# are we being plucked



## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

i'm not sure cause i haven't any signs but early this morning i notice both chicks are almost bald on their heads
what do u think
here are some pictures just taken tonight
ill post in a few pics for you to see...








Ruby's belly above ,head below and possibly her back too!








Squall's head








what do you think is happening here 
Are we being plucked
And what should i do now?


----------



## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

Should i be...
#1- putting them in for night with parents(not knowing which did it)
#2- in their own cage and reunite with parents in morning
#3- add each parent for next 2 nights alone with babies to see which parent it is
#4- just feed them by myself handrearing formula
what do you suggest


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

It doesn't look like plucking to me...I've never had lutino babies so I'm not 100% positive on this but it looks like a normal lutino head to me.


----------



## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

TY ROXY 
i must mention they had fluff and feathers on back of their heads until 230am sat at 10 am .they looked like the 1st pictures in posting above, here is a pic at 14 days old ...see the difference
















well in the past week they did start growing even more fluff,pin feathers/feathers then shown in these but now look like the first pictures in this thread i notice they aren't showing JUST how BALD they are i'll take close ups this time:blush: maybe of just their heads this time.A bit 
later this morning
thanks everyone


----------



## amue155 (Oct 13, 2010)

Some pictures in focus would be nice lol.
I would agree with roxy, in that place they dont look plucked. Looks like the normal bald head gene. 
If you saw other signs of plucking on the wings or back then something would need to be done.
Are you planning on handfeeding these babies? Because they look old enough to be pulled from the parents anyways.


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

No...if there was plucking of the head going on it would also include alot of the crest feathers also being plucked out.

What is going on is the genetic fault of balding...which started with the very first lutinos in the early 1950's and had become a recessive gene in alot of todays lutinos and does pop up not matter how carefful we are with our pairings.


----------



## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

hi Susanne
your 2nd picture at bottom right corner was what they looked like before i found them that morning ,now you can see where some of the pin feathers were cut in half i think i caught it before they could get to crest i think,i also noticed Nana grab Squall by neck feathers violently 
and pull him away from opening of nestbox last night so i seperated her from babies out of fear shes the plucker.
but let her see them from a cage right in front of other.any ways as i said ill take
pictures from closeup to show broken and missing feathers better
thank you Susanne


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Usually if a parent starts to pluck what they are trying to do is to try and make the baby fledge (get out) of the nest. Your baby look about that age. BUT, there is no harm done if plucked because the feathers will grow back in.

If she is trying to keep them in the nest it could be because her mate may be getting hormonal and she is trying to slow down his advances from starting another clutch. Most pairs ususally will start another clutch of eggs when their babies are big enough to fledge from the box.


----------



## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

since plucking is happening most likely should babies be removed
or left with father since he hasn't been caught yet plucking?or too much of a risk he'll do it too?
i heard they can be plucked to death if not caught early! my greatest fear is that
they are now, Squall is 22 days old,Ruby19 days old .what would be best?


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

If they can get out of the box by themselves the mother will stop the plucking. it is the Daddy bird that tends to take over the duties of trying to show them where the food is and weaning them.


----------



## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

they haven't tried getting out of nestbox yet that i've seen.
should they be left with dad or taken out and hand fed?
what do you think


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Do you have the time to handfeed? srtiels already said its ok to leave them with the dad as it doesn't look like they're being plucked its just the normal lutino bald spot.


----------



## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

yes i have time to hand feed them.Roxy
and Susanne(srtiels) did not directly say leave them with dad she said if they get out of nestbox plucking might stop,also dad will usually wean the babies,and show them where food is.(check her last post)
thank you all
ps sorry susanne (srtiels)if i seemed like i re worded your words that wasn't my intention i only pointed out how i understood what was said in ur last posting to me ,my apologies to you
and roxy i hope i didn't sound rude to you also not my intent,my apologies if i offended you


