Does my bird have scaly face disease or burrowing mites?

we got a parakeet about 2 1/2 years ago. he was a wild bird and didnt like poeple. about 3 weeks ago, hes been acting very friendly. he sleeps alot too and has been eating alot more food, but he almost always has diarrhea. theres something building up around his beek too. it looks like the scaly face disease but im not sure. does anybody know if this is the disease or something els like psittacosis, and what sould i do about it.|||Does your bird look like these? http://www.birds-online.de/gesundheit/ge鈥?/a>





Psittacosis is a highly contagious disease with parrots. So if you have any other animals, keep them well away from your parakeet as it csn be transmitted through droppings (even dry) and respitory transmission.





The symptoms vary from bird to bird, but most budgies will show signs of respiratory and digestive system involvement. If you notice signs of respitory problems, this could be a symptom of Psittacosis. However, many birds show the same symptoms for a variety of infections and diseases.





Diarrhea in birds can be caused from eating too much fruit or other laxative foods.





As for discharge around his nostrils, if it is clear and watery it could be a sign of your bird having sinus problems. Your vet can take a simple sinus swab from your bird's sinus flush.





If it is scaly face/scaly leg disease the beak will look white, chalky and crusty and will have a honeycomb appearance. The crustiness can spread around the bird鈥檚 cere (the lump at the base of the beak) and eyes. The crusty, scaley appearance also appears on the legs and sometimes around the vent.





If the problem is left untreated, the infection in the growing portion of the beak can cause the beak to become permanently deformed.





Zinc posioning I know causes diarrhea as well but usually also has the bird acting more lethargic than your bird sounds to be.





Your best bet is to see an Avian Specialist to have your bird properly diagnosed. All the illnesses can start sounding the same after a while unfortunately!





Here are some other helpful sites;


http://s14.invisionfree.com/justbudgies/


http://www.wineintro.com/forum/


http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/


http://www.birdtricks.com/Parakeet|||It's hard to say as symtoms can be the same for a variety of illnesses. Get your bird to your local Avian Specialist and I'm sure they can help.

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|||bring the bird to the vet they will know what it is and how to treat it.