I just noticed a little thin black worm one one of my doves and upon inspecting it I noticed he has all full of them, in the feathers and around the body, some even in the tail -they are like little black thin worms, has anyone ever seen anything like these? they are very hard to pick out of the bird, in fact I was not able to retrieve even one , I inspected another of the 4 doves and he did not have them- tomorrow its Sunday and I don't know if I can find a bird vet!-

Please help if anyone can

Jaime

Jaime, your bird has mites and or lice. Get to a pet shop, go to a grocery store and get some mite and lice powder for cats. NOT for dogs. Spread the powder all over the dove especially under the wings but be careful not to get it in his eyes. Keep him separated from the other birds but powder them as well. I'm assuming you keep your doves in cages so get some cage protectors. These are small round discs or cans with a chemical to prevent mites and lice. They only cost a few dollars. Poke holes where indicated on the back of the disc and hang it on the cage. You need to replace this every few months.

Thanks Dave,

Once again!!! you are a lifesaver! going to the pet shop and following your instructions, one other thing, do you know once I spread the powder, how long should does it usually take for the powder to kill the mite? like how long should I keep him separated, and should I be worried about bringing the birds inside of the house now, I have 2 small kids and worried the mites will jump on them. I've heard Doves can carry dangerous diseases and was worried this was one of them.

thanks

Jaime

Yes, Dave is correct! Mites and lice look like a black line on a bird's feathers. If you watch this line it will move slowly. When my birds have had lice in the past I have bought the mite and lice powder for Parakeets that is pyrethrin based.

I put the doves in a dry bathtub and carefully powder them. I go slow and try not to let the powder become airborne because doves breathe with several sacs and they can have issues with particulates and dust. Sometimes they will regurgitate their food when you dust them.

Then I turn off the lights and close the door so they will not fly or flap their wings. I check on them every five minutes to make sure they are OK. I leave them in the tub for about thirty minutes and all the mites die. Scrub your cage and all perches and replace water and ALL food, vacuum the floor and area so you pick up any stray mites.

You must get rid of these mites because they will weaken your dove. These are little blood suckers. Once I am rid of mites they never do seem to come back if my cage is off the ground or indoors. Good luck!

I should have mentioned that the powder for Cats is just in case you can't find bird powder. In my area, the pet shops don't carry the powder but do have a spray. I mentioned the alternate only because grocery stores are sometimes closer than the pet shops.

I wouldn't be concerned with bringing the doves inside once you've killed the lice and mites. Autumn is correct, be sure to wash down the cages and their contents with a bleach solution. Once cleaned up and with cage protectors in use, you shouldn't have any other problems.

OK thanks Autumn Morning Star and Dave, it ended up being that all 4 doves had them, but one worse than the other three which seem to have them just on the tail-
I was able to get the spray and also got the cage bird protector, but I think tomorrow I will buy a second one to hang as I last weekend I built an aviary type cage and I think for its size one might be to little-anyhow on the bottle it says do not spray more than 2 times per week-i spray each bird more than the 3-4 sprays the bottle says- well specially the dove that really had them all over,
I checked him after about 4 hours- and all around his head I found more that seemed to still be moving- so since I did not want to get the eyes I spray some on the table and dipped my fingers and used my fingers to wet all by the lice around his head-wow poor bird- they must be annoying!!

I hope tomorrow they are gone- should I wait a couple of days before I spray them again? and once they die, do they fall off by themselves? Do the doves pick them out?

thanks again

Jaime

Jarana, the spray is fine and thanks for being careful around the eyes. As long as the birds were completely covered with the spray, (it might be more than 3-4 squirts) the lice and mites should be eliminated. It might take a day or so but it you still see them moving in a few days, spray them again. You have to get the spray all the way down to the base of the feathers. You don't have to clean up the mites afterwards. They'll just fall off. Depending on how large your cage is you may or may not need several cage protectors. They come in different sizes. It won't hurt the doves to have several of them around the aviary.

Don't forget to clean everything with bleach before putting the doves back in the cage.

OK, Thanks- hopefully when I get home from work today the doves will already be mites and lice free!

Jaime