I have two male zebra finches that I purchased around a month ago. I've had one of them for two months- Aaron- and the other for only four weeks- Ryan- but since introducing the youngest one to the oldest, I've noticed Aaron has lost lots of feathers and his tail is completely gone.
I've been observing their behaviour and the younger one has been very aggressive, pulling feathers and chasing him around the cage. I haven't noticed up until this point and Aaron has barely any feathers on his back and his front, especially around, and under, his tail.
They have numerous toys around their cage but only one food and drink station. I'm considering the possibility that this is more of a dominance display than anything else. I've also provided cuttlebone since day one so I doubt a lack of protein is the problem though Ryan does tend to try and eat the feathers.
Is it best to separate them at the point until Aaron recovers? What might possibly cause this sudden behaviour?
Any help you can offer would be much appreciated. I'm very new to bird keeping, though I've owned chickens for just over a year, and an amateur at this so I'm still trying to learn as much as possible,
Rachel.
I've been observing their behaviour and the younger one has been very aggressive, pulling feathers and chasing him around the cage. I haven't noticed up until this point and Aaron has barely any feathers on his back and his front, especially around, and under, his tail.
They have numerous toys around their cage but only one food and drink station. I'm considering the possibility that this is more of a dominance display than anything else. I've also provided cuttlebone since day one so I doubt a lack of protein is the problem though Ryan does tend to try and eat the feathers.
Is it best to separate them at the point until Aaron recovers? What might possibly cause this sudden behaviour?
Any help you can offer would be much appreciated. I'm very new to bird keeping, though I've owned chickens for just over a year, and an amateur at this so I'm still trying to learn as much as possible,
Rachel.