New Zebra Finches, part 2

[Bluebonnet]

Here's another shot of the mom.

These are the 5 in the bottom cage.

And another shot of the 5 bottom ones.

Is that enough to tell what I have?

I need help/advise for the little plucked girl, and there's another one that is plucked as well, but not as badly.

After I got these home I went out and bought another flight cage. I plan to put the 2 plucked ones in it. Is that the right way to go?

[DanteD716]

Try leaving the plhcked ones in one of the smaller cages alone. Can you get a close up of the two light colored ones please?

[DanteD716]

The black flecks on moms chest indicates split to black cheek

[Bluebonnet]

Try leaving the plhcked ones in one of the smaller cages alone. Can you get a close up of the two light colored ones please?

I'll try to get more pics. They're really wound up right now.

Do you mean don't put the 2 plucked ones in a flight cage of their own, but should go in a smaller cage? The only other cage I have is 12" x 9 " by 15" high.

[DanteD716]

You can move some of the others to the flight and keep them in their original cage. That may be better, if you continue leaving the rest in the cages they came in they could start plucking others

[Jeff McKee]

Jeepers, Mom has a bad foot too?

I'm not so sure I'm happy with the birds... Anyway, onward!

I had a bit of trouble, when I was starting out and had some plucking problems. Not as bad as yours though. Typically Mom & Dad had laid new eggs and evicted the black beaks.

When they have black beaks, they still beg.

If you separate the babies, (the black beak is pretty small), make certain to soak seed for them every day. Just a little of the regular seed in a small dish. Soak it the day ahead. (similar amount of seed to water). Then set it in the cage. Throw it out after one day. (People will talk about moulding problems). Put the next one tray of soaked seed in the next day. (sometimes refered to as 'soft food' when it's been soaked)

As far as I'm concerned they must have millet sprays. Sprays tend to have smaller seed. You want small seed. There are a whole bunch of different kinds of millet. Being as the birds are young, they need the seed to be as easy to eat as possible. They aren't experts at husking the seed yet. Your regular bag of feed will have big seeds and small seeds in it. Make certain that some of the small seeds are always present.

Keep a bit of cucumber in the cage with them too. Cross your fingers that they'll eat this.

A nice little nest (covered). They may or may not use it. For sure some good perches. Watch them careful and check their crops to see if there is seed in there. You may have to learn how to feed the youngest one (probably not). Look around the website here and you'll find the info you need on feeding them.

Placing a light bulb near the cage to keep them warm, probably isn't a bad idea. I suspect 25 watt, but be careful, you don't want to cook them.

Good luck!

[Jeff McKee]

Don't worry about the cage being too small (12" x 9" x 15") Sick cages are often very small. They're not in this cage for long.

[PrettyBird]

yikes...I would remove the plucked ones and put them in a cage where they can regrow and heal.

Wonder what happened to moms foot?...

I wonder if they have some sort of infection/parasite/something bothering their skin. Or could be stress related...Maybe parents plucking, or cramped quarters... etc. etc.
There also looks to be 1 female in their with all the rest males! Shes the one that is plucked I dont think this is a good situation

I would also remove the nest if it was me, soon too. They dont need it to sleep, and this could trigger them to produce more and more babies. They seemed pretty stressed atm

[Jeff McKee]

You've got four males, two little ones and one hen.

Watch the males carefully. One or two may be being very aggressive. Sometimes you are able to house males together. Sometimes, bad boys need removed. I have a community cage with four males and another cage with a couple. I also have half a dozen males that I can't place in a community cage, as they beat the daylights out of everyone else. When I notice an ordinary male, being aggressive with others, I'm not long sending him down the road to live somewhere else. Those fellows I want to keep around for my breeding program, are luckier, and get cages of their own.

[DanteD716]

A horrible blizzard just hit! Losing connection, if im not here you know why! Everybody needs some TLC and lots of supplements.

[Jeff McKee]

Back on your first post, Cindy says 4W. Believe, that, not my suggestion. She also suggested boiled eggs. Yes, a very good suggestion.

[cindy]

Dante, the black specks can indicate poor nutrition notice they are though out her feathers....the birds are in serious need of good food, pellets and eggfoods, they have been neglected. Their feathers are in poor condition.

The 5 that were together are most likely a family, the little one with the black beak is probably not weaned yet. They need to stay together until you are certain the youngest no longer needs the parents.

What I would do is offer them clean water, fresh seed and some pellets...Zupreem fruit Blends for canary and finch. In the mean time boil a few eggs, they need the protein to help build their reserves up and to grow the feathers back...boil the egg, grate it with the shell and give it to them, only leave it in a couple of hours do this two to three times a day for now.

Also the plucked ones need to be warm, if you have a heat lamp and a 40 watt bulb set it near a perch so they can go to it to warm up.

I would not go moving the birds around right now, leave all where they are until you are certain the youngest one is eating completely on it's own....get them boiled egg and watch to see if he eat on his own or begs from the parents. Get them in shape before you decide to move anyone.

Boiled egg and seed for now...don't worry about strands of millet, millet is usualy in the seed mix. They need the protein from the egg.

[Ria]

Hi Linda,

Cindy has the right of it - good food and warmth are the most important things you can offer right now. don't worry about separating birds just yet, let them adjust to the new surroundings and recover a bit. a heat lamp set at the end of the cage is good, positioned so that the birds can move away if they get too warm.

if all ten were kept together in a small cage, the weakest (babies) would certainly be victims of plucking. hopefully, having some space will help settle things. I wouldn't be surprised if all ten were family, one pair that just kept breeding and breeding that overwhelmed the previous owner. thank you for taking them in! don't hesitate to post your questions, we're all glad to help!

[cindy]

Back on your first post, Cindy says 4W. Believe, that, not my suggestion. She also suggested boiled eggs. Yes, a very good suggestion.

Jeff that is a typo...they don't make 4W it was to be 40W

[DanteD716]

I never knew that Cindy. And follow all of Cindy's instructions. I feel nad about convincing you to get them!