silkies08
Stickfast Fleas on another Breed.
Found this photo on the internet, as I don't have any my self,
Stickfast Feas are easier to see on normal chook breeds,like this one,than the darker combed breeds like the Silkie, and even harder to see, if the dark comb has deep furrows and lumpy like this bird.
I have seen birds like this at Chook Shows and the owners just thought the birds had been fighting??!! After wiping the comb with the lice dip the fleas released their grip and could be scraped off with a long fingernail, unmistakably revealing the flea, to the disbelieving owner. The roundness of the flea rump is very distinctive, and easily spotted once you have seen one, and then know what to look for at a glance , in the future.
I thought this may be a help to some people I have spoken too.
The two dark bumps in the centre/right side of the photo ,if enlarged you can see the round end of the flea's rumps. They attatch themselves,to the combs and wattles permanently, by their heads,and suck the blood from the bird ,while breathing through their rumps . If you flip the flea out with your fingernail, you can see that it is a little flea. They lay their eggs at night , which fall to the ground and hatch in the litter then burrow into the ground to further develope. If your birds are kept on concrete at night, then the problem will go away.As I have read they need to burrow at least 6 inches into the ground, to continue to develope. But if even one bird is sleeping over soil, then the problem will continue, as they get onto the birds as they scratch around under where the infected birds, have been sleeping at night. Smearing the comb with a generous amount vasaline ,not just a thin smear,will kill the fleas on the bird by sufficating the flea, as it wont be able to breath through the dollop of vasaline. (Oil is too thin,to block the air way).The yellow bits on the comb would only be from eating Mash, and the white powder would be from the flour around the grain, he had been eating. Also the white parts could be a result of the owner dusting the bird with maybe cat dusting powder, which is dangerous for the owner and bad for the birds lungs, which are more sensitive than ours!!,and is totally useless, to rid the bird of the fleas. As you can see the powder does not stick to the flea only to the comb crevices where there are no fleas.I doubt whether it would sufficate the flea even if it was in the crevice! As it could just blow it away!!?? and keep breathing.
The black looking dots are the blood filled fleas, not scabs as people think. The comb is perfectly healthy looking otherwise. I would say the three red dots in a row 3/4" up from the right hand bottom of the comb, is where fleas have been attached prevously to the comb.
If you get given a bird like this and dont have concrete floored,sleeping quarters for your birds , I would recomend keeping the said bird in a cage over concrete until you are sure you have got rid of them totally before allowing the birds to join your flock!!
Any blood sucking bug is going to weaken your birds systems and must be irritation for them.
As the flea is attached permanently and only lays it's eggs at night ,, I dont think you are at risk treating the bird with vasaline during the day. They wont jump onto you like a normal jumping dog or cat flea, but other pets could have them crawl onto them of they go near the area , under where the infected bird has been sleeping. They are not going to walk a long way to find a host, just dont let the infected bird walk around your yard, until clear of fleas.
Stickfast Fleas on another Breed.
Found this photo on the internet, as I don't have any my self,
Stickfast Feas are easier to see on normal chook breeds,like this one,than the darker combed breeds like the Silkie, and even harder to see, if the dark comb has deep furrows and lumpy like this bird.
I have seen birds like this at Chook Shows and the owners just thought the birds had been fighting??!! After wiping the comb with the lice dip the fleas released their grip and could be scraped off with a long fingernail, unmistakably revealing the flea, to the disbelieving owner. The roundness of the flea rump is very distinctive, and easily spotted once you have seen one, and then know what to look for at a glance , in the future.
I thought this may be a help to some people I have spoken too.
The two dark bumps in the centre/right side of the photo ,if enlarged you can see the round end of the flea's rumps. They attatch themselves,to the combs and wattles permanently, by their heads,and suck the blood from the bird ,while breathing through their rumps . If you flip the flea out with your fingernail, you can see that it is a little flea. They lay their eggs at night , which fall to the ground and hatch in the litter then burrow into the ground to further develope. If your birds are kept on concrete at night, then the problem will go away.As I have read they need to burrow at least 6 inches into the ground, to continue to develope. But if even one bird is sleeping over soil, then the problem will continue, as they get onto the birds as they scratch around under where the infected birds, have been sleeping at night. Smearing the comb with a generous amount vasaline ,not just a thin smear,will kill the fleas on the bird by sufficating the flea, as it wont be able to breath through the dollop of vasaline. (Oil is too thin,to block the air way).The yellow bits on the comb would only be from eating Mash, and the white powder would be from the flour around the grain, he had been eating. Also the white parts could be a result of the owner dusting the bird with maybe cat dusting powder, which is dangerous for the owner and bad for the birds lungs, which are more sensitive than ours!!,and is totally useless, to rid the bird of the fleas. As you can see the powder does not stick to the flea only to the comb crevices where there are no fleas.I doubt whether it would sufficate the flea even if it was in the crevice! As it could just blow it away!!?? and keep breathing.
The black looking dots are the blood filled fleas, not scabs as people think. The comb is perfectly healthy looking otherwise. I would say the three red dots in a row 3/4" up from the right hand bottom of the comb, is where fleas have been attached prevously to the comb.
If you get given a bird like this and dont have concrete floored,sleeping quarters for your birds , I would recomend keeping the said bird in a cage over concrete until you are sure you have got rid of them totally before allowing the birds to join your flock!!
Any blood sucking bug is going to weaken your birds systems and must be irritation for them.
As the flea is attached permanently and only lays it's eggs at night ,, I dont think you are at risk treating the bird with vasaline during the day. They wont jump onto you like a normal jumping dog or cat flea, but other pets could have them crawl onto them of they go near the area , under where the infected bird has been sleeping. They are not going to walk a long way to find a host, just dont let the infected bird walk around your yard, until clear of fleas.