Anyone Know What This Is ?

[ginge]

hi all has any body seen this on a pigeon before ,if u look closely youll see that the feathers on the front of the pigeon looks half eaten ? this is on one of my hen birds,all so ive just checked the youngster I moved over a few weeks ago and that's the same,the cock bird isn't as bad but looks like it has a little bit? rest of the birds in the loft don't seem to have it

[Henrik]

Could be moths or those little silverwing things

[Guest geordiejen]

what nesting materials u using?if the hen and cock and young from that nest ae the only ones effected by it then it sounds like something to do with that.

[ginge]

I was using straw,yea the hen and the youngen is the worst effected,i panicked and thought it was red mite or summert along them lines

[Wiley]

Aren't the greatest photos to tell anything, are the feathers eaten to the stump. If you say her cock and young are affected I fear deplumming might which is highly contagious, and you will only know if the bird is cured from it's treatment until after it's new moult.

[Guest geordiejen]

i wouldnt use straw mate,someone told me straw keeps in the heat and causes moisture in the nest.have a look underneath the nestpan see if its wet.

[Pompey Mick]

As its only one pair affected I'd take the bowl out and thoroughly search the nesting material to see if you can find anything, if the YBs are really badly affected, then the hen and lastly the cock it would point to proportional time on the nest, ybs being 100% the hen about 75% and the cock 25% would lead me to believe that some mite or bug is resident in that bowl. The carpet beetle larvae will feed on feathers.

Read this;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varied_carpet_beetle