mite and lite spray

Question
hi!
my female mated with a male bird and she seemed to have mites. is it safe to spray her and the male? will it harm the baby birds and eggs? also 2 of them hatched and the parents both have blue feathers, but one of the baby birds have white and black feathers. is something wrong?

Answer
Hi, Katelyn.

I'm assuming you're referring to your budgies here?  Why do you think your bird(s) have mites?  Please explain why you think this.  Parrots don't usually get mites unless they are exposed to outside tree branches used as perches or other types of material brought in from outside.  These type of mites are called scaly face mites.  These type of mites affect the skin on the legs/feet and sometimes around the face, but not other parts of the body.  Scaly face mites resemble warts that humans get.  You can find pictures of scaly face mites on the internet.

No, it is not safe to spray a bird with anything but plain water.  Yes, it could affect all the birds being sprayed or other birds around the birds being sprayed.  In addition, if a spray such as this is on the bird's feathers, it could affect their babies/eggs.  In addition, anything sprayed on a bird can be absored into the body through the skin.  Therefore, do not spray your birds with mite spray.   

The coloration of offspring not only depends on the coloration of the parents, but the coloration of the parents' parents, i.e., the babies' grandparents.  This is called genetics.  Nothing is wrong with the babies having white and black feathers with both parents being blue color.

Chrys