# Need advice about bird lice (hopefully an experienced breeder with an aviary)



## BirdMommy (May 7, 2013)

Hello, I am hoping that someone who has non-tame cockatiels in an outdoor aviary can make a suggestion.
Almost a month ago, on June 2nd we bought 2 cockatiels. The couple is young, not tame and I am a third (known of) owner. The birds have been separated from the rest of my flock, and overall there were no major issues during the quarantine period. 
In the beginning, it took a few days to notice an improvement in their droppings' color, but I have had this in the past, when non-tame birds are transferred from one household to another, they are somewhat stressed from being chased and captured. These 2 are extremely skittish, even after a month they still get spooked and fly all over the cage when I change liner and food/water.

A few days ago I saw a louse on a male. Yesterday there were 2 on his tail feathers. There maybe other issues, since his droppings contain undigested seeds. I am going to add avian probiotics to his diet, and today I have given Ivermectin solution in the water (I get it from Abbaseed.com, I use it twice a year on my outdoor birds, including canary, with good results).



For my tame pet birds, in the past I used Dyna-Mite spray from Mango pet products, it is a non-toxic solution with Diatomaceous earth in it, and it truly worked wonders (I had lovebirds heavily infested with mites, with several applications of that the problem was solved).

However, it is not possible for me to spray these 2 non-tame cockatiels. The cage is large, they fly all over it the minute I get my hand with bottle close enough. Unless I had a hose attached to it, with gallons of solution available... alas, the 8 oz. bottle is costly enough to waste in aimless squirts.

I am hoping water treated with Ivermectin will do the trick, but I still want to know what do you guys do in such cases. I am not going to stress these 2 any further by chasing them in the cage in order to take them to the vet. Aviary owners, breeders - what do you use to control pests in your flocks?

I know bird lice is not as bad as mites, but the feathers look chewed up, and I do not want the birds to have any discomfort if the lice bite them as well. They do not scratch like mite infested birds would, but still... 

Also, because this couple is my potential breeders, perhaps by spring or later (they are turning a year in the fall, according to previous owner). I would like to eliminate any pest problem prior to breeding. Do any of you use food grade Diatomaceous earth in the cages/nest boxes? I found a website that sells it, but there is feedback only for cat/dog/horse/poultry and human use, no comments for small pet birds. It would be a good stuff to sprinkle the cement around the cages bases, since it works on many different insects and is non-toxic, but I am not sure if powder form in direct contact with small pet birds' skin is safe.

I will appreciate any feedback. Thank you.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Most of us on here have inside birds so we dont normally experience this. I used dicotomus earth with the chickens but im not sure abt tiels. Hopefully one our experienced breeders sees this and can comment further.

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