Zebra Male Plucking Female

[oomiedog]

Help! I need some advice about my 2 zebra finches~~my tiny white one had a friend (her mother?) who died recently. They had been inseparable, 2 little peas in a pod:( They had both been laying eggs.
After one died, I got a male finch, probably a mistake. They didn't seem crazy about each other. About a week after I put him in the cage, I saw him pluck the tiny white birds feathers. She had been plucked by other birds at the pet store where I got her, so I can't let that happen. So I put the "replacement bird" in a cage next to hers a couple of weeks ago.
But wonder if that is cruel--should I give it another try, or let well enough alone?
Thanks for any advice! MJ

[Sally]

oomiedog The male may be plucking her to get feathers for nesting material. If you want to breed them, then you could give him some nesting material to use, so maybe he will leave her feathers alone. If you don't want to breed them, then you may be dealing with feather plucking a lot.

I'm going to move this post into its own thread in the 'New to the Hobby' forum. I'll title it 'Zebra Male Plucking Female'. It may get more attention by itself, rather than being buried in another thread.

[lovezebs]

oomiedog
Hi.
How are these two interacting through cage bars? Does it seem like they are interested in each other?

Personally, I wouldn't put him back with her, until her feathers come back in.

As Sally, mentioned, he might be interested in breeding, and she might not be ready. Did you put a nest in the cage?

Are you interested in raising chicks or not? If not, you might try exchanging this male where you got him from, for a young, small female. You mentioned, that your little girl got along really well with another female... that just might be the answer.

Good luck.

~Elana~

[oomiedog]

Uhoh! Before reading your posts I put "replacement bird" back in tiny white birds cage. This morning I read your kind replies to my post and decided to take him back out.
But he escaped! Went flying around the room! I closed the bedroom door before leaving for work~I'm hoping he will be back in his cage when I get home! If not, will I need to buy a net to try to catch him? Yikes!

[Sally]

I keep nets on hand anyway, since I have had escapees in my bird room, but there are other ways to capture one. You can fill a small spray bottle with water and spray the bird till its feathers are pretty wet, this will keep it from flying as fast, and you can usually catch them when they land. The other way is to eyeball where they are, turn off the lights, and then you can usually creep up on them and catch them. You can even toss a light throw or something similar to trap them.

[oomiedog]

Thanks so much!
Luckily he was smart enough to be in his cage when I got home! So I closed the door and gave him some treats! Whew! Smart little bird!
I think I'm going to take your suggestion and ask the breeder if she has an easygoing female finch that I could trade this little guy for! My white finch was so fond of her female friend:) I don't think she wants a boyfriend!
Who can blame her! Boyfriends are just too complicated:)
Many Thanks~
MJ

[lovezebs]

oomiedog
Good luck. I hope it all works out alright. Hopefully the breeder will be willing to do an exchange. If he /she knows their birds, they should be able to find you a young, small, easy goung little female as a companion for your little girl.

~Elana~

[oomiedog]

My 2 zebra finches are still in separate but close together cages. I tried to reach the finch breeder about trading a female finch for my tiny white finch's "intended boyfriend", whom she doesn't seem to care about:(
But have not heard back from the breeder.
Is it OK to just leave things as they are? The 2 can get close to each other, but it's not like the old days when she and her "mate" were like 2 peas in a pod, and were next to each other all the time.
My vulnerable little white female seems fine.....she lays an egg now and then, but it's not like before, when someone ? was laying eggs like crazy.
I think that's what "killed" the mate--who I think was her mother. Eggs a million! Yikes!
So~is it enough that 2 little finches are next to each other but not in the same cage? Or should I keep looking for a placid female to be in the same cage with my "little one" ?
Thanks for any advice.
And BTW~the abandoned Gouldian infant I've been hand feeding is doing great, and is quite the little 'Pip". What a character! I'd put her in with the little zebra, but she tells my cockatiel what to do! And everyone else here:) So funny!
Thanks for any advice!
Mary Jane
She thinks she is in charge of pretty much everything:)