----------



## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

*the answer to are we being plucked....*

yes Nana was caught red handed with a feather from Ruby in her mouth,
i actually saw it being pulled out
Susanne i believe you might be right about one thing..
i watched from a short distance away Squall being nudged out of the nest by Nana ,i waited a minute or two and noticed Squall was now outside of the nest.
so i went in for a closer look and noticed Nana pulling on Ruby's back and head feathers at the back of the nest box finally coming away with a tiny feather in her mouth Nana must have been trying to get her out too but Ruby didn't want to leave she kept trying to run away from her. So what now do i take away nest box?or do babies go in and out of it for a bit longer?because Squall can't back in without my help.and ruby don't look like she wants to leave,without me taking her out. i temporarily took Nana out again,she actually made Ruby's neck and back bleed from feathers being plucked out so do i take box out and put some shavings in a corner of the cage to keep them warm at night time or give the babies a little step to get back in/out of nest box?or just take box out of cage now. thank you all for any responses


----------



## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

or should i seriously try handfeeding to end all these problems i do have the time to handfeed them and many forums say babies turn out more hand tamed?
what do you think i should do?


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

If you do have the time to hand feed then go ahead and pull them. I started a thread called 'Hand-feeding Chart' which has a chart and some info that may be helpful.

You might want to just change out the bedding in the nestbox because I'm suspecting that Nana may be ready to lay another clutch of eggs soon. That might be part of the plucking...trying to get them to fledge from the box, and also the pauir wanting to go to nest again. it is normal for them to do 2 successive clutches.


----------



## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

i gonna start hand feeding tomorrow where should i put the babies in now?
cage on their own or a big tote container?or do you have any other suggestions?
i think i should start hand feeding tomorrow morning since their crops will be empty by then.what do you think?
also i bought a 5lb bag of kaytee exact formula how long aprox. should it last 2, 3 week-3 1/2 week chicks?just wondering if i should be well off for a bit or need more soon.
thank you for any responses


----------



## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

oh another thought if babies are put in a cage ,should parents be allowed to see them(one cage in front of other or put them side by side with a blanket over each cage 's sides,so they can't see them? im asking so i cAn make this as stress free as possible for all involved
thanks for any help you might be


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Put them in a tote with bedding at the bottom, they won't be able to keep very warm yet. Do they have any feathers yet? If not you can put a light on them or a heating pad around the tote to keep them warm.


----------



## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

yes they are fully feathered(except back of heads due to Nana(mommy bird plucking it out)








at what age do you take them out of tote then to go in cage?
Squall is 3 1/2 weeks old,Ruby is 3 weeks old
thanks again


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

When they start fledging (trying to fly.) Around then they'll be ok to start perching and pecking at seeds and millet. I think its around 4 or 5 weeks old.


----------



## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

well Srtiels(Susanne) you are right once again  
Nana and Cloud mated tonight.
Also Cloud was inside empty nest box tossing shavings around too.
we'll see what happens soon
ty Roxy for the info


----------



## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

by the way Nana was the plucker
but hasn't plucked them since i removed them from the nestbox and in their own tote container,when they are all out together on table with us
plucking is over now.shes being a good mommy and cloud just the babies hed never do anything bad to them
a happy ending


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

She just wanted them out of her box so she could have more babies...basically its like when our parents want us to leave the house and go to college. She decided her babies were ready for birdy college lol.


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

*When they start fledging (trying to fly.)*
*----------------------------------*

LOL...they are cute when they start the flapping. Some beat their wings so hard that any babies near them have to duck down. I had some babies that would stand on a piece of millet in the container, and flap so hard they'd lift up in the air 3-4" with their feet holding the millet like a perch. 

Now that they are wanting to fly, take care to let them flap and *fly first before* you give them formula. The reason why is that if they have a full crop and take off so fast and crash the formula can smush up their neck into their throat and possibly aspirate them and/or cause resporatory problem.


----------



## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

your babies sounded too cute Susanne
Roxy i agree too
how cute they are when they think their flying high holding onto a finger 1/2" above shavings/or table just a flapping away .they frequently beat each other with wings, but they stay still anyways near opposite flapper silly babies:love

now Nana and Cloud have mated 3 times and are back inside nest box as of yesterday
looks like there might be another clutch laid soon possibly  
if they do then thats all for this year for clutches for them.....


----------

