I think my sun conure has mites

Question
I think my conure has mites. He is picking on his feathers and is begining to get a bare spot on the chest. Can you help? Thanks. Arnie

Answer
Hi, Arnie.  Thanks for posting your question.

Parrots don't normally get mites (fleas, etc.) unless they are exposed to or live outside or are using perches from trees that have mites/bugs on them.  You'll be able to see mites if you examine the underside of your Sun's wing feathers.  Fan/spread the wings out and look underneath in the feathers to see if you can see little dark spots moving around.  Feather mites/other bugs would live on the underside of the wing feathers where it is warm close to the bird's body.  The chest isn't a good place where mites would live.  However, if mites are present, they have to go to the vent for moisture once every 24 hours...this would put them close to the chest area.  I've seen mites in the feet/legs and ceres of parakeets, but in no other species of parrot I have experience with.  These are easily treated with medicine from an avian vet, but doesn't sound like the same issue with your Sun.  

Just because your parrot is picking his chest feathers does not mean he has mites (or any other infestation).  Bored birds, birds with psychological or other health problems often times pluck their feathers and the chest area is easy for them to reach.  A female parrot often plucks this area when she is incubating eggs to get maximum warmth to the eggs (called a brood patch).  Therefore, you should follow the process of elimination to see what might be affecting your bird.  This means you need to check under wings for mites and if you don't see any after several checks at different times, try and determine whether your Sun has any health problems (or have him checked by an avian veterinarian).  What about his diet....is he overweight and on a proper diet?  How often does he bathe?  Often times, fatty deposits under the skin from being overweight will itch.  If all OK, your Sun is most likely suffering from bordom (not enough to do to keep him busy so he's decided to pluck feathers) or for some other reason (psychological) is plucking himself.  If you don't get a handle on this behavior, your Sun could end up plucking himself severely (self mutilation) or might concentrate on the chest area only.  Feather plucking is a difficult behavior to change once it gets out of control.

If you need more help or you have additional questions, come back.    

Chrys