Hi all,
Recently, a pair of finches was given over to me because the owner didn't want them anymore. One was a zebra finch and the other is a society (Bengalese) finch. The Bengalese had been housed with several zebra finches and is badly beaten up--no tail feathers, hardly any feathers on the wings, toenails bitten off, and underweight. I seperated the two finches and bought a new companion for each of the same species.
Here's the problem: the Bengalese has a lot of trouble hopping/flying up to the perches in its new cage, understandably. I can see it is growing back new feathers on its rump and neck but they are never going to grow back completely if it spends all its time on the bottom of the cage! So far, I have been picking the bird up and placing it on higher perches with treats as incentives for it to stay there. I don't want to keep doing this because I want it to bond with its new non-aggresive companion. I also put a little birdie ladder leading up to the lowest perch and I smeared it with peanut butter and millett, but the Bengalese is not interested in it.
Any other ideas? I appreciate feedback on anything I've mentioned here; this is my first time owning finches so I want to learn as much as I can.
I've attached a picture of the bird. Since it is so easy to catch, I take it out periodically to feed it baby bird formula to get its weight up. Not sure if that is the best idea.
Thanks so much!
feather damage dilemma
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finches247
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It could be missing flight feathers too to not be flying.Make sure he gets some form of calcium too and some sunlight.Good Luck Hope he becomes better.
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mattymeischke
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Hi Mia, welcome to the forum.
Furry has evidently had a bad time lately, but his life and health are improving radically already.
Sometimes the risk with birds is loving them too much; for example, I think the peanut butter and frequent handling are probably not ideal but I can see how you got there.....
If his problem with flight is his feathers, they will grow back with time. Birds are remarkably resilient in some ways, and he will look after this himself if he has adequate living conditions in terms of housing, feeding, minimising disturbances. It may be that he is unfit after his time in your friend's care, and that he needs a little while to regain his strength. When I release birds into my big aviaries after months in a pet shop or even their forty days in quarantine, they are always comically poor flyers for the first few days. If he is mostly plucked around his neck and tail (as one might expect if he has been bullied by zebs), he should still be able to fly a bit. It is also possible that he has some other cause for his weakness and inability to fly. Bengos are very robust, so this seems less likely, but if he has symptoms suggestive of illness (wet vent, mucky eyes, rough breathing) or if he is fluffed up and unwell looking, a veterinary opinion may be helpful. If he is bright-eyed, active and alert despite his flightless condition, I would give him a couple of weeks to come good on his own.
Make sure that he has access to food, water and grit at ground level. Give dry seed, clean water and grit ad libitum, and some extras each day: in the 'extras' category I would include soft foods, leafy greens, sprouted seed and green seed. Soft foods include many proprietary formulations, often called 'egg and biscuit' mix. I prefer to make my own with hard boiled eggs and dry plain biscuits blended to a moist, crumbly consistency. Leafy greens include most veggies we eat, especially spinach, buk choy, kale and such. They also love a small bit of Lebanese cucumber or frozen peas and corn. You'll find methods for sprouting seed by searching the forum, but essentially they involve 'activating' the seed by soaking it in water until a small white shoot appears. This is high in nutrient and easily digested, and is favoured by many as chick-rearing food. I feed a lot of green seeding grasses, which are similarly nutritious but also provide some diversion for the birds as they process the seeds. They also take the leaves for nesting or food, and eat the minute bugs in the soil (I often uproot the whole plant). Favourites in this category include chick weed, dandelion, sow thistle, rye, phalaris, clover and many others. Try some and see what he likes.
A mixture of extras averts boredom and provides a wide range of nutrients. I always give a range of things through the course of a week, and let them choose what they need.
Good luck with him, don't hesitate to ask us questions, and keep us posted on his progress.
Hope this is helpful,
mm.
Furry has evidently had a bad time lately, but his life and health are improving radically already.
Sometimes the risk with birds is loving them too much; for example, I think the peanut butter and frequent handling are probably not ideal but I can see how you got there.....
If his problem with flight is his feathers, they will grow back with time. Birds are remarkably resilient in some ways, and he will look after this himself if he has adequate living conditions in terms of housing, feeding, minimising disturbances. It may be that he is unfit after his time in your friend's care, and that he needs a little while to regain his strength. When I release birds into my big aviaries after months in a pet shop or even their forty days in quarantine, they are always comically poor flyers for the first few days. If he is mostly plucked around his neck and tail (as one might expect if he has been bullied by zebs), he should still be able to fly a bit. It is also possible that he has some other cause for his weakness and inability to fly. Bengos are very robust, so this seems less likely, but if he has symptoms suggestive of illness (wet vent, mucky eyes, rough breathing) or if he is fluffed up and unwell looking, a veterinary opinion may be helpful. If he is bright-eyed, active and alert despite his flightless condition, I would give him a couple of weeks to come good on his own.
Make sure that he has access to food, water and grit at ground level. Give dry seed, clean water and grit ad libitum, and some extras each day: in the 'extras' category I would include soft foods, leafy greens, sprouted seed and green seed. Soft foods include many proprietary formulations, often called 'egg and biscuit' mix. I prefer to make my own with hard boiled eggs and dry plain biscuits blended to a moist, crumbly consistency. Leafy greens include most veggies we eat, especially spinach, buk choy, kale and such. They also love a small bit of Lebanese cucumber or frozen peas and corn. You'll find methods for sprouting seed by searching the forum, but essentially they involve 'activating' the seed by soaking it in water until a small white shoot appears. This is high in nutrient and easily digested, and is favoured by many as chick-rearing food. I feed a lot of green seeding grasses, which are similarly nutritious but also provide some diversion for the birds as they process the seeds. They also take the leaves for nesting or food, and eat the minute bugs in the soil (I often uproot the whole plant). Favourites in this category include chick weed, dandelion, sow thistle, rye, phalaris, clover and many others. Try some and see what he likes.
