Ringneck doves

Question
My dove is constantly pecking at itself. A lot of feathers are now gone and it has a number of bare red skin patches. Tried olive oil.but didnt help. Could you suggest something as the bird is sufferring. Thank you.  larry  morris

Answer
Hi Larry

It sounds as if your bird has a parasite problem. All those symptoms you listed surely points to external parasites. There are many species that can but uncommonly do affect pigeons and doves and some of them can be quite harmful. Olive oil does not usually work on parasites except a few of them. Unfortunatly I cannot tell you what type of parasite your bird has because there are a lot of them and some have to be treated differently. Look your bird over for insects. There's a type of mite called a red mite that sometimes attacks birds but it is nocturnal. To find it, sneak up on your pigeon while it is sleeping and look for tiny red moving dots around the birds nostrils, cere (fleshy nose part) and mouth. I would suggest visiting your pet store and telling a worker there your bird's problem because they may be able to suggest a spray or a powder to help with ridding of the parasites. If all else fails, PLEASE visit your vet. They will find out 100% what is going on with your dove and give you medicine for him/her, even if it is not a parasite problem (which I'm 99% sure it is). Sorry that I can't tell you specifically what to do but there's just so much that could be going on and I can't look at the bird myself. I really hope this helps and I hope your bird is better soon.