My male zebra finch is plucking his own feathers. He plucks around chest area to the stomach area..... he did that twice in the past, and this is the third time I see him doing it. His feathers grew back eventually, but I wonder why he does this odd behavior....
I have plenty of nesting materials (from harder one to soft material) in the cage for him to play w/. I also thought it might be mite problem but I clean the cage every single day w/ hot water & apple cider vinegar. Just in case, I spray the perch w/ Pestex. And I give him water w/ aloe vera juice while his feathers are growing back (but he doesn't like it).
I should observe more carefully to find out when he starts to pluck his feathers. Another thing I noticed is that he also pecks his feet and I saw a little bit of blood on the perch....
During the time he plucks his feathers, he doesn't play w/ nesting materials at all. He eats well, but rests more comparing when he's so enthusiastic to play w/ nesting materials.Does anyone have any idea why he's plucking his feathers? I thought he was stressed (he used to be in a big cage w/ another pair) so I moved him and his mate to a smaller cage after he plucked his feathers for the 2nd time, and thought that was the solution, but I guess not.....
