Male Zebra plucks mate's feathers, enjoys chewing them

[WrenNAustinTX]

In three days he has plucked his new mate bald. He only plucks from the back of her head, she rarely seems annoyed, and they are very snuggly and happy with each other. But he spends all day plucking a feather, chewing it for hours (you can see his little beak working) and then he'll go pluck a fresh one.

He has nesting material all over (ignores it), a nest (not interested), good seed and egg food, a 30in flight just for him and wifey...and I even made him a string teaser to groom and pull at, and he ignores it after a few minutes.

Will eating her feathers hurt him? Should they be separated?

[MiaCarter]

Hey there!

Firstly, I'd take the string teaser.
If one of those strings gets caught up on his foot or leg, you could end up with a bad situation, like a broken leg or damage due to cut-off circulation.

But the idea of the teaser is a good one. So I'd use the same idea, except using feathers instead.
Emu feathers are a popular choice. Give him a teaser. Give him a whole pile of them.

Plucking isn't good for either one of them.
Feathers are comprised of keratin, which just doesn't degrade (keratin also comprises hair and nails. That's why mummies always have hair --- it takes some ridiculously long amount of time for hair to degrade.)
That means it won't break down in the digestive tract; he'd need to pass the feathers. In theory, you could end up with an obstruction. I imagine it's not all that likely, but possible.
He may not be eating them at all, of course. He may be spitting them out.

Some birds pluck and mess with the feathers as a result of boredom, anxiety or just force of habit.

It can also be rooted in their nesting instinct, which compels them to gather nesting material.

The hen, of course, is also at risk.
That's not comfortable having feathers plucked.
And continual plucking = the formation of scar tissue in the follicle, which prevents the feathers from growing back.

So I would separate them for now and let her grow in her feathers.
Once plucking begins, it's a hard habit to break. And an already-plucked bird is more apt to be plucked again.

[WrenNAustinTX]

Thank you very much for your thoughtful reply

Emu feathers are a great idea: Hobby Lobby here I come!

[lovezebs]

WrenNAustinTX
I would seperate as well. This is a bad habit, which can cause all sorts of problems.

[WrenNAustinTX]

lovezebs I did. I remembered that at the pet store I got him from, most of the birds were feather plucked or plucking, so you guys are right: its probably a bad habit he'd teach any chicks of his to have (and he'd probably pluck them, too).

I ended up selling him today with two other males (I did tell the buyer about his issues, and she has a huge outdoor aviary with diamond doves, so she believes he'll have enough stimulation to be mostly distracted away from the behavior), and put the hen with my other single hen to rest and feather out.

Thanks for the advice, everyone

[ac12]

Watch the hen.
Once plucked, she could be a target for more plucking from other birds.
I put my plucked birds into a hospital cage by themselves, until they get most of their feathers back. Give them lots of egg to help grow the feathers back.