My First Rescue! - Meet Patchy the Society Finch

[rcharrod]

Hi All,

Despite the fact that I already have 4 Societies (and 8 finches total), I saw this guy at a pet store today and felt so bad for him that I decided to bring him home and try to get him feathered up and "whole" again. He was in a typical pet store enclosure (too small) with probably 4 or 5 other Societies (the Zebras were in a separate enclosure). He's pretty lively, and has been eating and singing since I brought him home (haven't seen him drink yet, but it's only been like 30 minutes).

Please take a look at the pictures below. He's small, and has lost a lot of feathers, down to his skin on his back, such that he can't really fly. The person helping me at the store thought he had been plucked, but I thought that to be somewhat unusual for Societies. In any event, I'm curious if you can speculate from the picture what his issue(s) might be. I have him in a separate cage, but have placed it right next to my flight that has the four Societies - they have been calling and singing back and forth. If it's just loss of feathers, and they may grow back, what is your best recommendation for a product/supplement to help that process along?

He also appears to have a small chip gone from the front of his beak (on his right side). He has been eating fine - should I worry about this?

As always, your collective expertise is much appreciated!

[Sheather]

He does look plucked, but if he's acting well and eating once removed from the offending bird (occasionally you do get an aggressive society) the plumage should grow back, and the bill will wear down and grow out eventually to return to its normal natural shape.

Warmth and lots of hard boiled egg will help restore those feathers to good form.

[Derk]

The poor little guy does look a little beat up. I lost a society this winter and that left three in a cage. I did not worry about the odd number because of them being societies. Turns out I was wrong! The third bird was not just being ignored but actually picked and pluckered. Good food and removing the odd one out resolved the issue.

Interesting the two males - fawn pieds bonded. The third was a chocolate self female. Based on observation, the damage did NOT appear to be from two males actively pursuing the only female. I guess colour preference was more important in breeding in this case...hmmm, the chocolate and the fourth bird - another female - were also added at a later date - possibly another reason.

[rcharrod]

Thank you for the replies. I was just down watching him closely again. He was doing the fluffing of the feathers motion that all of my birds do after they have bathed. And I noticed that he essentially has no wings! There are just some little stubs that he flaps around. Could his wings have been clipped? And how can one determine this for sure?

[lovezebs]

rcharrod

From the picture you posted, I would say that this bird was not plucked, but attacked by something.

If you check out MiaCarter's post about her attacked Zebra hen, you see similar damage. Can't recall the exact title, something about 'those darn Zebras' or something like that.

I would PM Mia, and see how she treated her hen, who last I heared, was recuperating nicely.

~Elana~