Hi Steve All the advise above sound pretty good. Molting is a good possibility. Also were you there when he caught them. We use a leg catch for our chickens and turkeys when we catch them to sell but the Guineas are a different story. Feathers get left behind every time with them. Another thought besides the molting. possibly lice came with them. Try some Sevin dust especially if there is a lot of the vent and tail fluff showing. If itÂs the actual tail feathers it can still be lice. ItÂs probably pretty cold in NJ and the Rhodes are a heavy bird that will fluctuate a lot in the winter but will continue to lay. After the girls are settled in if they still arenÂt laying as much as you think they should (and remember they will back off substantially in the winter) then try some red pepper flakes sprinkled free choice on their feed ration. It gets the blood moving and warms them up and also helps with internal parasites. Hope you have buyers lined up for the Spring. Mike

Use moving scarecrow type tricks to scare them off. A holographic owl mounted near the Flytraps can scare them as the eyes seem to move. There are hanging hawk cutouts you can get that you can set up on lines that flap their wings in the wind. You might try researching spices and herbs that are distasteful to birds in general and sprinkle them on and around the Flytraps. Birds are scared of loud noises, snakes, cats, dogs, and motion. Use nature or simulations to your advantage to keep the birds away.

I think those are House Finches, Gil. Purple Finches are very red all over including the underside and the back just above the tails and a red wash throughout all the wing streaks. I've read them described as 'the whole bird looks like its been dipped in raspberry juice'. I have 3 males and several females at the moment in my yard and am hoping they stay around. Konrad, I'm fairly certain yours is also a House Finch as well. I find they vary greatly in the amount of red or orange present on the head, neck and breast. I have had a very special visitor the last couple of days - a European Goldfinch. I managed to get some poor quality photos today, mostly so I could ask the experts for ID which I got today. Gonna be trying to get a better photo, but in the meantime, this is what it looks like. Here is a link that might be useful: Photo of European Goldfinch

I'm enjoying so many American gold finches, pine siskins, red polls, house finches, purple finches, warblers, occasional blue jays, woodpeckers, red- and white-breasted nuthatches, and various "visitors" this winter. I feed both black oil sunflower seed and nyjer seed, but in separate feeders. The nyjer is in an "upside down" finch feeder, only the American gold finches can get the seed out, and then only one seed at a time. I certainly cuts down on the waste and the feeder hogs. The other thistle lovers can pick up the dropped seeds from the ground. I offer black oil sunflower seeds in several types of feeders according to the species I'm feeding. It's the favorite seed of nearly all the birds, but certain birds prefer certain types of feeders. I have a large hopper feeder for BOSS, and a smaller one for peanuts (for the chickadee-dee-dees and nuthatches). I also offer BOSS in a tray feeder during the coldest months, and in a mesh feeder that the woodpeckers like. Besides the BOSS, nyjer, and a few shelled peanuts, I offer suet in four different feeders. Woodpeckers don't like to "share" and I found out by setting out more feeders I have many happy woodpeckers.