FINCHforum

I got a great deal on a pair of Owl finches because the female was going bald. All her feathers are off of her bum and around her neck. Can anyone offer some advice? What does she need? HELP

This is most likely due to the male plucking her. I had a pair of Cordon Bleus, the male was missing feathers from the back of his neck. The hen had plucked him so badly the feathers never regrew.

I agree with Tammie - sounds like plucking to me. You may need to separate them until the feathers grow back, then watch them carefully when you put them back together.

So you don't think It's a deficiency or a mite problem even though her whole bottom is bald?

It might be, but my money is on plucking. The tail, back of the neck and back seem to be prime targets for a plucker.

Do you think I should treat her with Ivermectin just in case? And maybe give Iodine supplement?

Many people routinely treat new birds for parasites and such while in quarantine. So if you feel they could have a mite problem then go ahead with the Ivermectin.

BUT I do feel your hen's missing feathers are probably due to plucking. The male will pluck the female for nesting material and she will sometimes pluck herself in the vent area, so that would explain why she has missing feathers in two areas.

Have you given them a nest yet?

As for the iodine supplement. I have not heard that Owls benefit from extra iodine, but they are Austrailian finches, so perhaps it wouldn't hurt. Just take care and not over do it. I wouldn't give it to them more than once a week in their water. Free choice would proably be the best way to handle it.

Thanks so much. Your advice is very helpful. I have given them a nest and some material so we will see what happens. The manager from petsmart said when her feathers came out, the hen was in a cage with all the finches so maybe they just picked on her or the male just went to town on her. Do you think a high protein diet such as egg seed mix would help the feathers to grow back faster?

Yes, the eggfood will help her regrow the feathers as they do require a higher level of protein, fat, vitamins & minerals to produce new feathers. Just like they do during a normal moult.

Hopefully she wasn't plucked so badly that they don't regrow.

So I caught the male plucking her. Should I remove her and put him in the flight cage? Or do you think she would get too lonely? How long does it take for feathers to regrow?

I would remove the hen to allow her to regrow her feathers for now; she should be able to regrow the feathers within a couple of weeks with a good diet (mashed hard boiled egg in addition to her regular diet). She will be a little lonely, but may be less distressed if her cage is kept near the male's cage so that they can see and hear each other.

I don't know what your current set up is (how many birds, what size enclosure, what it contains), but you may find the following article helpful for when you are ready to re-introduce the birds together:

http://www.finchinfo.com/housing/reduci ... ession.php

This is off topic (sorry!), but I just wanted to say a hearty welcome back to Crystal! I was just going to start a thread asking where the heck you've been for the past couple of weeks.

there are quite a few birds that are prone to plucking and bichenos are one of the breeds that this happens a lot to the prime suspect being lavendar finches if anyone has ever kept a pair of these birds they will know what i am talking about


ken

Hi Crystal, let me explain my set up. I have 4 breeding cages inside my house that are from floor to ceiling. I put my Owls in one. I also have a aviary outside that has some zebras and 3 canaries in the flight cage. So what would you do? They just seem so in love. If I seperate them and her feathers regrow and I pair them back up, won't he just pluck her again? Is he going to labeled a "PLUCKER"? :lol: