HEALTH

Hi Dr. Rob, I have a 6 year old parakeet named Leonardo. He had a bout with the feather mites and the beak rot back in March. I had him on Ivermectin at the time and his beak healed and looks great now. It has been growing though and I have to have it trimmed every week. I don't know why that is happening. Any ideas on why this is occurring would be appreciated. He also had the feather mite/moth eaten appearance around his nose, near his eyes and by his ears. The Ivermectin did help and almost all his feathers started to grow back and as I mentioned before, his beak was looking great! Recently, the weather has been very hot here in Michigan lately and the feather mites came back. He is loosing his feathers again! I purchased S76 and I am on the third week with it. I have been putting it in his drinking water three times a week and I have also been applying it with a Q-tip to the patch above his nose where this is occurring. How long should I keep doing this? I have noticed a few pin feathers coming back but I am concerned that he has lost some weight. He is very chipper still, talks, and preens himself and acts pretty normal. Can you recommend any food supplement I can give him to keep his weight up? I have cleaned and bleached all the toys and the cage and was going to buy some Pestex as well to keep the cage clean. Is there anything else I can do for him? He is a white rare parakeet with a periwinkle chest and I know his immune system has been low because he is a light parakeet and he has had the feather mite problem for awhile. Thanks so much for your help. Tammy Boneburg