crested society with plucked feathers

[slwatson]

When I purchased my owl pair, I was given a white crested female society finch with one red eye and one "normal" eye. She's very striking, and the woman who gave her to me said she was getting plucked by her other birds because she was such a light color. She's missing feathers around the back of her head and neck, so I've been watching very closely to see if my other society finches do the same thing as her previous cage mates. What I noticed is that none of my birds chased her, and she didn't try flying away from any of them in pain or to avoid them. The weird thing is that it looked to me like she WANTED them to pluck at the back of her neck. She sits right next to the other societies, and she'll lean far to the side towards them, as if she's waiting for them to pluck at her. Then when they do, she just stays there and almost seems to enjoy it. It's pretty strange to me. I'm not sure what to do. I haven't noticed any extra feathers being pulled out, but she's still very bald in those spots.

[Arama]

slwatson When they extend their bodies/neck to another they are requesting a preening. There is a big difference between plucking and preening. Preening is just like throwing a comb through your hair, its how they groom and it feels nice. Its also a step in the bonding process. Its good.

When a bird is plucked regularly sometimes those feathers will stop coming back. Where all the balding is do you see any pin feathers( the start of new feathers) or is it completely bald? If its bald just give her time and see if any start to comeback.

Trisha

[slwatson]

Thanks for the info! I haven't gotten close enough to see if the bald spots have pin feathers or not. I'll try to look tonight.

[Arama]

Glad to be of help

[slwatson]

Trisha-

I've been reluctant to grab her and look closer because I have two owls who are extremely quick and try to escape when I open the door. I need to get some type of net or something. I was able to loo closer last night, and I don't see any pin feathers. I'll keep watching and see if I notice a change.

Thanks!