pecking/plucking problem

[sgolds]

I have a white zebra which one of the other birds was pecking at his neck constantly. The other bird, (I think to be female) was following him around everywhere, pecking at his poor bare skin. I put him, (I think it's a him) in a cage all by himself near by. His feathers are growing back quickly!!

Now, I'm wondering how long before I can return him. Has anyone dealt with this before, will it start again? Or that now since his bald spot is got, will he be left alone.

I'm thinking it must have been his mate, since the other bird seemed to really miss him after he was taken. They talk back and forth to each other often. Is this a normal thing for them to do..... peck at their mate?

[ac12]

This is an old post but, my experience is the white or pied birds for some reason that I don't know seem to attract negative attention, either pecking or aggression. I have had hens start to pick on some of their fledglings, and I have to separate mom from those fledglings. Dad takes care of them, and mom takes care of the ones she does not pick on. It turns out that the ones that she picked on were pied or white.

After that I was careful with my white zebras and who they were cagemates with, and I constantly checked on them.

[Corkysgirl]

I have a chestnut flanked white female who had a new clutch. The father started pulling out her back feathers. I had to separate them and pull him out. Because babies were involved, I had to decide who the best parent was. I pulled him, then her, then him. (not the best plan) I tried putting him back with her, he plucked her again, then started plucking the babies. I know there is no way it will ever work with them again. I can see his aggression each time I put them back together...only did it because the female was thin and couldn't handle feeding all the chicks. In my case I ended up putting her back with them after she had a break and got a rest and a little fatter. I'm not sure how it would work if the aggression would stop. I've had it with two birds and both times it didn't ever stop. The bald spot being gone is not guarantee of preventing it. Best of luck!

[MiaCarter]

sgolds -- They can sort of peck at each other during preening, but it's a gentle thing, not a plucking or painful pecking.

I've noticed that once a bird is plucked, others are more likely to pluck him. So it could be that the female was only doing it because he was already plucked.

Were you able to observe when/how it was occurring?

It's common to get a mouthful of feathers while acting in a territorial manner, like 'guarding' a nest.
My little juvenile Squeepers has a tiny bald spot on her head from trying to join a couple in their nest. (Growing back quickly, so it appears she learned her lesson and it's done with.)
But sometimes, they don't learn their lesson and it becomes a real problem. (Usually two males fighting over territory.)
In that case, putting up visual barriers like foliage can help. And reducing the number of birds in cage can help too.

Others do it as more of an anxious thing, like over-preening a mate.
There are lots of reasons. I'd try to figure out why it's happening; if you can determine the circumstances it will be easier to correct the problem.

Otherwise, chances are you'll put him back and it will happen again. Unless the break from each other somehow changes the dynamics. That can occur on occasion.
If you do return him, rearrange the cage. They'll have to establish new territories and it puts them on more equal footing (instead of having a newcomer facing off against a dominant male who's already plucked him in the past).

[sgolds]

Thanks for the replies. I still have him in his own cage...even though the bald spot is no longer visible, his feathers look thin on his neck.

I really am hoping that it was just a target and once it's completely gone they will leave the poor guy alone. There doesn't seem to be any other aggression in the flock.....

[ac12]

There is a know problem.
Sometimes the white birds are "picked on" for whatever reason.
In that case I would
- keep him separate, or
- just paired with his mate, as long as she does not pluck him, or
- find him another mate that will NOT pluck him.