Society finch missing feathers on his back

Chanel · Post by **Chanel** » Sun Apr 09, 2006 9:06 pm

Hello everyone: I hope some one can help. My male society finch is picking himself raw on his back, plucking out or lossing his feathers. He used to be so happy, singing all day, and now he sleeps alot and I have noticed the above. He seems to be eating ok. I don't want to treat him for mites if it is moulting. I have other finches in the cage with him that are doing great. Hope someone can help. Thank you!

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 12:49 am

Society finches do not molt so heavily that they show bald patches the way gouldians do, so he is either plucking himself or being plucked by his cage mates.

The constant sleeping can also be a sign of illness and stress.

I think what you should try to do for him right now is place him in a separate cage (it does not have to be a huge cage since he will only be in it temporarily) side-by-side with the cage the other birds are housed in so he has company nearby. Housing him alone will prevent any other birds plucking him in case they are part of the problem.

If he seems to be showing signs of illness (constant napping and/or fluffing up counts), you'll want to keep his cage warm--a heating pad wrapped around the bottom of the cage can help achieve this.

It would not hurt to give him some supportive care like electrolytes in his water for a few days (or gatorade or unflavored pedialyte as the source of fluids). Also (if you are not already doing so) feed him some mashed boiled egg (including the shell) daily. The added nutrition will help him regrow his feathers and help to correct any underlying nutritional problems that he might have.

You can safely treat him and the rest of your birds for mites with SCATT, whether or not your birds have them--it can only help. Cleaning the cage(s) at the time you treat them will help to prevent reoccurance.

If after doing all this he gets worse, you may need to consider taking him to a vet to investigate other underlying or contributing causes of his condition (such as an infection).

MadHatter · Post by **MadHatter** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 5:02 pm

Another thing to do would be to consider stressors in the environment.
It may be that something in the environment is scaring him, and as he is caged and cannot get away, self mutilation becomes the only way for him to deal with all the nervous energy.
Consider whether you made any changes or additions to his environment prior to the manifestation of this behavior.

JeannetteD · Post by **JeannetteD** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 9:50 pm

Hey Crystal,

Regarding the pedialyte. I just got some for my finches, but I have no idea how much to give them (in what quantities) and also, I bought 'fruit flavored' because I couldnt find unflavoured.

Is it ok to give them fruit flavoured? and if so, how much?

Jeannette

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 1:41 am

Fruit flavored is probably okay (it's the chocolate flavored that worries me). Use it at full concentration (it should be formulated to be balanced and not as a 'concentrate' that needs dilution). I personally offer it as the sole source of fluids for a few days (for sick birds), but you can probably try offering one dish of pedialyte and one dish of regular water for birds which may just be stressed but aren't really sick (e.g. for recently shipped birds which are otherwise healthy).