male female aggression after having babies

[sunfish46]

My male zebra finch has been picking and defeathering my female finch in the last 24 hours. I have seperated them and provided quarantine for the female. This is the second set of zebra finches that I have had that have done this.(the last female did not survive). Is this normal the male seems to have been active in caring for the babies for about two to three days. thanks

[zebra breeder]

My male zebra finch has been picking and defeathering my female finch in the last 24 hours. I have seperated them and provided quarantine for the female. This is the second set of zebra finches that I have had that have done this.(the last female did not survive). Is this normal the male seems to have been active in caring for the babies for about two to three days. thanks

just supply the male with alot of soft nesting material.....that way he will leave the female alone.....and spend his time collecting the material

[Crystal]

How big is the cage you are providing and what all is in the enclosure by way of plants/perches/dishes/etc?

[sunfish46]

crystal

my cage is 2 1/2 feet tall and 2 feet wide has four perchs one large branch two water cups one bath water cup a small nest occupied by 3 babies just about ready to come out of the nest. surrounded by a large magesty palm tree. also a swing/mirror and additional nesting cup thats empty. the male took over most of the nurturing about five days befor the aggression. after seclusion,( the female)vit. water, eggs/shells and warmth, she finally can stand fly a little (more of a short hop) shes in a small cage but can see and hear the other finches now after 48 hours seperated. i thin she will survive but has very few feathers nec, backside, underside and only one tail feather. when should I put her back into her primary cage. will the seperation from her young and reintroduction be harmful to herself or the others? thanks for your help.

[Crystal]

I would not transfer her into a cage with any other bird until she is fully recovered or other birds might still pick on her. If the male is caring for the babies, he will probably continue to do so until they are weaned, and they won't need the hen to help raise them. Only if he loses interest in them before they are eating on their own should you need to worry. You will probably have to remove the young as soon as they are weaned too if the dad becomes aggressive towards the chicks.

I would not worry about reintroducing the hen to her young as long as the dad is caring for them. The zebra parents tend to kick the babies out as soon as they are eating on their own, anyway.

In the future, if your hen survives and recovers, you may want to try using a larger cage with some visual barriers inside of it (silk or live/nontoxic plants) for breeding purposes, or you may want to just try finding a less aggressive male to pair her with.

Good luck and please keep us updated on your hen and babies,

Crystal