Blue Gould - dietary needs

twhyde · Post by **twhyde** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:53 am

I have 2 pair of Goulds - one pair has babies fledging now. The other pair is a RH/PB/Blue Back male and the female is a OH/PB/GB. My question is that I have been told the the Blues and Silvers need a source of preformed vitamin A. The breeder I bought them from feeds her Blues seed soaked with wheat germ oil and cod liver oil 1-2 times per week. I have been doing this also but the normal hen seems to eat more of it than the blue male - although he also eats it. Are there any other special needs related to colors that I need to be aware of. This pair is only about 7 months old and will not breed from several more months. They both seem to be doing great. These are my first 2 pair of Goulds and I am just so excited about them and want to know everything I can learn about them. What beautiful birds the Goulds are - read in some article they are God's beautiful Angels and they surely are.

Thanks

bonnies_gouldians · Post by **bonnies_gouldians** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 1:52 am

I don't know enough about the blue/silver back morphs so I don't want to mislead - I am sure you will get some responses from more knowledgeable people than I. Good luck with breeding the pair when they get old enough! All that said, just wanted to welcome you to the forum!!!

B CAMP · Post by **B CAMP** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:20 am

twhyde
Welcome to the forum if you fill in your profile we will know where your at in the world ,sorry I can't help with your question this time but someone will

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:19 pm

Welcome to the forum, Twhyde!

I have blues, a silver and a pastel blue but I don't know that they have any different dietary needs than the normals and yellow Gouldians. I will be following this thread to see what the more experienced Gouldian breeders say about that.

twhyde · Post by **twhyde** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 7:09 pm

Liz:

If you are breeding Blues and Silvers and you are not having any problems then sounds like you are doing the right thing. I have just been doing the soaked seed because the breeder suggested it- and mine seem to be doing fine. The Blue boy is singing already but I do not have a nest in there because they are too young to breed right now.

Thanks for your input.

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 7:23 pm

LOL - I'd love to breed the silver and pastel blue Gouldians (both males) to split to blue females or yellow females - but the males are not interested!! Something is off but I just don't know what! They are all old enough and not too old as they are all around 1 1/2 to 2 years of age.

I give them soak seed too with hardboiled egg and crushed shell, but not with any cod liver oil... yet.

twhyde · Post by **twhyde** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 8:51 pm

The lady I bought my Blue male and OH female from had raised 16 or 17 babies from the parents of the Blue. Some were blues and some were split to blue. She said a lot of people do not have success with Blues and she feels like it is because they need the wheat germ oil and the cod liver oil for something?????can't remember the reason. I bought the blue from her because of the success with this particular breeding - I thought the chances would be greater for success with birds coming from successful parents....especially the Blues.

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 8:58 pm

Well good luck with yours and do keep us posted on their progress when you set them up for breeding.

Can you tell me how much wheat germ oil and cod liver oil you mix with how much soak seed? I know others on here mentioned the cod liver oil too and I may have to try them both. Can't hurt at this point!

twhyde · Post by **twhyde** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:12 pm

Well.....I just have 2 pair of Goulds and just the 1 Blue male. But, what I do is put about 3-4 tablespoons of seed in a cup and just a few drops (5-7 drops) of wheat germ oil and the same number of drops of cod liver oil and mix really well. You will see it get oily as you mix it. You can get the cod liver oil at Walgreens and it is cherry flavor. Then I put it in the fridge overnight and feed half to them one day and the rest the next day -it should be kept in the fridge until used. They really do love it.

The lady I bought the Blue from gave me this mixture:
6 cups of seed
1 Tablespoon of cod liver oil (For D3 & A)
1 Tablespoon of wheat germ oil (For vitamin E and preserving)

Feed once or twice per week.

I just tried to adjust to the small amount that I need. Instead of feeding twice per week I just feed 2 days in a row.

Terry

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:18 pm

Thanks muchly Terry! For my soak seed I put about 1 cup of soak seed in 1-1/2 cups of water plus 1 tsp cider vinegar and let soak on the counter for 12 - 24 hours. Then I rinse really really well with fresh water and get just about all the water out (so the sieve does not drip any longer). I also have hardboiled egg w/shell that I process for a couple of seconds and mix that with the well drained soak seed. All the finches dive into that every morning.

I'm going to try your mixture as well this weekend. How long can yours be left in the cages? Will it go "off" after a few hours?

twhyde · Post by **twhyde** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:23 pm

It does not go off after a few hours. I leave it in there from the morning until I get home from work - at that time I take it out and put fresh back the next morning. So far so good this way.

Good Luck and let me know how your Blues and Silvers do - I LOVE them and hope to breed some later.

I am also hoping to get a yellow or maybe 2 from this same breeder that have the red line on the chest....they are just wonderful looking. I saw them when I was there to buy my blue and his mate. Have you seen that?

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:39 pm

Yes I've seen that - my daughter has one with the red line - truley awesome. I have a couple of yellow males (one single factor and one double factor but both white breasted). Hoping for a dilute youngster with a purple breast and an orange head! LOL Dreams...

Good luck to you too!

BirdCrazy · Post by **BirdCrazy** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 10:08 pm

I haven't heard of these Goulds with the red line. Do either of you have a picture of one or have a link to one? I would love to see what you mean. They sound very interesting.

twhyde · Post by **twhyde** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 11:16 pm

I don't know how to post a link - but if you go to Delmar Gouldian and look in the gallery there are several photos of yellows with red lines on the chest.....On page 3 you will find 2 or 3.

Hope you find them - they are beautiful - I have seen them in person.

Terry

bonnies_gouldians · Post by **bonnies_gouldians** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 1:39 am

Beautiful birds! I love the red lines on them, it looks absolutely fabulous!!!