Society Feather Plucking

[pushtoowala]

I just had 5 of the society finch babies start to come out of the nest and search around a little. Only two of the babies seem to be TRYING to eat on their own even though they take about 30 seconds to eat one seed. The problem is that the parents are beginning to pluck at the babies feathers in the bottom of them and at their tails. None of them have tails anymore beacuse the parents have eaten them. I don't see why the parents are plucking at their babies and eating their feathers. I give them eggfood every two days so I know they don't need protein and all. I also give them calgrit and eggshells.

[plantsandbirds]

I am VERY new to finch ownership and certainly others more experienced can give you the best advice, however, I have read that the adults will sometimes pluck the feathers of the babies in order to have material for nests.

In order that my pair didn't do this when I had the unexpected finch child I put grass hay (you can buy at the pet store) and some pieces of cotton string hung around in the cage. That way the male finch picked at these things instead of the baby.

[Thalia]

are the parents acting agressive towards the babies as well? I know my parent zebras have started chasing their babies a bit b/c the rotten things started laying eggs in a food dish If they're starting to think about laying another clutch maybe they're getting territorial? Are they in a cage that's big enough for all of them?

[tammieb]

As Thalia said, the parents are most likely plucking the chicks to encourage them to leave the nest and to become independent. Place spray millet around the cage where the chicks can reach it. It's one of the first seeds they will learn to eat on their own.

Also, I seriously doubt the parents are eating the feathers. More likely they are using them to line their nest.