About the Condition of Zebra Finches in a Petsmart

[Amazon1610]

Since I started getting into aviculture last winter and making frequent trips to the PetSmart near me, most of the birds I observed seemed to little to no issues. But over two trips over the last month or so, I noticed something horribly wrong with the Zebra finches. Several of them had bald patches around their flanks, revealing their bare breasts. Another had a small bald patch at the base of his tail. I have no idea what illness or disease it might be, but I knew something was wrong, even though all of the birds seemed healthy otherwise; they were all bouncing around and chirping and even the males with the patches were singing. And if I remember correctly, it was only the males that were affected. The females didn't seem to have any physical defect whatsoever (then again, anybody who bought zebras might have only chosen the healthier looking ones).

I wanted to explode with rage, but I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to avian illnesses and diseases. Can anyone explain what the cause of that baldness might be? I'm at a total loss and it's killing me that they're trying to sell them off when there is clearly something wrong about them.

P.s Sorry I didn't take a picture. I got so angry on both occasions that I completely forgot about my phone. Also, I did a thorough observation of the other birds in the store, the parakeets, society finches, and the canary. All seemed physically ok and most were active and curious.

[jimenezl]

it could be something other than disease. They could be pecking each other (fighting) =or pulling feathers

[Amazon1610]

it could be something other than disease. They could be pecking each other (fighting) =or pulling feathers

That was one suspicion of mine, that maybe they were being territorial because there wasn't enough space or they were just plucking their feathers because of stress. But I'm not 100% sure; they all seemed content with each other's presence, snuggling up and preening each other.

[CathyCraftz]

Males are generally more aggressive than females so they could just be picking a fight with each other,

[wildbird]

They're Zebras! That's what they do!

[CathyCraftz]

Yes but the pet store staff should pay more attention to aggression as it may lead to stress and death.