A healthy zebra finch is characterized by the following features: _x000D_
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- Active
- Not puffed up and not panting
- Has good balance and flies well
- Vent area is clean
- Beak is clean and has smooth surface
- Legs are clean and feet are normal
- Seems well nourished
- No plucked areas
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Most of these topics are covered below, so here I will only mention the general rule,_x000D_
that you can check to see if a bird is well nourished by holding it in your hand and_x000D_
feeling the breastbone. If it feels sharp, the bird is not well nourished. It may take_x000D_
some experience to know when the bird is all right, so try to build up your experience by_x000D_
checking this every time you handle a bird.
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