Juvies losing Feathers?

[Mikanis]

Hey all,

I'm not panicking, you're panicking.

I have upgraded my cage set up and I lost one of my chicks just as they were leaving the nest. I'm not sure what happened, i don't know if she jumped too soon, or was otherwise sick, but I found her in the cage floor one morning. I removed her, transferred everyone, cleaned/bleached/dried the cage, and moved everyone back in. In a bout of paranoia, i disposed of the original nest hut, in case it was something contagious.

Fast forward a few weeks, i have eight blossoming birds. They are beautiful, vibrant, fat little things, I'm so pleased.

Until yesterday, when I noticed two of my juvies appear to be a bad way with feather loss. I told myself, it's probably a molt, these things happen, but I did just switch their diet to something other than La Feber. We've also had our first 85 degree week here in Seattle.

I'm calm, I'm collected, I promptly moved this giant cage back into my living room from the porch and have been doting on them ever since.

I'll try to get some pictures. I thought maybe it was sunburn? Is that a thing? The two having problems are both pied, but also the oldest.

Behavior is normal, diet is new (But I'm going back to Feber after this, yessir) and drinking fine, bathing is fine. Flight is fine, they caught the occasional fly and bee on the porch, that was a treat to watch.

Reassuring words would be great. I tried digging out for some confirmed mite pictures, but didn't find anything that matched the pattern they're losing. Mostly breast/neck/head feathers...i can see their little ears. Which was alarming, I thought it was a wound at first. I was going to cook whichever parent was responsible.

[CathyCraftz]

The babies might have been picked on by another bird in the cage with them. Zebra finch males are particularly zealous nest builders and can fill a nest to the brim with material if you keep supplying him. He might have been plucking the babies' feathers for the nest but watch for any aggression.

[Sally]

Since these are Society finches, they don't usually pluck their babies, but feather loss in babies is almost always the result of someone plucking them. Be sure that they are getting plenty of protein, as that is what grows feathers. Egg food is the best and easiest way to give them protein. Just hard boil an egg, mash it shell and all (or shell it if that is your preference), and offer to the birds, along with some chopped up veggies such as kale, romaine lettuce, spinach, carrots, etc. Some birds like their egg food to be fairly dry, so you can add a bit of commercial dry egg food. If you don't have commercial dry egg food, you can always add a bit of yellow corn meal.

[CathyCraftz]

Yes egg food is the cure. Just mash a hard-boiled egg with the shell if you like and offer it to the finches. Add some egg food mix if they ignore it.

[wilkifam]

Juvenile Society finches molt very quickly after they fledge. By the time they are 3 months old, they are in their adult plumage. Probably just molting.

[Mikanis]

All of that is reassuring, thank you. I have singled out that the adults are not being super aggressive, but I believe they played a role. I'm in the process of separating them to give the babies a break and I'll give them plenty of egg to catch them up. They are not quite three months yet, so maybe the separation and protein boost will help them recover faster.

No one is bleeding, thankfully. They seem to be cutting the feathers off instead of pulling them out. A gentle robbery, but my poor plucked chicks...They're looking rough.

I'll keep you all posted, thanks for the reassurance.

[Mikanis]

Just an update on this, I'm pretty sure it was just their first molt and I panicked for no reason. They recovered all missing feathers in less than two weeks, and all of them gained a little weight. Currently watching to see which of them are learning to sing.

Kind of tricky, but thank you all for helping my nerves.

[Babs _Owner]

Mikanis

Glad it was just their adult molt. I've never had a society pluck and they love to preen each other pretty aggressively. But I've yet to see them ever pluck. Your crew should be fine.