new zebra finch

[brutusmother]

My mother bought 2 zebra finches at a bird show yesterday. First off they told her she has two males. Not so, one male, one female. The male has some bare patches, one in the middle of his back and one near his throat. He is eating well but seems to be breathing a little heavier than the female. Could he be sick?

[mynameislola]

Yes. Heavy breathing is a symptom of illness.

[brutusmother]

The male finch I was worried about seems to be okay. He is eating well and very active now. He has some downy looking feathers around the bare patches. The seller said they were young so could it be he is just not feathered out yet? His breathing seems fine now. Maybe it was just the new situation. There are always a lot of people in and out of my mother's house. She also has a dog. The dog doesn't bother the birds but walks past the cage often as the cage is in the living room.

[I love ZF]

Yeah, it could be that yr male zebra finch was stressed out to try to adjust to the new environment. My zebra finches freak out whenever my friends come over and look at them (they even freak out when my living boyfriend visits them). I'm the only one whom they feel completely safe:p

So I put the cage in my bedroom near the window so that they don't get stressed out by my guests, TV sound, etc. And when I put them outside the balcony, I put the towel on top of the cage so that my birdies don't have heartattacks by the cat living above us.;)

[Pepsidoodle]

Hi there:) In my experience with Zebra finches sometimes the female will pull the males back feathers out when mating. They "hen peck" them. I am sure they will be alright. They just need to get used to their new house. Finches are very self sufficient when kept clean and fed well. They usually love to take baths.