Badly pecked female - what are my choices?

[jmc]

Joker's bare back looked weird, so I tried to spray her down to catch her. It was pretty traumatic for both of us - the spraying didn't seem to work and I'm just not good at catching birds - though I don't think I hurt her. She looks uncomfortable though, which was one reason I was concerned enough to try and catch her. I need better ideas on how to catch zebra finches safely, though!

One of the males is pecking her back so bad she is bloody! Problem is, I'm not sure which one it is. I pulled out the male I think is the aggressor. If I take him back (was told I can), will I be ok with 4 females and one male?

Not sure what to do, suggestions?

Also, what can I do for her back? Is there something I can spray on it? I have something called banixx, which I use for my horse, which says it can be used on birds... at least bigger birds, like parrots. Would that be safe? At least it's something I could spray on her from outside the cage, and not stress her out again. Or is there something I could spray on her that would keep him from pecking her?

I'm totally new to birds, only had these zebra finches for a week, so any and all advice is welcome!

jmc

[Tiffany]

Can you put the plucked female in a hospital cage with a heat lamp?
I was told to turn a few lights off when I needed to catch my Zebra's. They can't see as well in the dark.

I'm not sure on what to spray on birds that have been plucked but I read on a different thread you can use aloe for birds that seem to be itching. It soothes the skin.

Add vitamin drops to her water and Egg food helps the feathers and is good protein.

Watch the rest of the Zebras and find the male. He needs to be put in another cage so he don't pluck the others.

[Lisa]

Zebras can (and usually are) very aggressive to others. It's hard to find a peaceful mix to house together. If they are in a cage that is too small, it's much worse. If one pair is trying to mate or you have odd number of birds (or sometimes even an even number!), it can be very difficult to find zebras that will get along.

I would immediately isolate the female so that she can begin to heal. Zebras can and will pluck/peck each other to death if you allow this behavior to continue. Get the poor girl out of there asap.

The best way I have found to catch zebras is to go into a secured room and open the top of the cage, allowing most or even all the birds to escape. Then use a fishnet to catch them (the type for aquariums). Wait for them to land, you can then put the fishnet over them and easily and safely pick them up. I find it is easier to catch multiple birds this way than to try to catch one while still in the cage (plus that just makes them all frantic and crashing into the walls, etc). This method is much less stressful.

If you're trying to catch them in an aviary, maybe one of those long bird catcher nets (they are very long so you could actually swoop the bird into the net mid-flight without hurting them).

Good luck - I hope your hen heals up well. I would let her have a full recovery before you attempt to mix her with any other birds again. Otherwise, they will immediately sense she's the weak bird and go back at her. Also, be prepared that once you remove her, another bird may become the bullying target in her place.

[jmc]

Thank you for the replies. I had removed the likely culprit. The other male has jumped on the backs of two of the females (Joker and another, that has no plucked feathers), but I think that's a dominance move, and doesn't stay.

I saw a female attempt to pick at Joker's back, but Joker told her NO! and she went off. For the most part there hasn't been a lot of aggression since I removed the one male, and Joker's back no longer looks bloody.

I think it's likely that, even for the short time I've had six finches in the 30x18x18, the smaller space hasn't helped. It sure LOOKS like it's big enough for six tiny birds...

I will move Joker to the isolation cage once I get the bigger one - right now the male is in the only other cage I have, and since almost all the females have plucks - two on their backs, one on her breast on either side below her wings, and one I'm not sure about but I think she's a bit plucked at the base of her tail.

For the most part, it's all observation right now, since I am no longer sure which is the older, mated pair (all the rest are their offspring). I suspect it's Not-Bubba in his cage, and the most recent female that arrived with her (Piper). Once I've decided who "Honkey and Honkita" - the former owner's names - are, I can better decide the best course of action...

Do you think it would be safe to put NotBubba back in with the others when the bigger cage arrives (I'll remove Joker of course so her back can heal)?

[L in Ontario]

Good that you will keep Joker separate until she is completely healed. It deprends on how big the bigger cage is as to whether you can put NotBubba in with the others again. It will need plenty of perches and greenery to separate them so they don't always see each other, and no nests at all. You could put most of the Zebs in the bigger cage and still have 3 or 4 in the smaller 30x18x18 cage.

Good luck!

[finchandlovebird]

jmc You spray your birds to catch them? With Water? I have never heard of this. Does it work pretty well?

[jmc]

Actually, no, it didn't work well at all. Apparently you have to get them pretty well soaked, which, because you're spraying a fast little critter, means the entire cage is soaked. I guess I just don't have the knack.

I tried the darkness method, and it worked better.

[DanteD716]

Dolly, it works when you have a hose of something when birds escape, spray them down so the cannot fly.

jmc, I suggest re-doing your cages, maybe do 1 pair per cage, or all of the sam gender, females will fight for males. Zebras are mean, good luck and glad you found a solution. I usually turn off the lights if a bird gets out to grab it.

[jmc]

Dante, thanks for the suggestion, but I don't have the room. I just set up a new, gigantic cage for them - it's over twice as big as the current one. With that cage up, I can't find room for the second cage (I can't reach it well set on top of the new one, which is taller than I am!), so I think I'll be limited to the big cage and a hospital cage.

Still trying to figure things out. If I can find a place for the smaller flight cage, I was seriously considering putting the two males in it, then having the four females in the large cage. I really would rather have just one cage though, and these were all in the same aviary before.

I'll hit Michael's this weekend and buy some greenery for screening, as suggested, so birds have somewhere to hide.

[DanteD716]

I see, then the best you could do is maybe add some privacy perches, numerous nests, lots of plants, and more than one feeding area, may reduce aggresiion. Also if you paired each female with a male it may reduce aggression between females

[jmc]

Yea, I hope that works. I'll hit Michael's on the weekend. I just wish I could be sure who is who - There's the pair that the former owner said was the parents of all the rest. Sometimes they hang out together, sometimes they don't. So I'm not sure.

Then there's Not-Bubba and Piper, who do hang out together, but I think I'm going to need to rename Jaime and Cersi (unless they're actually the oldest pair - any way to know?) ... I'm not providing nests (well, there's half a coconut to sit in but no nesting material), so is that a problem (curious to see who gets the reference, lol).

All's quiet right now though a bit ago, Piper/Cersi was chasing all and sundry around the cage (another reason to call her Cersi I suppose), while Not-Piper/Jamie was in the coconut trying to seduce her.

Right now, all is quiet (I'm sure they're exhausted, despite giving them breaks as I tried to rearrange them). Bubba, Jenny and Nugget are all snuggled up together in the coconut half, while Not-Bubba and Piper are paired up in a hanging ring toy. So for the moment, peace reigns over the Beeper household.

Oh, and can anything be done if it's the bird's mate that is plucking her?

[DanteD716]

I think he may have to be removed for good, or for a couple weeks and put him back in.. he may be wanting to mate, and since you do not supply nesting materials he is trying to use her feathers as material.

Also, it would be best do add no nests if the birds in your cage are related. The only way to be able to breedis to remove both male and add all new males so none are related. Zebras will mate with their daughters and siblings

[jmc]

None of the missing feathers are in the coconut, I've not really seen them, well, anywhere.

I have considered trading out the males so at least if I decide later to breed, I don't have to worry about incest... but how do I do that? Will pet stores trade for other healthy birds?

FWIW I thought I had three males, and three females, until I was educated that Nugget is a girl

[DanteD716]

It does not matter if they are in the coconut or not, he may just want to breed.

Can you post pictures of them? And if you call the petstore and tell them your situation it may work. Or you could buy one and then return the one you don't want as the one you want. LOL no don't do that, that's bad