A mixture of extras averts boredom and provides a wide range of nutrients. I always give a range of things through the course of a week, and let them choose what they need.
Good luck with him, don't hesitate to ask us questions, and keep us posted on his progress.
Hope this is helpful,
mm.
Avid amateur aviculturalist; I keep mostly australian and foreign finches.
The art is long, the life so short; the critical moment is fleeting and experience can be misleading, crisis is difficult....... (Hippocrates)
The art is long, the life so short; the critical moment is fleeting and experience can be misleading, crisis is difficult....... (Hippocrates)
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NoisyMia
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- Location: United States
Thanks so much for your excellent replies mm and Henry!
I already took Furry to the vet so no problems there besides being underweight.
I put the food dish on the floor of the cage and fortunately it also gives a leg up to the lowest perch where the water dish is, though I have a small dish of water on the floor as well. Furry also took to the ladder for the first time today, though he didn’t take it all the way up to the perch. I tied some millet spray to the bars of the cage very low to the floor.
After living with my conure for six years I have get used to finches’ independent ways and all their hopping about instead of climbing!
Unfortunately I am going out of town for a few days and my neighbor is only going to come by once a day to change the water and food if needed, so I don’t want to leave anything fresh out. I tried sprouting a few times before for my conure and it didn’t take (i.e. the seeds and beans just turned moldy); I suppose it takes a few tries to get it right.
If I am boiling eggs anyway, do you think I could feed some eggshells as well for calcium?
Thanks again!
I already took Furry to the vet so no problems there besides being underweight.
I put the food dish on the floor of the cage and fortunately it also gives a leg up to the lowest perch where the water dish is, though I have a small dish of water on the floor as well. Furry also took to the ladder for the first time today, though he didn’t take it all the way up to the perch. I tied some millet spray to the bars of the cage very low to the floor.
After living with my conure for six years I have get used to finches’ independent ways and all their hopping about instead of climbing!
Unfortunately I am going out of town for a few days and my neighbor is only going to come by once a day to change the water and food if needed, so I don’t want to leave anything fresh out. I tried sprouting a few times before for my conure and it didn’t take (i.e. the seeds and beans just turned moldy); I suppose it takes a few tries to get it right.
If I am boiling eggs anyway, do you think I could feed some eggshells as well for calcium?
Thanks again!
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mattymeischke
- ...............................
- Posts: 862
- Joined: 25 Jul 2011, 20:25
- Location: Southern Tablelands of NSW
I leave the shells in my egg and biscuit.NoisyMia wrote:If I am boiling eggs anyway, do you think I could feed some eggshells as well for calcium?
Glad to hear he going alright, good luck.
mm.
Avid amateur aviculturalist; I keep mostly australian and foreign finches.
The art is long, the life so short; the critical moment is fleeting and experience can be misleading, crisis is difficult....... (Hippocrates)
The art is long, the life so short; the critical moment is fleeting and experience can be misleading, crisis is difficult....... (Hippocrates)
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NoisyMia
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- Posts: 15
- Joined: 19 Nov 2012, 15:32
- Location: United States
Below is a picture of Furry on the ladder. So far he's made it up to the perch that is at mid-height of the cage. He is very active, which unfortunately means he falls flat on his face a lot. I hear a good THUNK about every 10-15 min. 
It's really hard not to pick him up, but so far I have succeeded in refraining.
It's really hard not to pick him up, but so far I have succeeded in refraining.You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
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E Orix
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- Location: Howlong on NSW/Vic Border 30km from Albury
- Location: Howlong NSW
Are it's wing feathers damaged and broken or not formed properly.
Most likely damaged,if so it will not improve until next moult.If you wish to speed up the process you must CAREFULLY remove those damaged wing feathers.
Remember you must have even removal,6 from left therefore 6 from the right.Once this is done and its diet is OK it will be flying in under 3 weeks.
An experienced bird keeper should have no problems if you don't wish to do it.Possibly you need to be cruel to be kind
Most likely damaged,if so it will not improve until next moult.If you wish to speed up the process you must CAREFULLY remove those damaged wing feathers.
Remember you must have even removal,6 from left therefore 6 from the right.Once this is done and its diet is OK it will be flying in under 3 weeks.
An experienced bird keeper should have no problems if you don't wish to do it.Possibly you need to be cruel to be kind
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NoisyMia
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- Posts: 15
- Joined: 19 Nov 2012, 15:32
- Location: United States
The vet said it was feather damage. You can see photos below. You can see how the back end (tailbone?) is completely bare (no tail feathers at all, except two new ones growing, I think).
Thanks for the idea. I am used to handling my conure to trim her feathers (though I've never plucked any) so I could possibly do it myself. There is also going to be grooming and microchipping at my local bird store this weekend; I wonder if I could get it done there.
Thanks again.
Thanks for the idea. I am used to handling my conure to trim her feathers (though I've never plucked any) so I could possibly do it myself. There is also going to be grooming and microchipping at my local bird store this weekend; I wonder if I could get it done there.
Thanks again.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
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jusdeb
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- Location: Western Plains NSW
Bee pollen ..would only need a pinch . Will boost immune system and help with healthy new feathers when it moults .
Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue.
David Brent
David Brent