Face and leg mites (scaly face/leg mange) in canaries and finches
Other names: Leg scab، Leg scales، Fluffed-up leg
Symptoms
- White or gray crusted scales on the legs and toes (a "fringe" look in canaries and goldfinches)
- Scales around the beak and sometimes the eye
- Limping and difficulty standing
- In late cases the toes may become deformed or fall off
How it spreads
By direct contact between birds; chicks are infected by the parents in the nest; possibly through wooden perches.
Diagnosis
The appearance alone is usually enough for diagnosis. Merck does not recommend scraping the leg in finches because it causes bleeding.
Treatment
Per Merck: ivermectin 0.2 mg/kg orally or intramuscularly, or moxidectin 0.2 mg/kg orally or on the skin, repeated after two weeks. The vet may add a topical ointment to soften the scales. Change the wooden perches or wash them. (All under veterinary supervision.)
Prevention
Quarantine new birds and check their legs, and clean and replace the perches regularly.
Season
Year-round
Treatment and doses are decided by an avian vet after an exam; Zajel does not publish doses.
Other diseases
- Air sac mites (tracheal mites)
- Red mites (poultry red mite)
- Feather lice and feather mites
- Coccidiosis (bloody/intestinal diarrhea)
- Atoxoplasmosis (black spot disease / enlarged liver)
- Trichomoniasis (ulcer/canker)
- Cochlosomosis
- Giardiasis