Finch is losing back and neck feathers HELP

[Farmerabr169]

Hello I have a young finch named tiny. I adopted tiny from a shelter a couple months ago because he was being picked on by the bigger males and had to be kept to himself. We got tiny a female now named Minnie so he would be happy and was and so was Minnie, they would sit by each other and eat and they never showed signs of fighting or anything but today I looked in the cage and he is missing tons of feathers on his back and neck, not only this but in the past month he has been losing a lot of weight. I just put new millet for them and he refuses to eat it but Minnie is eating fine. There is no blood so I don’t think Minnie is attacking him. They have a cage cleaned every week and fresh water everyday in two containers and two bowls of food so it’s not like he can’t get any. I put a tiny bit of vita sol in the water. He seems just as active just skinny and with less feathers. I don’t want tiny to die as he has always been a favorite bird of mine. Any ideas why this is going on, (I’ll add photos)

 

[Farmerabr169]

And Minnie is bigger then him but she is a bit calmer so they never fight at least to my knowledge

 

[sourland]

Could he be molting ? Do you see pinfeathers coming in ?

 

[Farmerabr169]

Could he be molting ? Do you see pinfeathers coming in ?

No not really, it’s juts along his spine and it looks bare. No marks or cuts or any blood or pins

 

[Farmerabr169]

No not really, it’s juts along his spine and it looks bare. No marks or cuts or any blood or pins

Well I pulled him out and there a re a few pins on the top part of his back, where the neck and body meets he has some pins. But for molting do they lose that many? I don’t know the molting dif between finchs and say parrots

 

[JaeG]

Something here might help you:
https://www.omlet.co.uk/guide/finches_and_canaries/finch_health/feather_problems

Poor little guy.

 

[Farmerabr169]

Something here might help you:
https://www.omlet.co.uk/guide/finches_and_canaries/finch_health/feather_problems

Poor little guy.

I looked on the website and I don’t know what it may be. His food is finch feed and he gets mullet and eggs plus vitamins in the water so I don’t think it’s his diet. And Minnie has never attacked him, they have been really nice to each other sense they met, plus I’ve never seen either bleed. It’s weird, maybe molting? It’s just along his spine and abit into his neck and I check his nostrils and such and I don’t think he has mites. He’s still active just skinny. I may just need to contact my vet and see if they know what would be the issue. If anyone has any ideas I’ll try them

 

[getaclue]

You might check for mites, and be sure to keep a cage protector in there.

 

[Serin]

He is being plucked raw by the hen. Your cage is much too small for finches and they cannot get away from each other resulting in plucking. Minimum cage for two is 30 x 18 inches bigger is better. There is no condition which results in this pattern feather loss besides plucking so she's doing it when you're not around. They'll rip feathers out then snuggle moments apart. Zebra finches do get nasty in close quarters. A much larger cage should limit the plucking. I use 30 x 18 x 36 inch cages and let my birds out to fly indoors six hours a day. I have no plucking issues.

You also want to set up the cage so the birds have room to fly. No plastic toys they don't play like parrots. Natural branches set front to back in the cage on either side. One high one low. A swing. Thats a good layout for finches. No nest basket! The female will pluck the male for nesting material and eventually they will start having babies and will easily overrun you with birds that need even more space. Keep their food cup very low in the cage or they will try to nest on that too. I use a cat food dish on the cage floor.

And absolutely do not use any of those mite repellent boxes. The chemicals are deadly and will kill birds via liver damage over time.

 

[Farmerabr169]

He is being plucked raw by the hen. Your cage is much too small for finches and they cannot get away from each other resulting in plucking. Minimum cage for two is 30 x 18 inches bigger is better. There is no condition which results in this pattern feather loss besides plucking so she's doing it when you're not around. They'll rip feathers out then snuggle moments apart. Zebra finches do get nasty in close quarters. A much larger cage should limit the plucking. I use 30 x 18 x 36 inch cages and let my birds out to fly indoors six hours a day. I have no plucking issues.

You also want to set up the cage so the birds have room to fly. No plastic toys they don't play like parrots. Natural branches set front to back in the cage on either side. One high one low. A swing. Thats a good layout for finches. No nest basket! The female will pluck the male for nesting material and eventually they will start having babies and will easily overrun you with birds that need even more space. Keep their food cup very low in the cage or they will try to nest on that too. I use a cat food dish on the cage floor.

And absolutely do not use any of those mite repellent boxes. The chemicals are deadly and will kill birds via liver damage over time.

This was so use full. Thanks! The cage came with the toys and boxes so I just left it as the shelter gave me. I’ve been dealing with eggs by buying plastic finch eggs and replacing them. Thank you!