Hello I am a Newbie

[deefrank]

I have 2 female cockatiels Lucy is a Lutino 1 yr
& Lucky is a Pearl I believe and do not know her age. Lucky walked into my yard in may of "2008"and it will be 2 years in May. My question is how do you know if a bird has mites.Every once in awhlie My lutino makes these noises like she is being tickled , She is not tamed but she does take food and land on me. What do I do! Help!

[cherylrowland]

Welcome to the group Dee, Lucy and Lucky.

I am guessing that you are talking about mites, not ticks. Sometimes mites are easy to spot because they are tiny specks of red. Birds will also become nervous and pick at themselves. Since Lucy isn't tamed, she probably won't tolerate you gently separating her feathers to look for evidence of mites. So the alternative I am suggesting, is to put white paper towel or a white towel on the bottom of the cage at night and checking in about an hour to see if you have any red specks. Do you make sure that your birds get regular baths or misting? I look forward to hearing from you.