FINCHforum

I just bought two beautiful Cordons (male and female) and they're bonding quickly but the problem is when the male is preening the female he's a little too rough that he ends up plucking feathers out. It doesn't seem to hurt her as she tilts her head to the side to encourage him like all finches do but now there's a small bald spot on her left cheek and just behind her beak where he always preens her. I know for sure he caused that bald spot because when I first put them togather that spot wasn't there, and I actually saw him do that. The weird thing is that he only does the preening on that same side of her. Is there anything I can do to stop him from doing that ? I'd hate to see that spot getting bigger.

They are more than likely wanting to breed. Do you have them a nest? Also if you will give him some nesting materials he may leave her alone.

Thanks for the reply defcauly but I don't think this has anything to do with him wanting to breed. They've been togather for less than a week. I have a nest in there but they haven't gone inside or even checked it out.

I'm going to agree with Donna - this is a prelude to breeding. It may help to give them nesting material (cocofibre) and perhaps some fake plants hanging in there too, to help disguise the nest and give privacy. Do keep us posted.

I have no experience with Cordons, only zebra finches. This may or may not be relevant to you, but I recently had a problem with mine plucking each other's feathers out. I have two males, so they can't breed, but I have provided them a nest to sleep in and they enjoy building.
I solved my feather plucking problem by providing soft building materials. In my case I gave them cotton balls. Since they now have something soft to lay in, they rarely feather pluck anymore.
I don't know if this will help you, but good luck.

Yah, tell tale sign of wanting to breed.

Finches are worse than rabbits. That's why I got two males. They are a perfectly happy couple and I don't have to worry about overpopulation.

With the cotton balls just keep an eye on them and make sure their little nails don't get catch in it. Try dry Timothy hay, cut into 2 inch pieces or cocofiber.

Thank you all for the replies but again I don't think this has anything to do with them wanting to breed. The feathers that the male is plucking out are the ones on the female's cheek. So those are very tiny feathers that you can barely see let alone use for nesting -I'm assuming that's what you think he would use them for- but like I said you can't even see the feathers but you see the gap is getting bigger on her cheek from him preening her. And like I said, they've only been togather a very short time (since last Sunday) and I doubt they're wanting to breed already especially that they're not showing any interest in the nest or displaying any other signs.

I think it's simply the male being too rough preening the hen and pulling out tiny feathers -only on one cheek- in the process.

BTW, where can I get coco fiber just in case they decide to breed in the future, hopefully ?

The other thing, for those who have CBs, are your males loud when they sing ? Mine you can barely hear but the female is loud. Thanks

Coco fiber is carried by fairestfinches, just4birds, birdsupplynh. Have never found it locally.

My CBs all have different songs and personalities. Some of the males have a louder song than others. My juvies (at least 3 of them are male) are practicing their songs, especially the most confident of the group, but it is more like a constant murmuring of running up and down the scales, like they are trying to figure out exactly how to put a song together.

As far as the preening goes, CBs do love to allopreen. If he is being too rough with her, you may have to separate them for a while and see how it goes.

Compared to my Gold Greast the RCCB are a bit louder and you can here the male singin across the room. They also make a harsh chirp from time to time. Their chirps and song are more pleasing than most.

Compared to all 4 owl finches chiming in and singing or calling out the RCCB are quieter. (the owls can be heared 3 rooms away during a group chorus).

Sally wrote:Coco fiber is carried by fairestfinches, just4birds, birdsupplynh. Have never found it locally.

My CBs all have different songs and personalities. Some of the males have a louder song than others. My juvies (at least 3 of them are male) are practicing their songs, especially the most confident of the group, but it is more like a constant murmuring of running up and down the scales, like they are trying to figure out exactly how to put a song together.

As far as the preening goes, CBs do love to allopreen. If he is being too rough with her, you may have to separate them for a while and see how it goes.

Joshua feed carries coco fiber now.

Thanks for the replies. I guess my male CB has some problem with his voice. You can see his beak and throat move and he also moves his head sideways -as some of you who have CBs know- but you can hardly hear anything but a very low sound. Too bad. The female on the other hand is loud enough. Unfortunately though, neither one would sing unless I separate them. I hope they'll change and start singing more often.