FINCHforum

So, the good news is when I put in the fresh veggies and hardboiled egg in today, they are eating it! Bad news, I came home to an almost bald Zelda head. So it seems my male link is plucking her feathers. I know this can mean any number of things, but I thought I would ask you guys.

Funny thing is, today is the most active they have been after coming home from work. Did he need to get his stress out via Zelda's head lol. Although stress normally causes birds to pluck themselves, not their mate. All I can think of is horomones are flying. So nice to see them with egg in their beaks though

Aerithny
Is it possible your male is in breeding mode??? Many birds will pluck themselves or their mate for nest material. My GS plucked his chest almost bare because he wanted to breed so badly. I gave the pair a nest and nest material and now I have an adorable GS baby that's about 1 month old . Btw...he will sing more when courting his mate and egg food brings birds into breeding condition...

Possible. But I have only had them a week tomorrow and am not looking to breed them. So I do not have a nest in there.

Maybe he thinks you should have a nest in there!

Oh I am sure he does lol

Aerithny
Men

Boys will be boys!

So her head is worse today is there any chance Link will stop? My beautiful Zelda looks like an alien haha. Will he just stay with her head?

Aerithny
Is there any way you can purchase some feathers to put in the cage to keep him busy? Maybe add some silk plant vines that he can primp and preen? I think he wants to set up a nest, and is finding his own way to accomplish this. You can also give him some coco fiber, which is a favorite nest material for condon bleus. Then if you notice he is getting too close to actually finishing a nest, you can knock it down and he will have to start over again. CB's are notoriously hard to breed, especially if they do not have meal worms or egg food. So maybe fooling around with nesting will keep him busy enough to leave Zelda alone for a little while. You may need to pull her out of the cage so she can rest and heal. Is she puffy??? She will need her strength to grow feathers, so a heat lamp will conserve her energy for that rather than puffing up to keep warm.

Thanks Ginene. I will get some coco fiber. So egg is a no no then? I won't serve it anymore then. So far Zelda doesn't seem bothered by it. Thanks for your help.

Aerithny
Egg is important to help her regrow feathers, but it also helps to put a hen in breeding mode. I'm really hoping an expert will jump in here with additional info for you. I am still a newbie myself

The zebras don't need eggfood if they're not being bred. You can give them crushed eggshells and feather fast on the veggies to help grow back Zelda's feathers.

They are cordon blues. But I think I have decided with Ginenes help, I am going for the coco fiber today, and due to their difficulty to breed successfully, I will get them a nest.

What is feather fast? Featheriracle grow? Lol