Ask Lafeber

Zebra Finch baby not perching and can’t fly much

My finches have 4 babies. 3 girls are almost on their own. The male baby keeps going down to the bottom of the cage. Doesn’t perch much unless you put him on a perch. Doesn’t seem to understand perching. Doesn’t seem to have much lift. All the other babies are doing everything normally. He is not sick and is chirping fine. Sometimes you see him hopping in circles or near the edges of the bottom of the cage. Let’s me pick him up and perch him but often clings to my finger or seems to have trouble keeping his balance till he gets good hold of a perch. Could he have been born blind or not able to get lift. Mom and dad are not related that I know of

Hi Kim,

My first thought is that he may be blind. It sounds like that or a neurological issue. Either could be genetic so you might consider not breeding the pair again. If he is eating on his own, he needs to be separated from the parents. My concern is they may end up killing him if they sense a problem. The parents try to drive the chicks away anyway once they are weaned.

You can take him to a Vet to see if they can find anything wrong with him. I would set up a cage for him with everything accessible on the floor. You might look for a “small pet” enclosure, such as for hamsters or mice, with ramps. He might use ramps and this would give him more exercise. You can try to determine if he is blind by being very quiet and then slowly moving your hand or an object back and forth. If you are too close he can sense the movement. If he fails to follow your hand, then he is most likely blind. He can do fine, and possibly you can find another young male as a companion. It is important to always keep everything in the same place. He will memorize where everything is and soon will get around with ease.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda