Advice needed on rescue kakariki.

Eddy · New Member Joined: Apr 01, 2006 Posts: 2

Hi all,

Three weeks ago I rescued a kakariki in quite a bad state. ( bald, very thin )
He seems to be doing a lot better now and is eating me out of house and home. Laughing

He loves his greens and has put on some weight.

The thing that is bothering me is that he keeps rubbing his eyes - not all the time, but enough times for me to notice - there is no discharge so I am wondering why he does this?

I will be taking him to the vet, but since there is no specialised avian vet nearby I am hoping that anyone on here can give me a clue.

Further, my other kakariki ( male )- who lives with a male budgie - seems to have taken a dislike to him. I have them in seperate cages, but when both are out he tries to bully him.
Will this change or will I have to keep them seperate?

Many thanks
Eddy

Peter · Foundation Member Joined: Oct 15, 2004 Posts: 599

Hi Eddy,

Kakariki are verry prone to mites. They are not visual but they can cause baldness and (verry rare) scally face. Other signs that your bird can show are scratching, sneezing and stretching the neck in an attempt to push out the mites from the windpipe.
Often you can notice thin lines in the tail feathers. These are tunnels they have made. Mites are verry infective to other birds.

The best product available at this moment is a pour-on that contains Ivermectin. To my knowledge this is only available from a vet in England. A few droplets on the skin in the neck area and your bird is free from parasites inside and outside.
You have to repeat it after 6 weeks since the mites lay eggs.

Peter

I use this product twice a year and experience no more trouble with feather loss/damage.

Karen · Snr Member Joined: Nov 12, 2005 Posts: 221

Hi Eddy, your first kak could be just saying to the new one that he is the alpha male & know your place.
He could also have a 'thing' for the budgie & is protecting him from the newbie.
Give him time, he 'should' come around.