FINCHforum

I have two female Zebra finches. After their 3rd round of laying eggs, I finally took out the nest. Ever since then, Roxy has been losing feathers towards her tail on BOTH sides, and it's very frightening. There is also a wart-looking thing on the top of her tail, but it's hard to see in the picture.

Is this normal molting? Egg binding? I'm still very new to owning finches, and I'm VERY concerned... it looks so painful. Should I put the nest back in?

Thanks in advance. I attached pictures (which took forever, and not the best representation, but I tried).

The wart-looking thing is her preen gland. When they preen their feathers, they get oil from that gland to use in caring for their feathers. She may be plucking her own feathers out around her tail, or the other hen could be plucking her. Since you just removed the nest, they are still probably wanting to go to nest, and they may be wanting feathers to make a nest. As long as she is eating and drinking and pooping normally, I would not worry. I might give her a little egg food to help grow new feathers, but you have to be careful with this, as egg can also stimulate breeding. Probably a better choice would be a molting supplement like Feather Fast.

jmollica.....your birds indoors?

Sally, thank you for the quick response! I had no idea that was the preening gland! My dad gave me a supplement called "Skin and Plumage" to mix in their water in food (we usually just give them a multi vitamin). I am making the eggs now to put in the cage:
http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Plummage-Li ... nd+plumage

Dutch, yes, my birds are indoors, but they are in a window which gets about an hour of indirect sun every day.

Thanks so much, I'll keep you guys updated.

I think Sally gave fabulous insight, as always.

The only other thing I might add is to peek at a few feathers under a magnifying glass if you have one.

Whenever you have possible plucking or feather loss, you want to check for feather mites.

It's pretty easy. It's easiest to see on tail feathers or flight feathers. (Shed ones are easier vs trying to examine them on the bird.)

On the underside of the wings, it may look like mold in severe infestations on a light colored bird.
But few cases are severe. It's usually really subtle, but it can cause itching and plucking.

Usually, it's right along the center as small dark colored or light colored dots (the light or dark appearance of the mites will depend on the feather color, whether they've been feeding and the precise variety.)
On some of the smaller, fluffier feathers, it can look like tiny dots and they can take on a moth-eaten look when you look closely.
If you hold it up to a bright light, you can see the color differential in some more severe infestations:



Here's a good pic of how they look under magnification; it helps you see how they tend to accumulate:



It's probably not the case here, but I thought I'd mention it just in case. It's something to be aware of and consider whenever you have plucking or feather loss. A couple cases where I saw feather mites, the birds had started plucking around that same area - the sides, mostly to the rear. (Not sure why. Perhaps it's just one of the easier spots to reach?)

Honestly, though, as Sally said, if they're eating, sleeping and pooping normally, I wouldn't be too worried.
It's hard to tell in the photos, but the skin looks healthy in the bald spots, which is another good thing.
I'd just chalk it up to being plucky due to nesting.

You will need to supplement their diet with vitamin d3 if indoors

Just buy this. ......it's brilliant

My male started plucking his mate when his young chicks fledged because he wanted to start a new clutch. My other male zebra is plucking his mate because he wants her to exclusively sit on their eggs in the nest. In addition to the information already given above, I would just watch for sore spots in case she's getting plucked and a wound opens up. If she gets pecked in one area a lot this could happen.

Wow, thanks everyone! It seems she is eating, bathing, drinking, and pooping normally. I put some egg in the cage last night and they seemed to be cautious. I'm sure they'll give it a try.

MiaCarter, thank you for that info. I don't have a microscope but if I can find a feather I will take a look (I can't seem to find any of her lost feathers).

Dutch (awesome name by the way, my husband is from holland), the skin and plumage vitamins my dad gave me has plenty of d3. He used it for his African grey when he was plucking his feathers and it really helped.

Now I just have to wait and see if this all helps. I out the nest back in and they both went in right away. I'm guessing they were stressed when I took their eggs out. I just don't want them to lay too many eggs. But I'm going to the craft store to get some marbles to put in the nest, maybe this will help.

Thanks again everyone, I'll keep you updated.

If you kept the old eggs you can put them back in or some of them to add to a couple that they may already have laid so the female won't lay so many. I take out eggs so they will become "duds" and save them to put back later. Or you can purchase plastic eggs...duds for the same purpose. I never heard of using marbles and am skeptical that this would work.

I've heard of people using marbles, sometimes it works sometimes not but it's sure worth a try.

That's cool! I never heard of that.

Update:

Roxy is noticeably itching herself and pecking out feathers, but now she started on her underbelly.

I was recommended this spray by a local aviary:
http://www.amazon.com/8in1-UltraCare-Mi ... B00BUFVJO0

I sprayed the bird (avoiding eyes, nose, and food) about 4 times. Also, they are now eating the egg. I'll repeat the spray twice a week (as on the directions).

Does anyone know of this spray, and did it work?

Thanks!

I have not used that spray myself, so I can't comment on it. I use Avian Insect Liquidator by Vetafarm. You have to order it online, but it is so safe that you don't have to remove food or water from the cage while spraying it. You can spray it directly on the bird, even baby birds, yet it kills insects, etc.

jmollica --- Yeah, definitely sounds mite-ey.
I think that's a good move to treat them if they seem itchy and plucky.
I don't know why, but birds with mites always seem to start on the sides, toward the hind quarters (right in the spot where your girl is bald). And then they'll start on the belly and the more frontal areas of the sides, along with their back, especially between their wings. I think it's just a matter of which areas are easily accessible. It's like they start in the easy spots and then work to the not so easy spots.

Be sure you get all the cage accessories and nests too. Even the area surrounding the cage (especially if you have carpets), just to be sure.

BTW, you don't need a microscope to see the mites if it's feather mites.
A magnifying glass works in most cases. I bet one of those magnified makeup mirrors would work too.

UPDATE: It seems like Roxy's feathers are just starting to grow back. I have been giving them egg food and spraying the lice & mite spray every other day. However, it still seems like they are still itching and puffing up more than usual. I uploaded a youtube video to show how she behaves: http://youtu.be/f95IuicH5IM

Thanks everyone, would appreciate your feedback!