Microscopic examination by a skin scraping will reveal the mite. This bird has the telltale lesions of scaley face mites. There is crusting on the neck and face, and a honeycombed appearance to the beak. This is a severe case. In addition, this bird has a growth on its beak.
Lesions also occur in other areas, most noticeably in the vent and on the feet .
Treatment Years ago the only treatment we had was an ointment that was used to treat pubic lice in people. It was messy and had to be applied daily, but it usually worked. Now we use the drug Ivermectin, given every week or two until the problem is gone, usually within 3-4 weeks. This is the same bird as above 10 days after its first Ivermectin treatment. We removed the growth on its head a few days before this.