male aggression vs. nurturing

sunfish46 · Post by **sunfish46** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 7:50 pm

hi
this is sunfish again with another male aggressive question...my baby zebras have now exited the nest..moms still in a seperate cage..dad still is feeding the new babies but also he is now plucking tail feathers from two of the three newbirds. is this a nurturing thing or a continuation of his aggression. he has plenty of nesting material as suggested. also one of the three babies sat in the bottom of the cage for five hours could not reach the perch looks terrified fluffy should i move him back into the nest with gloves on or leave him alone?

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 8:10 pm

Finches don't really pluck to nurture. It seems your male is being aggressive towards the chicks.

The baby on the bottom of the cage could either have fledged too early or it may be ill. You don't need to use gloves when handling the birds (unless they have open wounds), but you should wash your hands before you handle a bird, as well as between birds.

If the baby on the floor seems alert and is not depressed, I would place it back into the nest and keep an eye on it. I also think it is a good idea to remove the aggressive male from the cage and to place the hen back in the cage. Watch her for a while to see if she'll take over feeding the babies. If she shows no interest in the babies, you may need to hand feed them, unless you want to take the risk of the male injuring them.

If the chick on the floor seems depressed or if his situation worsens at any time, you will need to keep him warm. If he is placed back into the nest, a heating lamp could be directed toward the opening to the nest, but you would need to be VERY careful that the baby does not become over heated (make sure the lamp is far enough away so that the temperature inside the nest remains at about 90 degrees F and does not get any hotter). You could also try wrapping a heating pad around the bottom of the cage and leaving the baby on the floor where it can receive some warmth from the heating pad. Overheated juveniles will pant and hold their wings away from their body. Cold babies will fluff up for extended periods of time. Because he is not yet eating on his own, he will still need to be fed. Preferably the hen should do the feeding, but if the baby seems to refuse feedings from her or if she does not feed him, you will need to hand feed him.

sunfish46 · Post by **sunfish46** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 8:30 pm

crystal

thanks i am not too sure about this abusive father

the cage i have the female in is so small i don't think the male will be very comfortable there. the female is fine because she has so little feathers left and is so tiny now. it's also too small to place the new ones in with her. such a delima how long should i leave the male with these new ones to determine if he really will injure them? its been several hours since they have exited the nest. some times it looks like he is just grooming them.

thanks
sunfish

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 9:34 pm

I would put the male in the small cage and the hen back in with the chicks as Crystal suggested. I have had males act like this one and they can pluck all the feathers in no time at all. It is very traumatic for the bird being plucked and can cause them to die. Please do not let him continue to pluck, move him now as it is unlikely he will stop on his own.

sunfish46 · Post by **sunfish46** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 11:27 pm

transfer complete.... moms back home with here babies hope she will nurture them. the only baby with a tail feather is the one i returned to the nest earlier but after the parental exchange she has joined her siblings in the free cage

...

dad's in jail...

. hope i can reunite this family if the male continues to be aggressive when reintroduced do i continue with his seclusion. do they make bird sedation???????

thanks for all your bird 911 help i do not think we all would have survived without your site and encouragement

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Sun Jun 11, 2006 8:35 am

I'm glad to hear Dad has been put in jail. He needs a time-out.

It sounds like he may be young and inexperienced and hopefully with time will stop his aggressive ways. I would wait til the chicks have fledged before attempting to reunite this family. Even then, I believe I would buy a second, larger cage, (keep the small one for a hospital cage), and move the chicks into the 2nd cage when they are fully independent.

I don't know if you are interested in allowing them to have a second clutch. If not, I would do one of two things. Either separate them by sex or remove all nests and anything that could be used to build a nest, plants for instance.

Zebras are very determined breeders. If you aren't careful you will soon have more birds than you can/want to deal with.

Also, give Mom & chicks plenty of TLC while they recover from the trauma. If you have air-conditioning on, make sure the plucked birds don't become chilled.

sunfish46 · Post by **sunfish46** » Sun Jun 11, 2006 3:57 pm

update on family...
dads still hanging out in jail needed to move him to the other side of the room where he wasn't so close to the nurturing mom

mom's better began feeding the young and even the third baby still in the nest has joined the party

mom's still so thin and has minimal feathers. she won't eat the egg/shell or fruit left for her. the only supplements i have are vits for the water and seed trees. any other suggestions to keep her healthy during this stressful time?

thanks
sunfish

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Sun Jun 11, 2006 3:59 pm

Cuttle bone in the cage, shredded romaine lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese, and keep offering boiled egg with shell daily... sometimes it takes persistence to get the birds to accept new foods.

Good luck!

FINCHforum

male aggression vs. nurturing

male aggression vs. nurturing

male aggression vs nurturing

male aggression

mate aggression/nurturing