my male finch

Question
hello i wonder if you can help me. its now a week that i have been observing my male zebra finch picking his little bum for the majority of the day sometimes sat the point that bleeds. i thought it was because it was his feathers growing back but i now don't think so!! last time did it so much that become noervous and started breathing heavily. As soon as it got dark he went with the female in the nest to sleep!! i went to work today and i rang a pet shop and they told me it could be a mite inside his buttock? and he is trying to take it out? i try to keep cage always clean? what do you think? and what can i do please? its heartbreaking!!! thanks in advance maria

Answer
I've never heard of a mite in a bird's rear end. It could be feather mites. The best way to check is to look at the state of his wings. If the feathers don't look full and healthy then something is wrong and you probably have feather mites. This is easily remidied with some medicine from www.ladygouldian.com or www.ladygouldianfinch.com.

If it isn't feather mites, try soaking his rear end in warm water (filtered if you can swing it) and keeping him in there. The warm water is often very soothing and may fix the problem.
If this doesn't work take the little guy to a vet and have them take a look at him.