FINCHforum

I have a pair of European goldfinches and they look 'scruffy' to me. The small red feathers around their heads look patchy and have for a while (so I do not think it is molting) I am wondering if I am giving them the correct diet, or if something important may be missing and causing their unkempt appearance. I feed them plain nyger, plus two different seed mixes - both from ABBA seed company (1800 Canary and Finch treat as well as 3800 Ultimate Carduelan Finch Food (the ingredient lists are VERY long for both - they include various seeds, grains, mollusk shell, vitamins, dried veggies and so on). I also give them various fresh greens daily (dandelion greens, broccoli, kale, chili peppers, etc.) What do other people give their goldfinches? I do not give them live food ...should I be? And if so, what? Could their diet be affecting their appearance?

Any information would be helpful as I cannot find much information on Euro Goldfinches!

I have not had Goldfinches, but I seem to remember someone saying one time that Blattners makes a really good food for them. You might try googling that and see if it leads anywhere.

Hi, how are your goldfinches coming along?
Where are you located?

jonvill wrote:Hi, how are your goldfinches coming along?
Where are you located?

I am located in St. Paul, MN, USA. They seem to look a little better...but their heads are still light orange (not vivid red). Their body feathers look healthy anyway. I feed them the Euro Goldfinch 3800 Blend from Abba Seed company - ingredients listed in this link:
http://www.abbaseed.com/Seed_Products/M ... /3800.html

Originally I was replacing the uneaten seed often (as I'm always afraid they will starve themselves if they do not like what is left in their dish). I started to hold out a little longer before replenishing their seed supply lately since they firstly pick out all of the thistle...I suspect they were eating ONLY thistle and discarding the rest!

I would still love to get some advice on what people consider to be the 'perfect' European goldfinch diet. For example, should I be feeding live food? If so, what and how often. Should I be supplementing their diet with any sort of vitamins and/or minerals? Or is my Abba seed blend (along with veggies of course!) all that they need? All information is greatly appreciated!!

These are the guys to ask....Lots of expert breeders on here.

http://www.british-birds-in-aviculture. ... portal.php

That is a great group Pooh. There is also a group on Yahoo:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/EuropeanGoldFinch/
They deal specifically with EU Goldfinches.
The best diet is Blattner's Goldfinch mix.
Unfortunately, it is no longer imported into the US.
The red feathers on the mask of the goldfinch are molted out in late summer early fall and new ones grow in just in time for winter. The color is due to the diet the birds get and it is also an indication of general health.
Dandelion greens are very high in carotinoids that the birds use to color their feathers. Carrots, kale, collard greens, red pepper and paprika also influence the color. I give my birds Blattner's mix but I will soon run out.
I haven't found a subsitute at this time. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I have bred these birds before.
Do you have a pair?
Best of luck with your birds.
John

Since you are using ABBA products you may try the egg food for RED birds. It contains canthaxin...same stuff that gives red factor canaries thier super red color. In the wild the birds eat diets that are different than caged diets (though ABBA does it best) Any finches that can produce red coloration will bennifit from color feeding. There are also products to mix in the water but in the past I found these to be expensive and messy.
Those that have strawberries may try this as well, you must feed them before the molt as to influence the plumage.
Flamingos get thier red and pink colors from a shellfish and algaes that they eat.... Those kept in zoos and not provided with colorfoods molt out to be white

Cantaxathin will change the gold color bars on the wings to orange.
If you feed your birds a healthy diets with greens everyday they will have bright red masks naturally.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I've just joined those forums and will ask my questions there as well! My main concern is that they are healthy, not to achieve a redder coloring (however that would be a bonus.) If the degree of redness is indicative of their health, then I want them to be red...otherwise I just am after healthy birds!

Yes, I have a pair. One (the male, Rudy) was a rescue from a pet shop. He was in a 12" x 12" x 12" cage on a back shelf! The other I bought from a breeder to be his companion (Trudie, the female). Her head has always been more orange than red. I think she was young when we got her.

I'm still curious about what live food to feed, if any? How often? Also, does the Abba blend seem like a good diet for them?

