Annoying Habit

bluefinch · Post by **bluefinch** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 12:29 pm

My Male shafttail has the annoying habit of plucking the feathers on the back of his partners head. Its not an aggressive thing he just gets a little carried away when he preens her head. He started this habit when I first got them. I thought it was because the hen wasn’t mature yet and he was ready to mate. I separated them and waited till the hen was a little older, then put them together after her feathers grew back. He did the same exact thing except it took him about a month and a half till he had her head bare again. I currently have them in separate cages beside each other. The hen’s feathers have grown back completely again. I was thinking I would wait till she is old enough to breed (some time in late June-July) to put them back together. I was wondering if others have had this problem and if there is any way to stop the feather picking?

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 12:39 pm

I have a pair of shaft-tails but have never had a problem with plucking. When I had Zebras way in the past it was a constant thing... bald hens. Sometimes plucked so badly they would go into shock. The only thing I could ever find that reduced the plucking, it never stopped completely, was giving them nesting material. Even if they didn't have nests, the males would carry the nesting material around and leave the hens alone for the most part.

Don't know if that would work for your situation or not.

bluefinch · Post by **bluefinch** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 9:35 pm

Thanks Tammie, I will have to try putting some nesting material in there cage when I put them together again. I wonder if I would add a handful of feathers in the pen if that would keep him busy. I am thinking of putting them together sooner then I was originally going to. I want to use the cage the male shaft tail is in now for my lovebirds. I really wish he would stop, I don’t like having bald birds!

bluefinch · Post by **bluefinch** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 1:43 pm

Well I put them back together again. They were very excited to be in the same cage (lots of head bobbing, chirping and singing). I put some pieces of dried grass, strips of news paper and some feathers in the pen to see if that will keep him occupied. Every one in the bird room is starting to settle down again, I just finished switching the lovebird’s cages so I can set them up for breeding. I guess time will tell if the nest material will help with the feather picking at all.

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 3:10 pm

I hope it works for you. Nothing more annoying then one bird picking on another.

bluefinch · Post by **bluefinch** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 1:02 pm

So far I have not seen the male pluck any feathers from the hen. He normally plucked them when he was grooming her and so far I have only seen the hen grooming him. I guess time will tell. The nest material has ended up every where, the food and water dishes and all over the floor, its defiantly giving them something to do (and giving me more work to do with cleaning).

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 6:33 pm

Yeah, it definitely makes more work!

plantsandbirds · Post by **plantsandbirds** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 11:00 am

My zebra finch, William, will pick at his mate, Marjorie, and the other finches in the cage, if he doesn't have something to do.

I too add flax seed stalks, grass hay and herbs, and I tie pieces of cotton string in bunches from the top of the cage. This keeps William and all of the finches busy. They will also pick at their silk plants.

bluefinch · Post by **bluefinch** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 7:56 pm

It has now been a little over a week since I have put my shafttails back together again. Today I noticed that the base of the hens beak was starting to look a little bear. That was one of the places the male always plucked feathers from

. Other then that she isn't missing any more feathers. I have noticed that she has started holding her own if the male dose something she doesnt like. I am hopping the plucking doesnt get any worse.

bluefinch · Post by **bluefinch** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 10:57 pm

I have not noticed any more signs of plucking. Hopefully this keeps up. My male shaft tail has been keeping himself busy with the dried grass I have been putting in the cage. He used to always like to sit in the feed dish and poop in it. I put a canary nest in the pen to see if he would start sitting in that instead. It worked but now he has started constructing a nest with all the dried grass in the cage. I don't really want them to breed right now as the hen is only 9 months of age. I am debating weather or not to remove the nest right now. I might let it go for a bit yet and see what happens, it is no where near finished, just a few pieces of dried grass sticking out hear and there in the canary nest.

Any thoughts?

StevePax · Post by **StevePax** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 1:45 am

Will the shaft tails be comfortable breeding in an open canary nest? Seems like they would be awfully bothered by any activity in the room without some sort of surrounding nest, wouldn't they?

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 8:09 am

Shaft-tails bring $125 EACH where I live!! So I'm seriously thinking of setting my pair up to breed.

If I were you bluefinch, I would allow the male to spend his time building a nest. Give him all the grass he wants, this will keep him busy. While I don't usually recommend breeding before they are a year old, your hen might be ready. They are rather large, robust birds, I'm sure it's been done before.

It could take them a few months to get down to business anyway. Your hen will be that much closer to 12 months.

bluefinch · Post by **bluefinch** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 3:25 pm

Thanks for the input Tammieb. I will leave the nest in then and give him all the dried grass he wants! I have herd that shaft tails will build there own nest if given the right place to do so. I am thinking the male will probably use the canary nest as a base for his own nest. I have the nest surrounded by artificial plants as well. I would like to get some coco fiber for extra nesting materials. Dos any one know a good online sight I could order some from?

$125 each!

Wow.

bluefinch · Post by **bluefinch** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 1:37 pm

I was watching my shaft tails this afternoon and the male suddenly started chasing the hen around the cage making a high pitched call that I never heard before. Every time she would fly up to land beside him he would chase her off. I changed some of the artificial plants I have hanging on the outside of the cage to give them some more privacy around where the nest is being built. Would this cause him to suddenly become territorial? I have also read that shaft tails can be selective when choosing a partner. Could it be that they are incompatible?

Also my hen has started doing this thing where she puts her tail to the side and puffs her throat patch out while bobbing her head and hopping up beside the male. To me it looks like some sort of a display. I am certain she is a she because she never sings a full blown song like the male even when they were in separate cages. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am leaving this evening and will be gone for the weekend so I won’t be able to keep a close eye on them for the next two days.

bluefinch · Post by **bluefinch** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 3:09 pm

Well I separated my shaft tails while I was gone. I am still trying to figure out what suddenly made him so aggressive. While they were separated the male put a lot more time into building his nest. I put them back together yesterday afternoon but by evening the male was attacking the hen again. I finally ended up taking the nest out of the cage and he seems to have settled down a little. The male still dose chase the hen a little but its not a constant thing. I am starting to get frustrated with this little stinker

. I am thinking the hen might not be ready to nest yet so I will let them settle down a bit before adding a nest again.