# Rescued baby Wood pigeon has mites/fleas? Eek.



## Hayley! (Sep 24, 2008)

Oh gosh.

I'm going through hell with this pigeon, I really am - first it was a suspected broken wing, then listlessness and not eating/drinking, then spitting up blood, now I just held it and took it away from my shirt to find dozens of tiny bugs crawling all over me. 

I never noticed before, but I always wear old, dark T-shirts I can put straight into the wash after I've handled him - this time I was wearing a bright top, and after cradling him to my chest found loads of tiny, brown bugs crawling on me. I'm planning on taking him to the vets, but is this life threatening? Can I just clean him to rid him of them?

When I look through his feathers or on his underside I don't find anything, but they were unmistakably from him. Ick. And I have the rabbit coming tomorrow to share quarters with the bird until I can free him, so could this be harmful to the rabbit, or humans? I do always wash my hands and use antibacterial hygiene gel after handling him, as he is wild, and tend to always take off the clothes I've been wearing after holding him, but could they survive just sitting in the laundry basket?

s:


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

That is an easy problem to remedy.

You can use a regular bird /parakeet lice and mite spray, but cover eyes, beak and such.

If he is feeling well, he can bathe too.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Hayley,

I will pop a satchet of pigeon insect powder in the post tomorrow. That will get rid of the lice. They are harmless, but the thought of them makes me itch.

Cynthia


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

mites will bite you and the rabbit, and drive you crazy, i'm starting to itch just thinking about them! they usually won't survive long as long if you treat the bird, change any bedding many times a day making sure to clean under the cage or whatever your using to keep him in. most will leave the bird during the day, them come back to feed on him at night.
if you hold him use a towel and when your done close it up in a plastic bag until you can wash them in hot water with bleach, that will kill just about everything including anything infectious.
another thing i do is when i get a mitey bird is wear exam gloves and put a layer of vaseline around the wrist so they won't crawl on me and get stuck in the vaseline instead.
be careful with wildlife they can have many zoonotic diseases that even the most brilliant vet could miss, you should always assume they do and act accordingly
protect yourself and your pets


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Please be reassured... your description of the "bugs" sounds more like feather lice, they don't feed on human blood or animal blood.

Feather lice are very common among wood pigeons. As I said, they are harmless. Wood pigeons do not tend to carry the red mites that feed on them during the night.

Although in combination different wild life may carry many zoonotic diseases, wood pigeons as a species, don't. There a couple of diseases that rarely can be transfered to humans from pigeons, but you would have to be very intimate with the pigeon to catch them, for example, one of our members caught Ornithosis by giving the kiss of life to a dying pigeon. You are taking sensible hygiene precautions and that should be enough. If you find a pigeon that has runny eyes and a runny nose then you should use a face mask and gloves when handling it.

I will send you the pigeon insecticide today. As I said, that will cure the problem.

Cynthia


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