Thanks!

jonvill wrote:That is a great group Pooh. There is also a group on Yahoo:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/EuropeanGoldFinch/
They deal specifically with EU Goldfinches.
The best diet is Blattner's Goldfinch mix.
Unfortunately, it is no longer imported into the US.
The red feathers on the mask of the goldfinch are molted out in late summer early fall and new ones grow in just in time for winter. The color is due to the diet the birds get and it is also an indication of general health.
Dandelion greens are very high in carotinoids that the birds use to color their feathers. Carrots, kale, collard greens, red pepper and paprika also influence the color. I give my birds Blattner's mix but I will soon run out.
I haven't found a subsitute at this time. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I have bred these birds before.
Do you have a pair?
Best of luck with your birds.
John

Live food is not really necessary with these birds. I have done both and did not see a difference. When breeding you could feed mealworms.
As long as you give eggfood, sprouted seeds, greens and other vegetables they will be fine.
Here is an Italian site for you to visit: http://www.cardellino.it/
Notice the different mutations available in Europe!

First of all your bird will never have again the same red like the one on the wild, it is orange now because they need vitamine D wich is the sun and also changing the food you are giving them on this season, by adding to pure canary seeds about 50% flaxseed "omega3" to help them to build the feahers and have nice color. lettle sesam seed, anais seed...or offer them the bltner in small cup once or twice a week. with 20cl of appel cider in one letter of watter once a week to prevent coccidiosis caused by a diet too rich, alot of tistel seed also start the molting on them because we found the tistel seed on the end of august wich mean the end of the summer!!!! the baltner are more for birds in aviary because they will lose all this energie flying, your birds if they are in small cage they will not need all this niger seed instead they are outside. the european goldfinch are very senssible not like other birds, just by changing them the food they can stress and molt, by changing them the place everytime, if they are in a dark place...they can molt

but you have not to worry about your goldfinch, it is normal for them to be molting on this season. if you have the s.s.britanica one (australia) In the wild, they moult in early July or early August to finish in mid October. Juveniles make a moult postjuvenile, but some make a complete moult for those born early in the breeding season.
but like you know the Australian seasons are reversed compared to those of the Northern Hemisphere. so it will take them time to adabt.

If they are from spain, in the wild, they breeds from April to August in Spain. In Algeria in February and March see until August following the mild climate. they moult in late July to finish in mid October for adults, mainly at levels remigis and tail. Juveniles make a moult almost complete.

Toufik
St Cloud/MN

we start adding the life food on april so they can be in condition and rise the babies.. but it is not an obligation.

Hi,
The european goldfinches not like the canaries or other finches;
european goldfinches need more seeds,more greens,more live foods

they love saffflower,thistle,sunflower,niger,hempseed,teasel,dandelion,d-a-n-d-e-l-i-o-n verymuch....
millet,cereal seeds,canary mix seeds,wild bird mix seeds,lettuce seed...

they love greensfoods :
broccoli,lettuce,spanich,dandelion,dandelion,dandelion,carrot,
kale....
everyday greens ...yes please everyday..

thistle,groundsel,agrimony,plantain,ragwort,hawthorn,clematis,cardoon,knapweed........

elm tree,birch,plane-tree,pine,alder,mountain-ash :they love their buds,seeds,fruits....

they need and enjoy during breding live foods :
mealworms,fruit fly larvaes,bugs,fly,sawfly,moths,spider,aphids,
beetles for example :sunflower headclipping weevil,sunflower beetle,sunflower maggots,sunflower seed flower,sunflower stem weevil.........
ants,ant eggs and larvaes........

egg food very important
soft food
sprouted,germinated,soaked seeds

and : spirulina.....

fresh water..
fresh air..
big cage or aviary

goldfinches not like canaries......
goldfinches need all these things ..

I am sorry for my bad telling because of my bad english

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About red face mask : ?
in captivity its too diffucult to keep the same bright red...

in the wild:

in the wild european goldfinches have bright red color
even the females :


as soon as you catch an european goldfinch from the wild , its colors suddenly change ;its colors get duller .
as soon as you handle it :may be you can not feel it.
espicially in their moulting season you will see the big difeerence:
in capivity :




batuhan

Hi,
But ;if during molting ,if you feed them the foods are rich in likopen -capsentine-capsorubin);
like dog-rose(rosa canina),tomato,pomegranate,red pepper-cayenne paprika(capsantine-capsorubin): mix them in a blender and add in to birds egg food with beta caroten and with spirulina .during this period give to the birds fatty seeds.

then may be like this in captivity:


photos by batuhan

in additional :fresh air ,fresh water, sun-light:(vit.D3)(half of the cage-aviary),day-light,never handle,big cage or aviary,rich foods...

batuhan