Ask Lafeber

Baby zebra finches followup

Thank you so much for your prior advice. I immediately removed the nest! I am now seen a problem. The dad keep plucking the feathers from the babies tail! They have just bare skin and I do not know if it is normal. I will try to be around so they get used to people, and while I’m there I notice that he picks at their tail a lot. Their backs are all bare already and while one (the oldest) isn’t eating in his own quite yet, he already has stripped feathers (some). So is this behavior normal, or will I have to rehome them quicker than previously thought?

Hi,

It sounds like you removed the nest just in time. The dad is ready for the chicks to leave, so he can mate again. As long as he isn’t drawing blood, it’s OK. Their feathers will grow back quickly, once you can separate them. Hopefully they will all be eating on their own very soon, and then you can move them to another cage. You could move the male out temporarily, but usually the male weans the chicks. So keep watching them closely and if the male gets too aggressive with them, try taking him out and see if mom can finish weaning them. If you have seen each chick eat on its own, you could go ahead and separate all of the chicks, and just watch them to make sure they are eating. Sometimes they just keep begging because the parents are there. In the wild, the parents make the chicks leave as soon as they are weaned. So that’s what dad is trying to do, but they may not be ready yet.

Thanks for the update,

Brenda