly dirty store and much of their stock is literally buried in dust and dirt.

Trying to figure out what would be the best to treat him with if we can find something. Not sure when the ivermectin I ordered is going to arrive. Sometimes the stuff from them comes before the emails make it, as we are local shipping region.