Feather plucking in canaries and finches
Other names: Plucking، The bird pulls out its feathers
Symptoms
- Featherless areas (head, back, chest)
- Chicks with plucked feathers in the nest
How it spreads
Birds imitate each other.
Diagnosis
See who is plucking: the bird itself or another. Rule out medical causes such as parasites, the liver and poor nutrition (Merck).
Treatment
Treat the cause: reduce crowding, vary the diet and increase protein, isolate the plucking bird, and provide extra nesting material (the father sometimes plucks to build a new nest). Merck says malnutrition is one of the most common causes. (All under veterinary supervision.)
Prevention
Enough space, a balanced diet, and nesting material.
Season
Breeding season
Treatment and doses are decided by an avian vet after an exam; Zajel does not publish doses.
Other diseases
- Egg binding
- Chronic egg laying
- Egg yolk peritonitis
- Cloacal prolapse
- Overgrown claws and beak
- Heatstroke / heat stress
- Cold stress in adult birds and chicks
- Teflon fume poisoning