FINCHforum

I have two male zebra finches, and one of them (Artemis) has been pulling out his own feathers and seems generally frustrated lately.

A few weeks ago I noticed a bald spot on his back and promptly went into panic mode, but after I gave them a “bird pacifier” toy that is supposed to give them something else to pull out, it seemed to resolve the issue. Or so I thought: he no longer has a bald patch on his back. But a few times this week I saw a lot of feathers on the bottom of the cage, and now Artemis has bare patches on his chest and under his wings (he's lost most of his brown/spotted feathers!). There is no blood and I don't think he is pecking at the skin itself.

I am 99% sure that he is not being plucked by the other bird: I have seen Artemis pull out one of his own feathers a couple of times and he does not seem to be bullied. They have been squabbling more than usual lately, but they don't fight constantly and it's never turned violent. (Artemis is usually the more aggressive of the two, although they both have their moments of “this is my spot, back off!”) I added another shreddable toy on the opposite side of the cage since they sometimes fought over the first one, and also so there is something for each of them to hide behind if they want. They pick at it a bit, but it hasn't improved things so far because I saw Artemis pull out a couple of his feathers today.

Other than the feather plucking, Artemis seems fine: he's eating, drinking, singing, bathing, and active as usual. My other bird, Atticus, doesn't appear to be losing feathers and I have never seen him plucking (although they both preen a lot).

Could he be doing this because of a territorial dispute or pent-up aggression? Frustration because he doesn't have a mate? I know mites are a common cause of feather loss, and I'm thinking of getting a mite treatment just to be safe – but if mites were the problem, wouldn't they both be affected? I've been giving them hard-boiled egg and hopefully the feathers will regrow soon, but I'd like to figure out why Artemis is plucking in the first place.

Has anyone else experienced this with their zebras? Sorry if this is a newbie question... I searched through the forum but it seems like usually the issue is finches plucking other finches. Does anyone have any suggestions for something else I can try? I hate to think that he is unhappy or uncomfortable.

Sometimes when birds are plucking their own feathers, they are wanting nesting material for a nest. Have you provided a nest for these two? They don't need it for sleeping, but if they have one, it can stimulate breeding behavior and the desire for nesting material.

It is possible that the egg is stimulating breeding behavior. It is a catch-22, as egg provides the protein needed to grow new feathers, but it can also stimulate breeding behavior (if that is the reason he is plucking).

Usually if it is mites, both birds would be affected, but it never hurts to treat just in case. The products I use have to be ordered online, but I like Avian Insect Liquidator, as it takes care of not only mites but other little critters that might hang around, like bugs or spiders. If you just want to treat for mites, then I recommend Scatt.

Sally Thank you for your suggestions and the names of those mite treatments!

They don't have a nest: I did wonder if it was breeding/nesting behaviour, but I didn't even think that the egg might be making it worse, if that is what is happening. I will maybe try feeding them egg less frequently (I don't want to give it up since poor Artemis needs to regrow a bunch of feathers!). Hopefully if it is breeding-related, it will be temporary...

I would separate them, so you can treat the one bird independent of the other. And that guarantees that the other bird can't pluck him. Then give him a LOT of egg food, and if you have 'feather fast' sprinkle it on the egg food (not too much).

For the center of the back I would suspect plucking.

I agree with Gary, this way you can see if he is actually doing this... if he continues to do this also consider that birds can get internal parasites (not mites) that will cause the skin to itch, to try to get it to stop the birds will pluck themselves. Giardia is one such parasite that can cause issues.

Thank you all so much for your advice! I will see if separating them has any effect, and go from there. I am hoping I can figure out the cause... I hate to see my little guy not looking his best.

Well, the two birds are separated and Artemis continues to pick at his feathers... but he seems a bit better today. He still acts itchy (I've ordered some A.I.L. in case it's mites or lice, and if it isn't, it won't hurt to have it on hand for the future). Hopefully it's not anything internal, but the trouble is that there are so many possible causes!

At least he's active during the day and sleeps peacefully at night. I'm going to make sure that he has good food and lots of chances to bathe (they both love baths!), and see if he keeps improving. Every time I leave I'm afraid I will come back to find him half bald, but so far that hasn't happened!

Assuming that this situation gets resolved, is it safe to try putting them back together once Artemis has regrown his feathers? Do zebras go through phases of aggression, or is it best to keep them apart once they start bothering each other? They were fine for the first few months with me, and presumably they got along when they were at the humane society together. (Sorry for all the questions; I'm new to finches. I love my my two zebras but I'm not an expert on their behaviour.)

if your bird indeed has mites, the other bird will also have mites.

if it does not resolve you may want to consider getting a product that treats giardia... the other bird will need to be treated as well.

With the AIL be careful not to drench the bird.

To see if the bird has feather mites drape a white sheet over the back and sides of his cage.... in the morning if you see blood spots or smears on the white sheet then you have feather mites.

Many thanks, cindy! That's all very good to know.

(He's been holding steady and it doesn't look like he pulled out any more feathers today, although he's still very interested in his bald spot. Fingers crossed that I won't have to look into giardia medicine...)

If the other bird is the dominant of the pair, it may also be a plucker.
In my experience, once a plucker, always a plucker.
And they are very good at hiding when they pluck, so you will likely never catch them in the act of plucking.

ac12 Thanks! I would have sworn that the plucked bird is the dominant one, and I've definitely seen him pulling out his own feathers. But it's certainly possible that he was ALSO being plucked by the other bird when I wasn't looking.

It has improved since I separated them, so I think that he was being plucked and/or he was plucking them out due to stress from defending his "territory." I tried the sheet-over-the-cage trick and didn't spot signs of mites so I'm wondering if the itching was partly due to feathers coming in. I'm still keeping a close eye on them both, but I'm hoping that Artemis is on the mend.

Just in case anyone was wondering, Artemis the Balding Finch is balding no more! His feathers have nearly all grown back and he looks as good as new (it's amazing how fast his feathers grew!). So it does seem to have been related to problems with the other finch. I am keeping their cages side by side so they can still see and "talk" to each other, but they seem happy in their separate cages so far.

I'm so relieved! Thank you all for your advice.