Gouldian Babies

[ahoang25]

I brought 2 blue back gouldian babies last week, March 11, 2010. They were 3 months old. I put them in a breeding cage in my living. One of my blue back gouldian passed away today. I am so sadden and disappointed. I dont have any idea why one of the baby died. I fed them spray millets, mixed seed, lettuce, and vegetables.

Any idea why my baby blue back gouldian died?

Thanks,

Anthony

[ac12]

More info please:

- room
- - climate
- - temp
- - location of cage in the room
- - foot traffic pattern relative to the cage
- - room lighting schedule
- any other pets? dogs, cats, etc.
- do you have any kids
- - do they leave the birds alone, or do they play w the birds?
- where did you get the birds from (store, birdmart, private breeder, etc)?
- describe what you did to and for the birds when you brought it home
- what kind of behavior of the bird prior to it dying?
- food
- - were they eating?
- - how much of the millet did they eat compared to the seeds?
- - do you feed them any egg?
- - do you give them any vitamins?
- - did you SEE both of them drinking water?

A few thoughts:
- Bringing chicks home can be stressful on the chick. 3 months is pretty young to be selling a chick.
- You want their first few days to be as peaceful and calm as possible, to minimize their stress level.
- They need to eat and drink. If you provide different food than they are used to, they "may" not eat, and will starve. Some gouldians are REAL fussy.

Did you contact the person you bought the birds from?

[ahoang25]

My baby gouldians were kept in a corner of the living room. The temperature throughout the room was 71 degree F. I only used a heat lamp during the day time. The lamp was placed a feet or more away from them to keep them warm and prevent excessive heating.

We dont have any pets. My little daughter just watches the birds from time to time. She does not touch or bother them at all. I fed them spray millets, mixed seeds, lettuce, and vegetable everyday. Also change the drinking water as well.

The babies are 3 months old. I got them from a hobby finch breeder. I contacted her and told her about my dead finch and she said that none of her other baby finches that she sold had any issues. She does not understand why mine die.

Anthony

[Sally]

I'm so sorry you lost your finch--it is very frustrating to lose a new bird, as you don't really know its history. It could certainly be stress-related due to the bird being so young. They are more fragile at this age, they haven't even gone thru their molt yet. Was water provided in a dish? Often, when the water is in a container like a tube and they aren't used to it, they don't drink.

[ahoang25]

Water and foods were provided. I kept a close eye on them everday because they were my favorite gouldian finches. I saw them eat and drink all the time. Could it be the temperature in the living room? The temperature is set at 71 degrees F. I only used the heat lamp in the day time.

Anthony

[CandoAviary]

It is really tough when you buy birds this young. The breeder should not be selling them until they have moulted completely. They are so fragile at 3 months old
Also, if you were feeding iceberg lettuse or they ate too many veggies this could of cause deadly diarreah, especially if they were not use to it. Also if some of the veggies spoiled in the cage before you could remove any uneaten portions this many times will result in infections that can kill quickly.
Also the stress and temperature changes can be hazzardous. If you buy young again keep even warmer and feed what the breeder has been feeding. do not change the diet until the bird has adjusted to it's new enviroment..then change/add to the diet gradually.
Sorry that you lost your pet.

[ahoang25]

I fed them green lettuce, along with other foods. The breeder fed them the same foods except for veggies. I changed the foods and water on a daily basis and made sure the veggies were well washed.

The baby gouldians were in the process of molting. The breeder replied with the second email stating that I should have the heat lamp all day and night during the molting process. This goes for all finches, young and adult. Is she right about this?

Anthony

[CandoAviary]

I personally keep the room where my grow out chicks/moulting chicks are at 75 and up. If one looks a little fluffed I will put it in a cage with a heat light where it can move towards it or away form it as they feel. Too bad the breeder didn't tell you about keeping the light on for 24 hours before now. But if they sold young goulds to an inexperienced keeper without more information then I would have to wonder about the motive for the sell.
Sorry again for your loss. Hopefully you will not become overly dissapointed and will go on to reseach more on acclimating a new bird gradually to your home. Introducing new foods, signs to look for when a finch is stressed or ill.
Then buy an older bird from a more connected breeder and ask more questions from them before you take the birds home. Again, sorry for this tuff lesson

[ac12]

Put the lamp RIGHT UP AGAINST THE CAGE. The bird can move farther or closer to the lamp to get the amount of heat it wants. Tricky part is w multiple birds, one bird might be blocking the light from the other bird, so you have to position the light to hit the perch at right angle, then both birds can get the warmth from the lamp. I use a 40 or 60 watt lamp.

Put another perch away from the lamp and maybe w a visual block, so the bird can sleep w/o the light if it wants to.

With a heat source, they will need more water than usual, so you really have to pay attention that they have water.

The other thing, is to check the seeds. It is very deceptive. The birds may leave seed hulls on top of the seeds. And this looks like their seeds are full, when in fact it is full of eaten seeds.

[L in Ontario]

I'm very sorry for your loss of the Gouldian baby. If you bought it and it was already moulting - the stress of moulting plus moving could certainly be too much for them.

Perhaps get one that is fully coloured next time with no pin feathers. I'm so sorry - it's always hard to loose one.

[MLaRue]

I'm sorry for your loss

In my opinion you shouldn't have to supply heat like you are doing or the breeder is doing. I don't offer any heat lamps for mine ever and they do just fine in a range of 65 to 70 during the winter. This is also if any are molting.

Are you offering any additional protein sources or vitamins for their molt? They will need more protein to molt then normal. Giving them an eggfood that you prepare from a hard boiled egg or a commercial eggfood is necessary for the protein they need while molting.

The breeder selling the babies at 3 months is reckless in my opinion. The birds are just barely weaned at 3 months.