External Parasites

[Guest]

Speckled, just a note to say you were 'spot' on  ;D

 

No washing up liquid Wednesday bath - still same bloom & gunge. Ta.  

 

 

[snowy]

bruno, billymac was right, but i was showed with washing up liquid not soap, but the effect is the same, but like billy mac said it wears off in a few days,

[Guest]

Extracted from BHW 21st October (Joe Murphy - he of the spanked bottom) p26

 

Ivomectin / dectomax

 

Linda Brooks (SHU Secy) received letter from Harker’s Dr J M Ballany:

 

"Pigeons coming into contact with the above CATTLE products  stand an extremely high risk of being poisoned as the dose rate for these products is 500 micrograms / kg bodyweight which relates to 1ml / 10kg up to a maximum dose of 40ml in cattle. Translating this dose rate to pigeons (average weight 400g) 0.04 of a millilitre would be applied. No pigeon fancier would be capable of administering such a small dose accurately. This dose may well be fatal to pigeons as no research has been done in pigeons with Ivomectin or Dectomax. These products are not intended for amateur use. It is illegal to purchase / administer these chemicals for use on other than the licensed species. Dectomax / Ivomectin are irritating to the skin and eyes and must not be used on dogs. Operators should wear rubber gloves and boots with a waterproof coat and goggles / visor when applying the product. The effect of these chemicals on birds of prey eating treated pigeons would be similar to that of Dieldrin / Lindane as they would accumulate in the bird of prey and eventually cause death. Both these chemicals have withdrawal periods up to 56 days after treatment before it is safe to eat meat or drink milk from treated animals.

 

Please advise your colleagues that it is extremely inadvisable to recommend treatment of pigeons with these products."

 

 

 

 

[jimmy white]

why not just do the K.I.S.S. SYTEM and just put nice clean water in their bath, warm if need be, remember we have the best water ,going  [in scot]  well it makes good whisky any way, youll allways find the odd lice on a pigeon, if you look hard enough, but with a good healthy pigeon and a well managed loft theyll be at a minimum, but with a sick pigeon will find a lot of lice on it, as the oil gland is not working properly, or the bird is not preening itself properly, and off course birds like this should  not be in the loft   p.s.   the odd lice will do no harm, and will actually encourage a healthy bird to prune itself , theres more in this oil gland than what you think    the worst enemy is mite,, by far.

[Guest]

James, you old tar, you mite just have reminded me to ask you ab'at sumfin.  

 

Get an odd bird kicking and stamping during the day - now I know way back that this was said to be something biting the bird, but never did see or hear anything conclusive on it.

 

Puzzles me, because if you watch the bird it doesn't seem to know whereabouts the actual bit is that's giving it bother. Under right wing; then left, then under the tail, then on top, near the gland. And with the odd grunt too! Almost as if its an internal 'stitch'.

 

Any ideas on this?

 

 

[snowy]

yes i remember in an early post by jim, about hearing them stamping their feet, sorted it for me! =lice

ps. im leaving the washingup liquid out, just good old garlic water for baths

[jimmy white]

bruno              theres a possibility  this could be  the pigon fly.

a flat fly  ,the size of a house fly that lives beneath the feathers of the bird and causes extreme unrest due to the fact that it lives on the pigeons blood,, ie, irritates the bird and bites the bird

[Guest]

I hope yer kiddin Jimmy!  ;D

 

When the Fleet sailed from Rosyth for the Gulf all those years ago, did they attach a big chain to Fife and drag Scotland out there with them?    ;D    ;D    ;D

 

Think you'll find this fly is from the far warmer pairts - far across the waater like Dunoon and Rossy.  ;D    ;D    ;D

 

Scratching everywhere now - yer a nightmare!  

[Guest Silverwings]

that louse jimmy is rantin about is a young  haggis ! what time of the year do you bravehearts pair up your widowhood haggies ?    jimmy  the reason bruno,s gay pigeons are  dancin is ....... TARES !  there is one particular type of tare that causes pigeons to dance ? the FREDASS be sure to sift them from your grain or they will all be doo- in it , ( finger on the pulse }

[jimmy white]

 bruno, it was jim biss that told me about the pigeon fly, and the ordinary fly, flying hypodermic needles he said, and youll get the pigeon fly in uk ubet.

 

silverwings ive two 3 week old haggis  goin cheep   :)

[Guest Silverwings]

ill have em jim ! do u think they will settle at that age ? make sure two of their four leggs are shorter !

