# Newbie Questions regarding Pet Pigeon



## Podgy's Mum (Nov 21, 2010)

Hello, how do you know if your pet bird has fleas? I can't see anything on him, but sometimes he jumps and begins to peck at himself quite suddenly. It seems different to preening because that is a slower and more intricate procedure. 
I know, I know - this is one of those probably very basic "Newbie" questions ! LOL

Also, when will we be able to determine the sex of our baby? It is between 5 - 6 weeks old now and there are feathers beginning to sprout on his legs and it looks like there might be purple neck feathers beginning to sprout.

Regards,
Dana


----------



## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

Dana, this is a fairly common occurrence with a juvenile still growing in his first set of feathers. If you have given him a good going over and not seen anything, especially if he has not been around other birds or had access to open ground areas, I would not worry too much about it. If you are still worried about it you can pick up a caged bird mite spray for budgies/finches, that contain pyrethrins, and give him a light spraying, this will take care of any unwanted visitor issues. http://www.petdiscounters.com/Mite-Lice-Bird-Cage-Spray_p_9986.html

Karyn


----------



## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Podgy's Mum said:


> Hello, how do you know if your pet bird has fleas? I can't see anything on him, but sometimes he jumps and begins to peck at himself quite suddenly. It seems different to preening because that is a slower and more intricate procedure.
> I know, I know - this is one of those probably very basic "Newbie" questions ! LOL
> 
> Also, when will we be able to determine the sex of our baby? It is between 5 - 6 weeks old now and there are feathers beginning to sprout on his legs and it looks like there might be purple neck feathers beginning to sprout.
> ...


at 5 to 6 weeks old he should be featherd out already, as far as sexing him/her they start to know what sex they are at around 4 ot 6 months of age.


----------



## Feathered Dragons (Oct 15, 2010)

You could let him/her take a bath. I use a cat litter box, mix warm water that has 1 tablespoon of borax, and a little epsom salt per gallon. They love to take a bath and that works for me.


----------

