FINCHforum

My red head, has always had a patchy looking head since I've acquired him and his head isn't as brilliant as pictures I have seen of others. I have been wondering about scaly face, and feet? Is this what he may have? I hope not. Now.... I do have SCATT on hand but did not want to treat unless I was sure of diagnosis. I have read treating with SCATT needs to be applied on thigh and then once a week by Q- tip on affected area. Won't this stress him out each week catching him? Should I treat both gouldins if this is the case?

Hard to tell in the pictures but it doesn't jump out at me as scaly face or feet. Looks patchy like he didn't finish coloring up yet, maybe "stuck in molt".
I would just be sure to give them hard boiled eggs for the high protein, vitamins and minerals. Hopefully next molt he fills in with color.

Here's a link to pictures of scaly face/foot
foot:
https://ladygouldian.com/Foot-Problems
face:
https://ladygouldian.com/node/223

Agreed with Debbie that he looks like he's not totally colored up yet or stuck in molt. His beak looks good too.

Super cute pic, with the third head on photo, by the way!

But his feet do look like they may be scaly to me.
I've never seen that degree of dryness and scalyness on a young bird.
If he's older, then that could explain it; older birds tend to have dryer legs/feet. It's like their skin doesn't shed as quickly so it can look a bit dry.

But you shouldn't see that dry, scaly appearance in a younger bird.

You would need to treat everyone in the cage if it's mites. You'd also need to clean the cage super thoroughly.
And it is stressful, but necessary if that's the actual diagnosis.

You could always wait and see. If it's scaly mites, it will only get worse with time.
You could also apply a bit of vitamin E oil to his legs. 3 or 4 daily applications should get rid of that dryness and dead skin if it is, in fact, dryness and harmless dead skin. It would be stressful since you'd need to catch him, but not as stressful as an unnecessary round of medicine.

Also, does he mess with his legs/feet?
Birds with tassle foot tend to bite and pick at their feet a fair amount.

Does he bathe often? If so, I'd say it's less apt to be dry/dead skin, as the water tends to soften the skin, allowing it slough off.

I'd also peek at his feathers to see if you see signs of feather mites. Use a magnifying glass to look at the flight or tail feathers in particular. That could also explain feathers that don't look quite right.

Thank you, he is about 2 years old. I acquired him about 6 months ago, he doesn't really mess with him feet unless he is preening and he is giving himself a once over, he and his cage mate NEVER bathe. I do put in a little dish with water about 1/2"- 1" deep, but they never bathe. Hmmmmm? I will see if I can peek into his feathers and see if I can see anything abnormal. Need to locate a magnifying glass. :/

Also, I have given hard boiled egg, egg food mixture, and they both turn their nose up. When I get more finches, in the double flight, will the Gouldins learn better eating habits from others? Kinda like a monkey see, monkey do scenario?

They will learn from others and imitate the behavior. I find with goulds that they need lots of time before they try new things. I'd just keep offering little tiny amounts of egg with a few of their favorite seeds on top. I'm sure in time they will try it, just may take a long while.

good luck

Won't eat eggs and indoors....

Time to get this.....

Here is a link to nutrients and their sources to give you a good idea where to get what naturally.
http://www.finchinfo.com/diet/nutrients_and_sources.php

Harley2013 -- A hint: look at freshly-shed feathers if you're looking for feather mites. Makes life much easier than trying to examine them on the bird.

There are some good pics and info here:
http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php ... ther+mites

If he rarely bathes and doesn't pick at his legs, that makes it more likely that it's all just dry skin.

So I think I'd just wait and see unless something changes and it starts to look worse.

He does just look like a bird in poor condition.

If you only got him 6 months ago he could still be regaining health/condition. Perhaps, for whatever reason from companion competition to parasites or overbreeding, he was not getting the fullest nutrition before and so his feathers are a bit patchy. A variety of nutrition / food and good care and hopefully his next moult will deliver a splendid bird.

As a precaution if you don't de-parasite during quarantine I would do so now. Use something that will do internal and external parasites. YOu need not apply it every day. Usually you can add it to their water/body once with a required follow up a few weeks later.

If say he has internal parasites, the infestation could be quite low and not overall damaging, but large enough to affect his nutritional intake. Over time this would only get worse if untreated. Just as an example. I always de-worm and de-parasite any new bird just as a precaution.

What should I use for this?

Personally I would not treat this bird with meds just for the sake of treating him. I'd offer a well balanced diet and wait for him to molt.
I assume you have already treated him with Scatt during your quarantine. One drop of Scatt stays active in the birds system for 21 days so there is no need to treat weekly.

I treated him with SCATT shortly after I acquired him, because his cage mate I discovered had airsac mites. So I treated them both. Literally over night the cagemate stopped panting and sneezing. He has not done it ever since, and I have not treated them again. That was back in May of this year.

I'm afraid I don't know what is available to you in your country. I use Moxidectin and Equimax oral, which is very safe to use as a preventative med. As I keep my birds outside and they are exposed to everything I treat for worms every 3-4 months. IF your birds are housed indoors a once yearly preventative treatment is not a bad idea.

It is important with any parasite treatment (such as Scatt) that you complete the treatment and apply the follow up dosage. It breaks the cycle of the mite. If you treat once, you kill what is present but eggs may hatch after the 21 days and then you begin the full cycle again.

All advice of course depends on what you gave your bird during its quarantine. IF you don't need to repeat any treatment or have treated already, then just good food and time will solve your worries.

Moxidectin is the active ingredient in Scatt. The entire life cycle of ASM is 21 days so one treatment is all that is needed. Scatt does not prevent mites it only kills any mites that are there. Unless your birds are constantly exposed to ASM from other birds I don't see any reason to routinely treat your birds.
JMO