FINCHforum

Ok so my male zebra finch is missing some feathers on his side. the only logical explanation I can come up with for that is that the hen is picking at him. Why is she doing this and how can I stop her?

sparrowsong98

You might have to have a serious chat with her about domestic abuse...

Seriously though, are you sure she's plucking him, not him self plucking

lovezebs there are two bald spots. one is down just behind the chestnut flank, further than his neck could reach, but not at the vent area, and the other is on the back of the neck. As he cannot reach either spot, I immediately assumed that it was the hen.

sparrowsong98

You might be right at that.

Are they by any chance nesting? Could be that she is looking for nesting materials?

lovezebs I removed the nest a few days ago on your suggestion. They now use a roosting perch. I think she does it at night because he looked fine last night, then this morning the bald spot on his side showed up...

sparrowsong98

Feather plucking, is the nightmare of bird owners.

Why do birds self pluck, or pluck their partners or chicks, or everyone else in the flight with them?

I suppose there are as many reasons as there are birds, and they're not telling.

Some of the reasons, are boredom, dietary deficiencies, preening gone wrong, overcrowding, quarters too small, loneliness, stress, allergies, looking for nesting materials, frustration, aggression...... etc, etc, etc.....

I have a serial plucker in my Zebra/Society flight, who strikes periodically over night, leaving plucked birds, tail-less birds, bald birds. It's a real pain in the a...neck let me tell you.

With just the two of them (?) you could seperate them for a few weeks, giving his feathers a chance to grow back (which they will fairly quickly). Hopefully with a little break, she'll forget about trying to pull all of his hair out .

Another thing I could recommend, would be changing the cage around a bit, adding some fake plants, swings, maybe a mirror. Hang some spray millet from the roof of the cage, making it a bit of a challange for them. Daily baths. Make sure they have cuttle bone available, and a source of protein in their diet, along with greens. Sunlight, or full spectrum lighting. A foraging box is great too.

Goodluck.

lovezebs I caught them doing it. so Macho is like, "hmm your feathers look messed up, and plays with addy`s. but he does NOT pull them out" them ADDY goes over and she pulls a couple out of his neck. and can I just use dollar store or aquarium plants? Also, they dont eat veggies, even though I have offered many. They eat raw rice and celery, which has no nutritional value. Should I consider getting them vitamin drops and a mineral block?

sparrowsong98

Do you mean uncooked rice?
I would not feed them that.

A good quality Finch/Canary seed mix
Hardboiled eggs

Don't give up on the greens. If they like celery, chop it up together with a bit of other veggies into tiny bits and offer it that way...

Kale
Spinach
Corn
Broccoli
Cucumber
Beet greens
Peas
Baby Spring Greens
Romaine
Parsley
Apple
Red Swiss Chard
Grated carrots
Carrot greens

There are lots of choices. Check out this morning's salad that my kids devoured .

Yes, $ Store vines and such are great, just give them a good wash. Stay away from plants with berries and tiny flowers which they can choke on.

Some Vitamins are great two or three times a week.
Mineral block is good (if they'll use it).

What I do is grate it up along with cuttle bone and other things and mix it with my bird grit.

lovezebs they don't eat anything urg they make me mad. All they eat is celery, and by raw rice it is like half cooked. Won't eat uncooked won't eat fully cooked. Little picky brats. Just seeds, and millet spray, and they take a bath in one side of the water dish (it has two sides and I fill them both) and drink out of the other side and the bird bath. Goofy birds.

lovezebs i didnt know finches ate meal worms. Would they like the dried chicken treat kind? I buy them sometimes as chicken treats. Nothing else in them, just mealworms.

sparrowsong98

Zebra Finches, are not rice eating birds.
Not sure where you got the idea to feed them rice, but I personally would not feed it to them.

They should be eating a high quality Finch/Canary seed mix, spray millet, hard boiled eggs, crushed egg shells, and as mentioned above different greens and veggies, which can be minced up into tiny bits along with celery, to introduce them to other greens and veggies.

Eating rice and celery, is not a balanced diet for them by any means, and in the long run will cause health issues and shorten their lives.

They need seeds, sprouted seeds, protein, calcium, vitamins, minerals, etc and many other things in their diet to remain healthy and well.

Here's a recipe for my bird egg food. Haven't met a bird yet who didn't like it...
http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=31995

Try it. I have a pretty good idea that they will like it. It includes Freeze Dried Mealworms.

Try a small food chopper, like the Ninja Express Food Chop, to finely chop kale and other foods. Use a regular kitchen grater to grate fresh carrots. How food is served often makes a difference whether they will eat it or not.

wildbird

Agreed.

lovezebs
Ok so I am borrowing a cage my aunt has that she never used, but who should I move?

sparrowsong98

It doesn't really matter, but place the cages as close as possible to one another, so that your little couple won't get too upset about being seperated from each other.

In a few weeks time, with a good diet, you should start seeing new feathers coming in.

Good luck.