[Guest]

JIMMY IS NOT KIDDIN THE FLY IS OUT THERE  ALSO JIM BISS PUT ONE DROP OF IVOMECTIN ON THE BACK OF THE NECK OF YOUNG BIRDS AT SIX WEEKS OLD

[THE FIFER]

LOOKING THROUGH THE BOOK.. THE AILMENTS AND DISEASES OF RACING PIGEONS, BY OLD HAND, SYMPTOM BIRDS BEING DRIVEN OFF THE NEST ETC, PERCHED BIRDS CAN BE SEEN TO SCRATCH AND KICK VIOLENTLY , DIAGNOSES.. EXTERNAL PARASITES IE RED MITE. MY CURE A STRONG BATH IN GARLIC WATER, I USE THIS WEEKLY, KEEPS THE BIRDS KLEAN,THE TREATMENT FROM THE BOOK IS LOFT COMPOUND ON THE FLOORS AND IN BOXES ETC, ANOTHER GOOD ONE IS TO SPRAY UR LOFT WITH BLEACH AND WATER BUT MAKE SURE IT IS DRY BEFORE LETTING THE BIRDS IN AS IT DOES DAMAGE THEIR FEATHERS, IF U DO NOT WANT TO USE BLEACH SPRAY WITH STRONG GARLIC WATER. DURAMITEX IS ANOTHER GOOD ONE, BUT  NEVR GO PAT ARI IN HE BAT VEY GOFR THE BIRDS

                                             THE FIFER.

[jimmy white]

i agree with fifer, that red mite will produce these symtoms in pigeons,but also beleive that ordinary lice will not in a healthy pigeon....to that extent anyway as for the pigeon fly i e mailed a mr brittain of an insectiside firm, and his answer was, qoute....i beleive the pigeon fly  has been prevelant in the u,k, you may find  www.pigeons.biz of interest

unqoute,,,well i looked at this site ,forgot about pigeon fly lice and mite etc, and found it very interesting, especially the red that was born blind and hand reared, and is now able to fend for itself and looks well in the photo, and many other topics, got a bit carried away with myself [as usual]   :) :)

[celtic]

Yes Jimmy white the pigeon  fly has been and is still prevalent in parts of the u.k, i thought this was a commonly known fact.

[Guest]

No, didn't suspect for a minute that pigeon fly applied to the UK. Even the merc vet manual is misleading, and some searches on the web too. Combined result below, with pics.

 

The Pigeon Fly

 

Pseudolynchia canariensis (Hippoboscidae) is an important parasite of pigeons in warm or tropical areas. It may transmit Haemoproteus columbae, which causes pigeon malaria. It may also cause heavy losses in squabs. The pigeon loft should be cleaned every 20 days, and the squabs can be dusted with pyrethrum powder.

 

 

Pseudolynchia canariensis (Macquart, 1839) African

.

Pseudolynchia canariensis (Macquart, 1839) Nearctic

.

Pseudolynchia canariensis (Macquart, 1839) Neotropical

.

Pseudolynchia canariensis (Macquart, 1839) Oriental

.

Pseudolynchia canariensis (Macquart, 1839) Palaearctic*

 

*These are names for the world's bio-regions. We are in the Palaearctic region, but the only references to the pigeon fly I've seen 'closest' to the UK are Denmark and the Faroes Isles, latitudes a lot further north than us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

DEFRA publication on the Red mite. Nocturnal chappie which shouldn't affect the birds during the day. 99% certain could be discounted for 'day-time' stamping. Also remember Old Hand saying a sure sign of 'no mite' was neat piles of droppings on perches showing pigeon had rested comfortably during the night. Also, club mate tells me that these mites are normally white, and show up red only after having fed on bird's blood.

 

PARASITE CONTROL IN POULTRY: RED MITE (Dermanyssus gallinae)

 

The poultry red mite is one of the most important ectoparasites affecting egg layers in all types of production system across the UK and Europe. It is an obligatory blood-feeding parasite of birds that attacks the resting hens, mainly during the night, for a short (1 – 2 hours) blood meal.

After feeding, the mites hide in cracks and crevices away from daylight, where they mate and lay eggs.

At high levels of infestation, attacks by the mite can cause increased stress to the birds and subsequently reduced egg production, anaemia and in severe cases, death. They have also been implicated as vectors of several significant disease organisms such as chicken pox virus, Newcastle virus and fowl typhoid. The mites can even occasionally bite mammals, including humans, causing painful skin irritation, thus posing a working environment problem.

