New flock of bald Zebs, missing toes, over grown beaks

[PrettyBird]

Aww poor thing! He looks kind of like a hummingbird with a beak like that! I cant believe that owner just sat back and did nothing for these poor birds. I bet the only thing he did was give them some food and water.

Im so happy that you haev taken them in.
Do you have any more pictures to share?

[ac12]

I lost a couple zebras that were VERY BADLY plucked (no other injuries visible). My guess was that they could not retain enough body heat. But there could also have been the shock effect of the plucking itself.

In one case it died, w/o a heat lamp because I did not know to use a heat lamp on her (24x7) to keep her warm. Now I know better.

You may have better luck than me, but I have had to shuffle zebras around, trying to find a combination with the least amount of aggression. And in a couple cases I could not, and the aggressive bird was put into solitary confinement.
Even worse was when I had what I thought was a compatible pair. Then some time later, one bird would suddenly turn on the other bird, BADLY plucking or injuring the other bird.

The finch info center recommends 1,2 or 6+ birds per cage. Odd number birds are always a problem, because the odd bird out will get picked on.

Also more space of a larger cage reduces territorial aggression that you would have in a small cage with many birds. That cage you ordered seems like it would be large enough for 6 zebras. Put perches in various places in the cage, and keep the center free for flying space.

[limeslide]

Thank you so much for giving these finches the life they deserve! Poor fellas.
When I bought my zebra finches, Kiwi had a severely plucked nape, the breeder said it was because she was "moulting" but it was really just because of nipping. In a few weeks with constant protein (egg-food, cuttlebone, greens, etc.) she regrew the feathers in a couple of weeks! She's also been in another incident where an unknown bird (I suspect it might have been some sparrows or the neighborhood mockingbird, no tail feathers where found anywhere near the enclosure or in it) ripped out all her tail feathers! I started giving her more protein again and now her tail feathers are all grown back. Good luck with your finches! Poor fellas, they are living the life now!

Photo of her butt after the incident! Next to her is her mate, Mango.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49809565@N02/7004778229/

That beak looks horrible! What does scissor-beak mean, why won't his beak ever return to normal? Poor guy.

Oh my! That butt was missing a few feathers!

The zebs are eating their eggs like crazy, so I am hopeful they will get their feathers back quickly!


I found this link talking about scissor beak. I think the vet was trying to tell me that because the beak was so misshapen, it's possible they may not get it to sit perfectly anymore, which may mean that it will continue to overgrow.

http://www.avianweb.com/scissorsbeak.html

Good luck with them! It seems they are enjoying their new life with you. Protein and calcium are priority! Have they started to grow back their feathers?

Poor guy, how often do you think he'll have to get his beak trimmed?

[skythrutrees]

Pinocchio's beak is already growing. I'm guessing it will need to be trimmed once a month if it keeps growing.

I see feathers are already coming back. I've been feeding egg twice a day, and am ordering some Feather Fast, so that should help.

Here are a couple of pics...I apologize for the rough handling of the first bird. I have better control when I use a wash cloth, and I didn't have one handy when I tried to move him to the new cage. He's fine...and as you can see, there ARE feathers growing back!



And here is another little guy...in pretty good condition, just missing a lot of feathers.


I had to change cages...the one I wanted was on back order, and I didn't want to wait until June. So here is the new cage. Sorry for the darkness, but I was using my cell phone and was trying to get a pic without glare. They love it so far...they swing is a big hit.

[Lisa]

So glad you took these little guys in. These birds are in the most horrendous shape I have ever seen!

P.S. What is the hanging thing in the 3rd picture? Is it a sort of mesh type hideaway? It looks really cool.

[skythrutrees]

Hmmm...I'm not sure what you are talking about. I have several wire platforms in there for the ones with missing toes...makes it easier to perch! And some toys to pick if they choose. The photos aren't of the best quality so I'm not sure what you are seeing.

I do have a little section partially covered with towels that they use for their "safe" perch. They sleep there, except for two that are sleeping on the swing.

[Lisa]

Oh, maybe it's the swing I'm seeing. It looks like a hanging pyramid. Never seen one like that before. Looks pretty cool!

[ac12]

Keep the heat lamp on the cage until most of their feathers grow back.
How warm is it in your room? w/o their feathers, you don't want them getting chilled.

Also the heat lamp will be needed after they take a bath, to help them dry off and keep warm as they dry off. The water on their skin will cause them to loose heat even faster, so the heat lamp is more important. But watch them, sometimes they get themselves so WET that they can't fly up to the heat lamp, so you may have to have one positioned down at floor level.

[melanie]

I don't know how that poor baby was able to eat anything. It's great you rescued those babies - good for you!

[Nipper06]

Do you have any cloth perches for them? They might be nice for birds with sore feet.

[limeslide]

How are they doing?

[kheather]

yes, also wondering..poor little guys! I have a plucked baby society I just rescued monday, I have been using feather fast...in four days almost fully feathered, with heatlight, aggfood, veggies and calcium etc.! I have a post with pics of my plucked baby. And that beak, my gosh what kind of person can sit back and watch that and not lift a finger to see into it!! The ONLY good thing that person ever did was get rid of them to a caring individual!!

[CandoAviary]

Hi, just seeing this post. Glad you are trying to help this little zebra. I guess many keepers don't realize that this beak is a symptom of more serious problems I would speculate. Especially if it regrows quickly. I have a customer with a gouldian that grows like this but not as long because she trims it every few weeks. Could be disease, defficiency, etc... here is a link to get you a bit more familiar with beak problems. Good luck
http://www.avianweb.com/beakdeformities.html

[Rispa]

Personally I think you should inform the Wildlife Rehab Center of the conditions that he was keeping his birds in. If he couldn't provide the basic care for little finches, I don't think he has the right or the knowledge to be working with mammals. It's like having a dog and deciding to switch it to dollar menu items because dog food is too expensive (actually it's worse since the poor birds had to find a way to swallow giant seeds and the one had to figure out how to eat with that horrible beak).

I'm glad you have these poor babies now and that they will live out their lives in comfort.

[DanteD716]

So glad they are doing better!! Keep up the good work! Btw i love the new fligh.. my favorite kind!