Petsolve Anti Parasite Bird

Cage birds conceal illness for as long as they physically can, which is a survival instinct in the wild and a nuisance in a living room. It is the reason so much of bird keeping runs on a calendar rather than on symptoms — by the time a bird looks unwell, it has usually been unwell for a while.

This is a spot-on, meaning it goes on the bird rather than the cage. PetSolve's method is to part the feathers at the back of the neck, between the shoulder blades, and apply to the skin over as wide an area as you can reach. They list it for feather mites, skin mites, lice and worms, and describe the protection as long-lasting. It is made in two versions and this page covers both: one formulated for parrots, cockatoos and birds of that size, and one for finches, budgies and cockatiels. Pick by the bird, because the instructions on each bottle are keyed to it.

• Spot-on, applied to the skin at the back of the neck
• Listed for feather mites, skin mites, lice and worms
• Two versions, one for the bigger parrot-type birds and one for finches, budgies and cockatiels
• The parrot-sized version is the 5ML bottle
• Application instructions and dosing are printed on the pack

Nothing supplied to us names an active ingredient. The label says what it is for and how to put it on, and not what is in it — which is a real gap on anything that goes onto an animal's skin, and worth weighing if your bird is very young, unwell, breeding or already on something else. The dosing is set by the bird's bodyweight and is printed on the pack, so follow that rather than a rule of thumb from a forum. And if you are dealing with an aviary rather than one bird, or with a bird already off its food or losing feathers, that is a conversation with an avian vet rather than something to work out from a bottle.

Who it's for: bird keepers who want a routine anti-parasite measure they can apply at home — and who know what their bird weighs, because that is what the instructions are keyed to.