FINCHforum

I've been reading on here to see if I could find this help before posting. But the few things I read, haven't worked for my stubborn Gouldy's SO..... Any ideas on how to get my gouldy's to eat veggies. I know they are still new to me, and getting used to things. I had them a month on 5/12. I have tried to put veggies in the cage, in ALL different places, on the cage floor (which they won't, i mean WILL NOT go to) on a shelf I put up a little closer to the top of the cage where their favorit perch is, again they won't go near the shelf. I have hung it from the top of the cage through the bars and they will nibble at the fake greens I have but not the real food, I've put it in one of those "salad" feeders with the spaces that hangs on the side of the cage, and i've also tried putting it in a cuttlebone/millet holder... NOTHING. Anyone have ANY ideas on how I can get my gould's to eat greens. The breeder I got them from didn't feed them veggies... so, they are not having what I'm trying to give them... If they would land on the bottom I'd say i'll just hide it in millet, but they wont' land on the bottom of the cage...so any thoughts, or any ideas on supplements, where they AREN'T getting the vitamins from veggies? They are moulting right now, so that is why I am concerned. I want them to have the BEST available diet, at the lowest stresss (ie, i don't want to change their cage until molt is done, etc) Any advice? Thanks everyone!!!
BTW, the greens i've tried are Cucumber, Romaine Lettuce, Kale, and I've even tried apple... anything besides Seed... (however they do eat egg food, and sprouted seed thank god)

Sorry, i didn't mean "anything besides seed" i should have said anything PLUS the seed. I give them a really good seed mix, a high fats one for their molt with the darky oily seeds mixed in with a store mix that has added vitamins (Vita Seed I think) and as all birds they gobble it up, leaving whatever they DON'T want. So I didn't mean i don't want them eating seed,I meant in addtion to the seed! Thanks!

You can cut the veg's very fine & mix it in w/their egg food.
Try grating them on a very fine grater.
Do you feed them raw or cooked? If raw, might nuke them a bit to make them softer.
If they haven't been exposed to veggies, it may take them a while to learn. Mine are not veggie crazy. Romaine every day though.
Good luck; don't despair.

I agree with Dolly, it may take quite a while for them to try new things. In the meantime hard boiled eggs she'll and all will give them all they need during a molt.

Best of luck

thank you my two resident EXPERTS!!! don't know what i'd do without you all!!! I just got a GOOD look at them yesterday, and my heart just dropped.... it's wierd though cuz a lot of people tell me that the molt can be dangerous for goulds, and they act different. Mine are as active as can be, eating GREAT, and hopping/flying around. Also, to encourage them to bathe I put a heat lamp on one side of the cage... and boy did they LOVE that!!! (New England weather, it went from 80's which i think started the molt for them the hot humid weather) to the 50's, so it was a little cooler yesterday) so i put the heat lamp, and they did that funny neck thing, where they turn their neck and just BASK in the rays... it was so cute!! So they liked that. It's funny cuz when I give them the UV lightbulb (once the initial TERROR they have when they see it passes! LOL) it's as if they know that it is UV and good for them cuz they sit under that light for as long as i have it on them! Anyhow, i ramble...as usual. Thanks again my Gouldy Guru's!!!

lnlovesorange

So it is the Gouldians moulting.
All as I can do, is tell you what works for my guys
A warm lamp, a small space heater, to bring the temp in the room up to around 23-25c, and all the good food that you can get them tp eat.

My guys, start out looking like scruffy sparrows, then it gets worse, all fluffed and puffed up under the heat lamp. Then, slowly you can see brighter colours coming through and those ugly old grayish feathers start coming out. Then, you get the porcupine/pin cushion look. Then, just when you're ready to give up and throw in the towel you wake up one day, and they are GORGEOUS again .

~Elana~

lnlovesorange
From what I have read about moulting protein is the really big thing. Moulting actually uses more protein than egg laying. The feathers are mostly keratin which is a protein. So I agree with the others - egg food and do your best with the vegs.

One thing that has helped me to get my gouldians to eat their vegies is I introduced a society finch or a zebra finch into their flight. Either one of those two finches are usually very open to trying new foods and generally love veggies and fruit, and they will show the gouldians that it is good food and eventually the gouldians will start to eat their veggies.

lovezebs What is 23-25c in Farenheit? I do have a heat lamp and a UVA UVB lamp. Which doesn't give off much heat, but it's funny, the birds seem to "know" it's good for them, cuz although when I pull it out, they FREAK out, cuz they are petrified, once it's clamped onto their cage, they stay right under it!!! Lol, silly birds. Yeah, I think only 2 of my Goulds are molting, the other one (Ren, my hoppity one footer!) doesn't seem to have any white spots, or gray, or any balding areas, but the other two.. ugh I just fell horrible! One of them (Finn) has a complete Pin Cushion Face... poor little guy. I put the heat lamp on them when I went home for lunch, and Finn is at the very highest point of the perch (it's a manzanita, so there's like 3 separate branches) and looking right into the heat lamp eyes shut, just soaking in the heat on his poor face!!! I feel like a bath would help them too, but they just won't take a bath... it's so wierd cuz my zebras would KILL me if I didn't let them bathe everyday, and these birds won't go near the water... But the breeder told me they bathed fine with her? I'm changing their cage once their moult is over... hopefully a shorter cage so that they will go to the bottom will allow them to bathe more comfortably. Sorry if this is a repeat.... But thanks Elana for the info, I read your post and went right home to put the heat lamp on them, I, and they appreciate it!!!!