# Pigeons Scratching/Itching Alot



## Teh_Man875 (Jan 15, 2010)

Well my birds have been itching around their wings and behind their heads lately. I just put permethrine powder on last week with a cotton ball on all of them. Any suggestions?

Edit: They use their beak to bite near their wings and their feet to scratch behind their heads.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

they do this sometimes, but you have noticed they are uncomfortable and scratching alot? if so, powder them all again.. and also, check for mites that only come out at dark, they hide in the wood of the loft and only come out at dark to feed on the pigeons.. so check with a flashlite, if you see red "specks" on the birds could be red mites, and you would have to spray your loft... more than a few times to get them out of there.


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## Teh_Man875 (Jan 15, 2010)

spirit wings said:


> they do this sometimes, but you have noticed they are uncomfortable and scratching alot? if so, powder them all again.. and also, check for mites that only come out at dark, they hide in the wood of the loft and only come out at dark to feed on the pigeons.. so check with a flashlite, if you see red "specks" on the birds could be red mites, and you would have to spray your loft... more than a few times to get them out of there.


They aren't realy uncomfortable they just scratch a lot. I will powder them all again but the only problem is that I have powder and not a spray. I have a bottle filled with bleach mixed with water. Could I spray that on the wood?


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Teh_Man875 said:


> They aren't realy uncomfortable they just scratch a lot. I will powder them all again but the only problem is that I have powder and not a spray. *I have a bottle filled with bleach mixed with water. *Could I spray that on the wood?




That won't kill the mites and the bleach is very toxic to your birds. All the pigeon supply have products that work very well on mites so be safe and buy one of those.


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## Teh_Man875 (Jan 15, 2010)

Bleach has now been removed from the loft. Good thing I only sprayed it once. Is this good? http://www.nepigeonsupplies.com/cat...p?page=1&category=Insecticides%20and%20Poison


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Yes...that will work. Follow the directions that come with it to the *T*.


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## DEEJAY7950 (Dec 13, 2006)

If you have mites? you should notice your birds stamping their feet, these little buggers usually come out from a wood source like a perch and drive the birds crazy!


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## Teh_Man875 (Jan 15, 2010)

DEEJAY7950 said:


> If you have mites? you should notice your birds stamping their feet, these little buggers usually come out from a wood source like a perch and drive the birds crazy!


I don't have perches, I have pieces of plywood which they stand on. It's hard to explain the loft. They don't stamp their feet. They sometimes hold one foot up at a time sometimes though. I don't know why they do that though.


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## PigeonMadness (Apr 21, 2009)

You want to make sure that they are uncomfortable. They do this sometimes just to clean themselves. Mine do it often and their are no mites in my loft. These are normal behaviors. I've noticed they scratch their heads often. Sometimes they scratch right on the side of their beak after they retrieve a form of oil near their behinds. This oil is then used and spread on their wings. I think i read this somewhere, if anyone can second this it'll be great! Then they scratch their beaks to remove the excess oil i believe. You have to make sure that when they scratch around the wings its not just cleaning themselves. Pigeons are very clean and will often clean themselves. So again, make sure these arent just normal conditions of healthy, mite-free pigeons. Continue the pigeon madness


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## PigeonMadness (Apr 21, 2009)

"Preening birds often appear to nibble on something at the bases of their tails. When birds do this, they're gathering a special oil from their "preen gland." This oil is rich in waxes, fatty acids, fat, and water, and birds spread it over their feathers. Not only does the oil clean feathers, it also keeps them moist and flexible, improves their insulation capacities, and waterproofs them. Ducks usually have huge preen glands, for if a duck's feathers were not waterproofed with oil, they'd quickly become waterlogged, and the ducks would "

from http://www.backyardnature.net/birdfthr.htm Hopethis helps!


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## Teh_Man875 (Jan 15, 2010)

reaperofhim said:


> You want to make sure that they are uncomfortable. They do this sometimes just to clean themselves. Mine do it often and their are no mites in my loft. These are normal behaviors. I've noticed they scratch their heads often. Sometimes they scratch right on the side of their beak after they retrieve a form of oil near their behinds. This oil is then used and spread on their wings. I think i read this somewhere, if anyone can second this it'll be great! Then they scratch their beaks to remove the excess oil i believe. You have to make sure that when they scratch around the wings its not just cleaning themselves. Pigeons are very clean and will often clean themselves. So again, make sure these arent just normal conditions of healthy, mite-free pigeons. Continue the pigeon madness


Thank you so much. You helped a lot.


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## PigeonMadness (Apr 21, 2009)

You're welcome!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Are they molting? Sometimes when they molt their new feathers, they get itchy and scratch a bit. But the permethrin spray is good to have on hand anyway.


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## Teh_Man875 (Jan 15, 2010)

Jay3 said:


> Are they molting? Sometimes when they molt their new feathers, they get itchy and scratch a bit. But the permethrin spray is good to have on hand anyway.


There's been a lot of feathers lying around so I'm guessing that. And I'm taking a drive down to New England Pigeon Supplies in a few weeks so I'll grab it then with a few other things.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Teh_Man875 said:


> There's been a lot of feathers lying around so I'm guessing that. And I'm taking a drive down to New England Pigeon Supplies in a few weeks so I'll grab it then with a few other things.


I don't remember where in Conn. that is. How long does it take you to get there. I always order online. Maybe I should take a ride.


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## Teh_Man875 (Jan 15, 2010)

It's located at 95 River Road, Preston, CT 06365. It takes me about an hour to an hour and a half to get there.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Teh_Man875 said:


> It's located at 95 River Road, Preston, CT 06365. It takes me about an hour to an hour and a half to get there.


Thank you.


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## Teh_Man875 (Jan 15, 2010)

Jay3 said:


> Thank you.


Welcome.


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## 24hrs (Nov 6, 2020)

for how long they will stop itching


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