Eliminate External Parasites...
Whether you have pigeons for racing, showing, performing or just to
keep as pets it is very important that they be free of external parasites.
Some common external parasites are feather lice, mites, and pigeon flies.
Feather lice are bad for feather condition and reduce the birds'
effectiveness in showing and flying. Mites and pigeon flies are blood
suckers and very, very bad to have in a loft. They can transmit disease
from bird to bird resulting in widespread infections.
Feather lice do not present a health risk to the pigeons but in an
exhibition, a bird with lice holes in the feathers will seldom do very well
in competition. Many judges will take one look at a bird with external
parasite problems and place it far down in the placings. What a shame that
an otherwise fine pigeon should not be recognized as such simply because the
owner did not take the proper steps to eliminate the problem. I should
mention that lice found on birds are not the same as those occasionally
found in humans.
Surprisingly enough, external parasites are fairly easy to
eliminate, especially if the infestation is mild. Take one of your birds,
spread its wing and hold it up to light to examine the flight feathers. I
usually do this outside and use the light of the sun. Feather lice are
observed as small groupings of tiny eighth of an inch dark spots in the
webbing of the feathers. Although we all find the occasional isolated louse,
more commonly they are found in groups. If you have a heavy infestation the
lice may be observed throughout the bird's plumage.
To eliminate lice from your loft there are some simple remedies
which are readily prepared. First, make certain your loft is clean. During
the heavy part of the moult you will need to clean more frequently to
dispose of all the old feathers. Next, allow your birds to bathe often.
Several times a week is not too often. Some breeders allow their birds to
bathe daily, I prefer twice a week. In the bath pan I dissolve a handful of
"Twenty Mule Team Borax". This alone will reduce the numbers of external
parasites but will probably not eliminate them completely. I handle my
birds frequently and during the handling process I sprinkle Sevin Garden
dust under their wings and tail and on the back. This will do the trick.
Pick up the bird one day later and you will seldom find any lice. Repeat
the process as needed and you will not have a problem with external parasites.
Mites and pigeon flies are handled the same way except that you also
need to clean the entire loft and nesting areas. Sprinkling Sevin dust
underneath nest bowls and around nests will eliminate all kinds of insects
in the loft. I try not to get the Sevin dust in the nest itself in case it
might damage eggs or young, but on the few occasions when I did get the dust
in the nest bowl I did not observe any detrimental effects.
Any healthy pigeon loft should be free of external parasites. If
you're not certain whether or not you have a problem with them, I would go
ahead and follow the steps outlined above to ensure that a problem does not
occur. Remember, regular baths with Borax in the water will greatly reduce
the number of external parasites. Then follow up with regular treatments of
Sevin dust.
I have used other methods of eradicating external parasites with
liquids insecticides with great success. I just find the dusting method to
be the easiest for me.
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