Mites & Moulting Kakariki’s

　

Kakariki's do suffer terrible moult’s it's believed that this is something to do with captivity, Maybe stress, environment. from the researsh ive done i understand that It's not really fully understood why they should suffer like this, they’re not like other birds losing just a few feathers at a time leaving you noticing just a few pin feathers. From what I’ve researched it seems that Buttercups are worse affected by this and can in severe cases leave them almost completely bald.

 

Neocnemidocoptes Mite Species

 

However,the answer might be this, in 2011 it was discovered strong feathering disorders are probably often due to infection by a mite. These mites live, invisible from normal inspection of the bird i.e. invisible to the human eye, on the calamus and near the follicle end. These mites have so far (with one exception) only been found on Kakariki’s.

 

The mites in question are of the Neocnemidocoptes Species. These mites are very difficult to detect by human eye. But one can suspect an infestation by a close inspection of a dropped feather. These mites live at the base of any feather, Its habitat is located in the area of the follicle hole. Their habitat is covered by the upper skin and this way they are invisible from the outside. They are the cause of severe feather irregularities. In cases of heavy infestation a bird suffers from severe loss of feathers in the head and neck area.

 

Because the small feathers drop faster than the large ones, this kind of loss helps to spot infestation sooner. But again for a correct diagnosis it is still necessary to spot living mites under a microscope! These mites are even smaller than the above described kind Max 0.4 mm. It probably spends the majority of its life cycle in the horn like and somewhat thickened part of the quill. The part which is connected to the skin. This type of mite prefers Kakariki as a host and was found only with an exception on one other parrot species. Depending on the stage of development and gender it can be either immobile to extremely mobile thus infecting more feathers. The source of infection of a bird is possibly in the nestling period during the gathering under the wings, first symptoms occur only during or after the sexual maturity.

　

Feather Shaft Mites

Most of the time, this type of mites are the cause of feathering problems in Kakariki. A simultaneous attack of feather shaft mites is possible, but not the cause for the featherings problems. These live mainly in the large flight feathers and are probably not the cause of severe feather loss. Their life circle almost always takes place near the short, proximal, un-feathered section of the quill, called the calamus. Most birds are infected during nesting period. Not all feathers of an infected bird have to necessarily show signs of infection! if you check tail and wing feathers for discoloration in the quill. The shafts of the feathers, will appear yellowish excrements and remains of the exoskeleton of mites seem to be sure indications of a possible mite infection. These signs can be spotted with a naked eye. The mites themselves are very small 1.43 mm when mature.