Finch scratching head & neck now missing feathers

[Missy54]

I have 5 Zebra finches in a large cage. They are the 2 parents and the 3, almost year old off-spring. The one young female has been scratching at her head and neck and is now missing about half her head and neck feathers. I do not see any of the other birds pecking at her or pulling her feathers. I do not see any lumps or bugs on her. I moved the cage out of my home office about 2 weeks ago as the office is so dark this time of year. I am wondering if this is just stress from the move or the sign of something else. Do you think I should move them back into the office and leave the light on or put something soothing like Aloe Vera on her almost bare head and neck area. I would appreciate your feedback. Thanks

[Monica]

She could have an infection or mite infestation. A lot of mites are not easy to see by the bare-naked eye. Can you take her to an avian vet to get checked out?

[Missy54]

Thanks for the idea about taking her to a avian vet, but that is really not an option for me. Yesterday evening I crushed up some raw sunflower seeds in a treat seed cup hoping the extra fat & vitamins might help her and they all really enjoyed them. This morning I cut some fresh Aloe and scrapted the gel and then blended it with purified water and misted her. She loved it--I was so suprised. After the initial squirt she came and sat on the perch closest to me so I could spray her really good. I have misted her 2 times now and she is not scratching at all now. So unless I hear from someone that Aloe Vera is bad for finches, that is my plan for now--to mist her 4 or more times a day and to give them some high fat treats along with their usual diet that I suppliment with greens that I grow for them and millet which I also grew for them this year and dried.

Also in reading the posts, someone said they put artificial ivy in the cage for them to get up into--I also did this thinking that maybe if she was stressed she might like a place to hid away in and although they did not sleep in it, they spent hours playing with it & eventually pulled it all down--so I plan to replace it today and try to secure it better.

This is such a good site. I get so many good ideas here--that you all for sharing.

[Monica]

Can you call an avian vet and get over the phone advice? They still might charge you for a phone consultation, but it might be better than none at all.

So long as the finches can't destroy the fake plants, I don't see any harm in providing it... but they may also enjoy safe *REAL* plants, too. The aloe is fine to give, although it wont help stop a mite infestation, even if she's the only one currently infected with them or has the worste infection. Then again, she might not have an infestation at all. Either way, there are ways to treat mites without getting prescription meds.


Bird; Birds: Safe, Toxic Trees, Woods. Safe Tree Wood. Parrots. Parrot cages.

[Missy54]

I looked at a feather & a rubbing from her neck under the microscope and I don't see any bugs. I am leaning towards stress from the move into the living room. She is not scratching since I started the Aloe Vera misting--so I think she is better--but I think I need to watch for a few days. I also put a small bough from our redwood tree in the cage and I will see if they like it or not.

[Missy54]

My little female finch is so much better. I have been misting her with the spray I made from the Aloe Vera plant and I have not seen her scratch at all. Her head and neck look like normal skin now. She loves the misting and comes and sits and lets me spray her. Also they love having the bough from the redwood tree in the cage--that was a great idea. They play in it and sit in it. They grab it with their beaks and then jump off wings flapping--it looks like kids playing crack the whip...but all playing aside, I think it has helped my little female feel less exposed in the new bigger room. I think she is on the mend.

[christie99]

Take the redwood out!!!!

Cedar and other aromatic pines are toxic to birds!

[Missy54]

Thank you for letting me know

[Missy54]

I took the redwood out of the cage, but does anyone have ideas on living plants that are not toxic to finches. I have camelia trees that are evergreen, ferns, things like that. I tried the artificial plant the 1st day and they liked it, but I was concerned about them chewing on the silk & plastic - that doesn't see like it would be good for them either & anyway they tore it down in less than 24 hours. That is why I thought I would use the redwood greens.

Is there a resource that lists plants that are toxic to finches as I had no idea the redwood was--I see birds in the yard in it all the time.

[Missy54]

I clicked on Christie 99's link and I found a good list of safe and toxic plants and from that link found this one
http://www.robharvey.com/information/plants.html

that also included trees. It appears from my research that Christie 99 was correct that white cedar is toxic; but my redwood happens to be a sequoia redwood, which appears to be on the safe list. I also have Bamboo, willows, figs and many others which are on the safe list, so I plan to cut a small branch, leave it till it starts to get dry (or they destroy it) and then switch to a different one.