Help! Zebra Finch lost all tail feathers!

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limeslide
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Help! Zebra Finch lost all tail feathers!

Post by limeslide » Wed Mar 21, 2012 7:35 pm

Spring Break here has just ended, and going to vacation I left the finches with a friend, they did great! I got them back and started my regular routine of feeding and watering them in the morning. Everyone looked fine in the dim light of the morning, happily dancing and singing (Mango and Apollo). I left for school, visited the petstore (to see the Societies and buy food) and when I came back to change the water and food, I noticed something strange about Kiwi, she had no tail feathers! I couldn't find them anywhere (looked around the whole cage, patio, surrounding areas) and her butt was stripped clear of the long black and white feathers! She is acting perfectly fine, eating and drinking. I think it might have been a Mockingbird, overprotecting its territory . . . and to think I though he was friendly for flying right up to me and start singing. . .
What should I do? She is not bleeding, but is really taking a liking to the cuttlebone. I will offer boiled egg shortly. What else should I give her? Will her feathers grow back?

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DanteD716
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Re: Help! Zebra Finch lost all tail feathers!

Post by DanteD716 » Wed Mar 21, 2012 7:46 pm

Hm, wierd? They were there when you got them back you say? Could the canary have ripped them out? I know that when you have multiple birds, some birds rip on the other birds tail feathers to pull them away from the food if they want it.
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Re: Help! Zebra Finch lost all tail feathers!

Post by limeslide » Wed Mar 21, 2012 7:50 pm

DanteD716 wrote:Hm, wierd? They were there when you got them back you say? Could the canary have ripped them out? I know that when you have multiple birds, some birds rip on the other birds tail feathers to pull them away from the food if they want it.
They were there. I do not think the canary ripped them out, since there are no feathers surrounding the perimeter of the cage or the cage itself. I do not offer nests, and I give them two food dishes of the same formula and a large water dish so they will not fight, I also hang millet and place baths in the tank often so the aggression for food will be reduced even more.
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flrancho
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Re: Help! Zebra Finch lost all tail feathers!

Post by flrancho » Wed Mar 21, 2012 8:22 pm

I had Zebras that would pull all the tail feathers out of my poor Societies once.

Honestly, I never did much for them. If you know you have a bird that's being an aggressor, separate him from the ones he's picking on and time will see the regrowing of your finches' tail feathers.
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Re: Help! Zebra Finch lost all tail feathers!

Post by limeslide » Wed Mar 21, 2012 9:52 pm

flrancho wrote:I had Zebras that would pull all the tail feathers out of my poor Societies once.

Honestly, I never did much for them. If you know you have a bird that's being an aggressor, separate him from the ones he's picking on and time will see the regrowing of your finches' tail feathers.
I have a well-bonded pair of zebras, will they pull their feathers even if they are peaceful towards each other?
I do not know who did the crime, I do not have a pet mockingbird.
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Re: Help! Zebra Finch lost all tail feathers!

Post by limeslide » Wed Mar 21, 2012 11:21 pm

Here are pictures.

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003 by Fernando Casal, on Flickr

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008 by Fernando Casal, on Flickr

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012 by Fernando Casal, on Flickr
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Re: Help! Zebra Finch lost all tail feathers!

Post by flrancho » Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:24 am

I have a male-male pair of Zebras now that are well-bonded, yet the one has plucked the other. The older one is blind, the younger one lost two of his toes in an accident.

They get along great save for the fact that the younger one likes to preen his buddy and the older bird, who I don't think is really all there, doesn't preen him back. This has led to a bit of overzealous preening on part of the younger bird, so that the old guy has a bare neck.

So, even in bonded, or pairs that get along well, things can happen.

Are there any nests in the cage that they could have pulled the feathers out to line a nest with? Or, perhaps the male wanted to breed and got frustrated if the female wouldn't and decided to pull her tail feathers out?

Just a few thoughts.

I'd watch them and make sure they're interacting well and just give her some extra protein and time to grow the tail feathers back. If anyone seems to be messing with her, separate her until they grow back, reintroduce her and then see what happens.
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Re: Help! Zebra Finch lost all tail feathers!

Post by ruler » Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:36 am

im no expert on birds but ive watched this tail plucking several times while it was happening. from what i see it appeared to be a dominance or territorial thing. maybe the bird was in a place that was of great interest to the bird who plucked out her feathers or maybe the plucker was trying to show who is boss in the aviary. of course i could be wrong but it would explain it. nobody 'really' knows what a bird is thinking and can only make asumptions but i'd go with the obvious. tomorrow the plucker may have no interest in that part of the cage/aviary or may no longer wish to be the dominant one as birds change their minds faster than the wind.

just my two cents worth

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Re: Help! Zebra Finch lost all tail feathers!

Post by cindy » Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:41 am

Tail plucking is sometimetimes the result of crowded conditions at a food/water/treat dish. Or even a mate getting the attention of a female, his wanting to mate and the female is unwilling.

Question....what type of food dish or cup do you use. If using a cup and it is set in a way that two, three birds can not get to it someone may yank on the tail of the one feeding to move the bird out of the way. Add an extra feeding station or enlarge the cup/dishes. I found if this was the issue adding an extra feed station helped.

Your males beak is pretty red, looks like he may be in breeding mode.

Also you may want to move the canary out, the male may view him as threat and pluck the female. I personally would give the zebras their own cage. I am not real big on mixing zebras with other birds. I raise all kinds of zebras and often even in a flight there is plucking and territory issues amongst themselves.
How big is the cage?

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Re: Help! Zebra Finch lost all tail feathers!

Post by limeslide » Thu Mar 22, 2012 8:49 am

flrancho wrote:Are there any nests in the cage that they could have pulled the feathers out to line a nest with? Or, perhaps the male wanted to breed and got frustrated if the female wouldn't and decided to pull her tail feathers out?
I do not offer nests, as there are three birds in the cage and I believe in pair only enclosures for breeding. :) Maybe the second thing happened, but I would have probably noticed feathers on the enclosure floor...
ruler wrote:im no expert on birds but ive watched this tail plucking several times while it was happening. from what i see it appeared to be a dominance or territorial thing. maybe the bird was in a place that was of great interest to the bird who plucked out her feathers or maybe the plucker was trying to show who is boss in the aviary. of course i could be wrong but it would explain it. nobody 'really' knows what a bird is thinking and can only make asumptions but i'd go with the obvious. tomorrow the plucker may have no interest in that part of the cage/aviary or may no longer wish to be the dominant one as birds change their minds faster than the wind.

just my two cents worth
Maybe it was just a dominace display...

(Sorry, time caught up to me! I'll answer your questions later, cindy) :)
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Re: Help! Zebra Finch lost all tail feathers!

Post by limeslide » Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:27 pm

cindy wrote:Tail plucking is sometimetimes the result of crowded conditions at a food/water/treat dish. Or even a mate getting the attention of a female, his wanting to mate and the female is unwilling.

Question....what type of food dish or cup do you use. If using a cup and it is set in a way that two, three birds can not get to it someone may yank on the tail of the one feeding to move the bird out of the way. Add an extra feeding station or enlarge the cup/dishes. I found if this was the issue adding an extra feed station helped.

Your males beak is pretty red, looks like he may be in breeding mode.

Also you may want to move the canary out, the male may view him as threat and pluck the female. I personally would give the zebras their own cage. I am not real big on mixing zebras with other birds. I raise all kinds of zebras and often even in a flight there is plucking and territory issues amongst themselves.
How big is the cage?
I use the type of food dish that has its own special door, the ones attached to the cage. They are accessible from three corners, though the most comfortable the frontwards corner. I already offer two of these, but getting a few more won't hurt. :)

Hmm, Zebra beaks turn darker in breeding season? Interesting.

I have been planning on separating them, even though they get along (except when it comes to boiled egg lol). I have been planning on a large flight, maybe then I'll be able to separate them. I cannot at the moment. The cage is a bit on the small side, the calculator says 2 to 2 birds can fit in it snugly. Can I separate the zebras in a smaller section of a 6' x 3' flight? I kind of wanted to add other finches, so maybe the zebras could be separated and all the other birds in a larger section.
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