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suefj

Hen Zebra attacking her chest

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I noticed this morning one of my hen zebras more attacking rather than plucking one side of her chest, she has drawn some blood. I have just put all 16 in a new outdoor aviary which has apple branches in it, stone floor with concrete in between the stone slabs. The aviary maker said the wood had been treated with a safe wood treatment. The apple tree has leaves but no fruit. The birds have all lived together so unless it is some kind of stress response to being caught and moved, I can't think what to do. Can anyone advise please?     

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I know this might sound obvious but have you seen other birds doing this to her and then she is trying to tidy her self up. Unfortunately, the sight of blood does seem to make others peck at it more. Mine are usually tails and if there is blood more pile in. Have to separate, wash staining etc. off and let bird rest for a couple of days on it's own.

It might all be down to breeding and nest building so the under dog is plucked for the nesting material.

Hope that helps. 

Andyn

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Thanks Andyn, definitely doing it to herself, I watched for a while to make sure, but panic over. By mid morning she had stopped doing it. It looked like it was an itch that gradually faded - like we would with a stinging nettle or horse fly bite! but this morning all back to normal and I can try to stop feeling guilty about stressing them all out by a big aviary change. Thanks so much though, the info you gave will be useful, I'm sure, for the future.

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