Zebra finch with bald spots

[pattiej]

I rescued a pair of normal gray zebra's back in May. When I got them the male had a bald spot on the back of his head and a bit under his bottom beak . The person I got them from said they got him from a friend that said he was being plucked and harassed by their other finches. So I thought with some good food and care his feathers would come back but now it seems like the bald spots are getting bigger. other then that he is just fine , eats and drinks and bathes. they raised 2 clutches of babies after I brought them home. I've taken the nest out of their cage now. ( the female keeps laying eggs on the floor now) anyway, I want to give him some supplements, there is so much stuff I read about out there, "feather up" S76" etc.... I don't know what to try??? I need advice , if he were your bird what product would you try first?? I'm thinking maybe it's some kind of mite... but the female shows no signs, or the babies either, their feathers are great.... I thought I would order some "feather up" and use the S76 at the same time just in case. In less you know of a product or products that would probably work better... what do you think?? what should I do?? The bald spot on the back of his head is about the size of a dime !

[ac12]

A mix of hardboiled egg (give them the yoke for protein, you can eat the white) and organic corn meal (to help dry it out, my birds don't like the egg sticky clumpy). I grind this up in a mini-food processor (worked better than when I used a fork to mash the egg).
In the AM, I give them a half teaspoon of egg mix and 1 pinch of "feather fast".
In the PM, I give them a half teaspoon of egg mix and 1 pinch of "feather fast."
I only give a half teaspoon, cuz I do not want the egg to go bad if they don't eat it all in a couple hours. Based on how much and how fast they eat, you can adjust the amount of egg you give them. When you are home, you can give them egg more often.
The Feather Fast dosage is 1 pinch per bird per day. I spread out the vitamin by giving half in the am and half in the pm.

I had 1 zebra feather in his plucked area feather-in in a few weeks,
BUT I have another that only had a few of his plucked feathers regrow in 6 months. As I understand, feathers are like your hair, if the folicle is damaged from repeated plucking, the feather will NOT grow back.

As for the female. If she keeps laying eggs, you may have to separate her from her mate. That is what I finally had to do to stop one of my females from laying eggs, removing the nest did not stop them from mating.

[aero]

While you must be trying all that mentioned there, I suggest you also start using Apple Cider Vinegar right away. I'm sure that helps a lot with feathers and skins on the birds. It is acts strond against skin/feather infections on brids and also on lice etc.

[pattiej]

While you must be trying all that mentioned there, I suggest you also start using Apple Cider Vinegar right away. I'm sure that helps a lot with feathers and skins on the birds. It is acts strond against skin/feather infections on brids and also on lice etc.

What do I do with the apple cider vinegar? Put it in the bath water or the drinking water? and how much should I put in? Thanks for this tip!

[ac12]

I use ACV for a different purpose.
I put 1 drop per oz of drinking water. This slows down how fast the water tube gets slimy.
In the bath I put 1-1/2 drops per oz of bath water. This is to counter the bacteria when that they poop in their bath water. In the bath it may have other benefits, but I don't know for sure.

[aero]

Hi,
This is the link that you must read.

http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/featur ... inegar.mgi

ACV is a good nutrition supplement with so much good stuff in it. As mentioned above, it is a good anti-bacterial agent. Further, it also cleanses the skin of the bids.

It can be added to both drinking and batihing water, I have only one water dish in my cages. It acts as a nutritional supplement when they drink, keeps the water free from bacteria (from birds poop) and thrid - most importantly, nourishes skin and keeps the skin/feathers free from any lice/bacteria/fungal infections.

Hope this helps,
Cheers.

[pattiej]

OOOh Thanks for the link to that article! I'm going to go to the health food store tomorrow and get some! I hope it helps the poor little guy! I give him healthy foods, eggs greens etc.... and vitamin powder but nothing has seemed to help! hopefully this will!

[aero]

Great. Good food will help birds that are stuck in the molt, I cant differentiate them. But if they have some infections, then food also helps those germs in there!!! So give good food and some good emdicine (like S76, ACV etc). Wish your birds are alright soon.