The Livestock Knowledge Transfer management team are grateful to ADAS researchers and publications for the information used to develop this fact sheet

 

SOME CURRENTLY AVAILABLE PRODUCTS SPECIFIC TO RED MITE

(From “Pesticides 2001” – Pesticides approved under the Control of Pesticides

Regulations 1986)

 

Synthetic pyrethroid (cypermethrin)

 

Pyrethroid (alphacypermethrin)

 

Permethrin and Piperonyl Butoxide

 

Silica-based products

 

Citrus extracts

 

CURRENT ‘BEST PRACTICE’ STRATEGY FOR RED MITE CONTROL

Once the house is depleted and all manure has been removed, thorough

cleaning using a power washer or steam-cleaner must be carried out. As many

of the internal fittings as possible should be removed to facilitate good cleaning.

 

Consideration should be given to cleaning the outside of the houses as it is

known that red mite are naturally found in birds’ nests in the UK and will

migrate in search of a host when the poultry house is empty.

 

Ensure any obvious refuges are removed or sealed (especially in the areas

around the nesting boxes and feeders).

 

When the house is dry, it should be sprayed with an approved acaricide, using

a flat-fan spray for walls and floors, and a crack-and-crevice tool for application

to small harborages. Product use should be on a cyclical basis to reduce the

risk of development of resistance.

 

Birds should be bought from breeder flocks that can be shown to be free from

red mite and care should be taken to ensure transport and staff are not carrying

the parasites in small numbers from recent exposure at other sites.

 

Records of routine weekly monitoring of all houses should be kept in order to

trigger spot treatments where necessary in areas where mites are found, or

rotational treatment with alternative products. Treatment details must also be

recorded at all times to monitor use and prevent extensive, prolonged use of

any one product.

 

Reckon last paragraph is an indication why there's now resistance to Duramitex.

 

Trying to find out something on their natural predators.  

[Guest]

Dermanyssus gallinae - Red Mite

 

[Guest]

Talk of mites & flies made me go back over my own internal 'biosecurity' which is a dressing based on calcium carbonate (CaO3, crushed limestone) and stalosan on floors, walls, box perches and nest boxes.

 

Lime

 

"Strauch [1984] described lime as suitable for all types of waste; to settle toxic metals, take away organic material; destroy pathogens, reduce biochemical/biological oxygen; fix solids and take away odours. He found in his investigations non-slaked lime [CaO] was effective against A.suum eggs. Unfortunately, he did not record how effective."

 

That confirms my previous research - (this is what you get when you buy 'floor white'.) -and is from the stalosan website.

 

 

Stalosan

 

This test (on flies) was carried out in a calf stable where the calves are in separate stalls.

   

Amount of alive larvae per 10 cm2

 

Start 20.05.1992

1. day - 200

2. day - 180

3. day - 40

4. day - 0

5. day - 0

6. day - 2

7. day - 0

8. day - 0

9. day - 0

10. day - 0

11. day - 0

   

 

Confirms previous research in that the product works to interrupt the target organism's life cycles (outside the pigeons) by destroying eggs (insect, worms, cocci) and insect larvae. Also kills yeast, fungus, bacteria and virus.

 

 

Various independent research results at:

 

 

http://www.stalosan.com/stalosanf.php?action=document

 

 

Think I can stop scratching now!!!!!  ;D

[jimmy white]

one way to find out if you have dermanyssurs gallinea[,red mite] in your loft ,is *expletive removed* your finger and squeeze a blob of blood on to a perch or nest box, in the dark , go back later with torch, and if theres mite youll see them in it.

[Guest]

Two further questions on red mite.  

 

(1) When you do the 'annual' spray - does that last the year, or does it only kill what's there at the time and can 're-infestation' occur within days?

 

(2) If they are night feeders, what affect does darkening the loft down for darkness youngsters have on the mite's feeding habits?

 

 

 

[jimmy white]

I WOULD SAY BRUNO THAT RE INFESTATION CAN OCCUR IN DAYS, ESSPECIALLY WITH YBS IN THE NEST

I WOULDNT SAY THEY WERE NIGHT FEEDERS, THE JUST SURVIVE IN DARK PLACES,IE UNDER THE YBS WING, UNDER NEST BOWLS ETC

I THINK THE ANNUAL SPRAY IS NOT ENOUGH

[speedbird]

i use the same as heathecote very good stuff i always do yb & old birds after young have been moved from the nest

[snowy]

i always spray the perches , floor & roof perimiter every time i clean the loft out now with a bleach& water spray & make sure its dry before the birds go back in, just for my own piece of mind.

[Guest Silverwings]

brilliant post by celtic earlier ( reply 70 )  it reads that our jimmy IS the pigeon fly ?   if this is the case should we insert bruno s post 71

Pseudolnchia canariensis (Mac White 2005) scottish ?

nice one celtic great post ! love this funny stuff .....going to get a pair of those flys sent down here to train up !  they would beat the  widowers down here