My parakeet wont stop scratching.?

Question

I bought a parakeet from petsmart 2 days ago.
Its very cute!!!
But it wont stop scratching and bitting itself!
What does this mean???does it have lice??
Can humans get that from birds???
Plzzz help!

Answer 1

Hey:)
I just got a bird from Petsmart friday,and I think the same thing might be happening. I think our budgies are preening-straightening and cleaning his/her feathers. (it's perfectly normal,and healthy). Here is a website about budgies,with a section on preening:http://www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/birdinformation/budgies.php

However,in the even that your parakeet does have lice(or if your just interested) here is a link that tells all about it:http://www.birds-online.de/gesundheit/gesparasiten/federlinge_en.htm

Answer 2

ok for one you bought him from petsmart not to say bad things about petsmart i love them but the people there dont know what they are doing with the pets half the time, if he is scratching he probably has either lice or mites, and if it is lice you can get them you need to go pick up a bottle of lice and mite spray for birds and try that on him for about 2 weeks and if he doesnt stop then take him to the vet, if he starts plucking feathers you will need to take him to a vet as well so they can give you something to help with him good luck!

Answer 3

if this is your first budgie, i recommend getting a book about budgie care. all birds preen their feathers, which may look like biting to u, but really they're just straitening out and cleaning their feather (they have over a thousand!) you may notice maybe about 3-4 times a year he will go through periods where he looses a lot of feathers, and grows what look like pins on his head, which hold the feather in place while they grow in.

if u don't want to buy a book i recommend doing some more research online about budgie care so u don't think a normal behaviour is a disease or the other way around

Answer 4

Hi there. I bet you are really worried. Most infestations are tiny mites and can be seen as red or brown-black dots that move. I use a magnifying glass or borrow some reading glasses. There are products for this at most pet stores that deal with birds and will take 2 applications as directed.http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441777490&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302047589&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023691&bmUID=1174102615216&itemNo=13&In=ALL&N=2047589&Ne=2 here is one. Next, hot water wash your cage and use a strong disenfectant, rinse really well and dry in the sun. Things will get better. Hang in there. Bird mites are not transmitted to humans. Everything will be alright.

Answer 5

your parakeet wont stop scraching ha>>>well your parakeet is eather bord or it doesent get enouf attenchon .. i have 2 parakeets and thay did the same thing because i wasent paying attenchn to them and your bird cant get lice unless u rubb your hair on it wich is if u have lice well hope thats all u need...

Answer 6

Put some gloves on his feet. As far as biting himself...maybe get him a stuffed bird to bite.