Zebra being outcast and plucked

[gulzebra]

One of my female zebras is being outcast. The other zebras socialize and all, but she's sitting all by herself, not socializing with the others. She's also being plucked and she's a bit smaller than the others. She doesn't appear to be sick or anything, she just can't hang with the others and is just used for feathers for the nest the male is building. She sometimes try to socialize but the others just chase her away, so she mostly just sits by herself now.

There's 4 zebras in the cage - 1 male and 3 females. Do you think it'd get better with two more males or something? I figure that if I get one more, one of the other females would get him and the outcast will be alone anyway. With two more males, there's one male for each female. Although I don't want to get more males at the moment because it would get way too crowded in there.

I'm starting to build an aviary next week, but it won't be finished until the middle of june. When the aviary is done, I'm getting more zebras anyway. Can she wait until then or is that just cruel? What else can I do for the outcast until the aviary is done?
Or should I just keep her by helself until the aviary is done? Or maybe with just one of the females? The male has paired up with one female and an other use to hang with them instead of the outcast one - should I put the "extra" with the outcast?

[Ameza]

Hi.

I have only been in this cricumstances with chicks, but I think it would be best to remove the plucked one from the rest of them. If the 'other' female isint agressive against the lone finch, putting them together would be a good idea. Zebas supposedly work best in pairs and they tend to get lonely if they are single in a cage.

When your avairy is done you can add more birds and males like you said, but I would remove this hen soon. Plucking can get really bad, and I have heard of cases where the finches get very hurt or die because of it.

Best of luck! :

[gulzebra]

Ok, thanks! I'll separate them first thing tomorrow morning.

[ac12]

Yes separate her.
If she is being plucked and plucked and plucked. They can be plucked to death. I lost a hen after she was plucked so badly that she did not survive the night in my hospital cage.

Feed her a LOT of egg mix to help her regrow her feathers.
I would keep her alone until most of her feathers have regrown. A plucked bird can be a "target" for more plucking.

But watch the hen that is not the mate of the male. You will be in a situation with a male and his mate, and "another" hen. The males mate may turn aggressive to the other hen.

Once most of the feathers have regrown, you can move the female who is not the mate of the male into the cage with her. With only the 2 in the cage, they should buddy up together. But keep an eye on them. Sometimes birds do not get over an aggression towards a particular bird.

[gulzebra]

Ok, thanks I was going to separate them but the spare cage turned out to be broken - so it's been glued together and just has to dry, then I'll go ahead and separate them.