Pics of beat up finch

[Mora]

Here's some pics of our beat up girl, Lesley (pet store rescue) The other birds really did a number on her. But she's doing well the last few days she's been with us and seems to enjoy being spoiled.

[MiaCarter]

Wow. You weren't kidding.
That's some pretty severe plucking. Poor kid.
I'm so glad you saved her. Most people would have overlooked her.

I'd keep a close eye on her, as her chest looked rather red to me. It may just be the photo, but it's possible she has some sort of mites or another type of skin issue. That could certainly contribute to self-plucking.
Does the skin look smooth and healthy? Does she pluck or bite at her skin?

[Mora]

No, she's not picking at herself at all, and the skin is already looking better. I think the redness in the pic is because it was taken within 24 hours.
Thanks!:)

[MiaCarter]

Mora - Ah, well that's good!
As long as it looks healthy and she's not picking/plucking, then she should be good to go!
The skin could also be flushed if she was in the midst of being very active or excited.

I'm so glad you rescued her. Poor girl was definitely beat up good.
In a couple weeks, you won't recognize her!

[lovezebs]

Mora

What a cutie. With a good diet and good care, she will be lovely in a few weeks.

I'm glad you took her home. I don't think her future would have been very promising in that Pet Shop.

~Elana~

[Sam007]

I'm so happy you brought her home. Great!

[Sally]

She probably would not have lasted much longer in that pet shop, she is pretty beat up. Kept by herself with a proper diet, she should recover quickly.

[Mora]

Thanks, everyone! I'm looking forward to posting a before and after pic in a couple months.

[sgolds]

Poor thing. It's so good you took her in. I hope to see that healthy pic.

[delray]

Glad you rescued her.... Great thing you did.... She's gonna love her new home.

[Zebrafincher]

Poor little Lesley! What a time she's been through! Don't worry, give her time, TLC and lots of food, and she'll be looking better in no time! I rescued my star finch, Merl from a pet store, and he was totally bald! - having been plucked by other finches - and its NOT a good look!

He looks nice and normal now, and is the sweetest little thing! Good luck to you with your little finch! Zebra finches make great pets! I had a little female, Queenie, and she was such a sweetie!

Kind Regards

Zebrafincher

[Prism]

This is all too common.

I wonder what large pet stores have to say about their finches so often being rescued by customers. I just find it ironic that they care enough to only have rescue adoptions for dogs and cats but allow this kind of thing for the birds they sell. Is there no room in the back for hospital cages?

[Zebrafincher]

Hi Prism,
In good pet stores, they will have a hospital cage, but for a long time I think its been all too common to just euthanise or "remove" such finches. I have seen at my local couple of pet stores (which specialise in "exotic" animals like birds, fish and reptiles and I only use because they are good! ) that they only stock limited, and very healthy birds. Any birds injured will be removed to a separate cage until they recover.

Unfortunately birds in any number can squabble and fight! I keep my three boys (canary, zebra finch and star finch) all in separate and very roomy cages, and they have free flight together, but even then they still fight from time to time!

I hope this little Lesley recovers. She looks like a sweetie.

Kind Regards

Zebrafincher

[MiaCarter]

Sadly, it all comes down to economics.

A bird in the back room won't sell.
A bird in the front of the store will sell, even if it's a "rescue mission."
And many don't have the room to house them separately (or even out back.)

I never hesitate to tell them that confining an animal to a cage or enclosure where they're apt to be physically harmed by another animal IS abuse.
(And in Massachusetts, where I did lots of work with pet store owners as a humane organization liaison, it was enough to get your animals taken away by the MSPCA Law Enforcement division.)
So I never hesitate to tell the authorities if a shop fails to take action or continually allow a problem like that to arise. (Granted, I personally give allowances for the fact that birds can harm each other very severely in very short order. But once they've been notified of the issue, they have no excuse. So if I come back and a bird like Lesley is back in a cage where she's getting harassed and harmed, I'll document it on photo and video, then I'll call the authorities.)

If they have so many birds that it's impossible to keep them housed in a manner that ensures safety, then they need to keep fewer birds OR get more cages.
Society wouldn't tolerate this treatment from an owner. And in most areas, people would be up in arms if they saw this happening in a shop to a cat or a dog. Birds are also sentient beings, so I don't see the difference.
Gets me nutty! LOL

@Mora - Did they give her to you for free or a huge discount? I hope so!
I'm not opposed to paying a ransom to save a life, even if it technically perpetuates the problem. I've definitely done the same myself!

If you go back to that shop, I hope you'll peek in on the birds to ensure this isn't a chronic issue (usually due to cage overcrowding.)

How is little miss Lesley doing??

[Mora]

Lesley is doing great! Although I know it'll take awhile for her feathers to grow back, she's eating well and spunky as all get out. She really seems interested in my daughter, and not at all frightened - I'd always heard finches weren't birds that tamed, but she's much more calm with us than our diamond dove was when we got him and now (with my daughter's time and patience) he'll hang out with us while we read. My daughter's determined to try with Lesley, but still we'll love her whether she becomes tamer or not. She's already chiming in on the bigger birds' conversations, although she talks the most to our parakeet.