help zebra finch with deformed feet

broody rooster said:

hello everyone i have recently adopted a zebra finch from a Petsmart and he was with 3 other male zebras who for whatever reason picked on him and pulled out his flight feathers and tail feathers olus a few back ones . upon closer inspection he has deformed feet in that his toes that are supposed to back facing are facing forward and he walks on the back of them . his perching ability is .....pretty bad but hes obviously had this deformity for awhile since he was able to jump to the top bar of the cage i currently have him in. i put his seed and water dish on the bottom of the cage where he is most of the time , ok my questions are 1 how long will it be before he molts If he has not been plucked for long periods of time and his health is good, the feathers should start growing in within weeks. If he has been plucked over a long period of time the feathers may never grow in. and gets his new feathers in or is there something i can give him to induce molt If the feathers are pulled out they should start growing in soon. If they are broken off where part of the feather is still there then that won't be replaced until the bird molts. 2 im assuming the deformed feet thing is unfix-able Your assumption is correct. 3 can i assume he was bullied because of his deformity? Possible. He could have hatched that way or he may have got his foot caught in something. It could have been a nutritional problem. Zebra's feet are delicate and are easily hurt. if this is the case if i were to try to get a female for him would she bully him as well or would she look past it and pair up with him? Either is a possibility. Zebras are very social. I would get hem a mate, but keep in mind that the problem may be genetic in which offspring might have this problem too. hes currently housed with my spice finch who dosnt bother him as long as he stays out of his personal bubble( speaking of which! im looking for a female spice finch and none of the Petsmarts around me have them ! i got him from a petstore selling him as a brown society finch and hes probably one of my favorites of the finches i have)4 i need help with a name im stuck between coal because he has an exceptionally dark charcoally looking patch under his neck stripes or hops becaue he hops

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