Need Help With My European Goldfinch...Please Help!!

[bylyku888]

I have been keeping a goldfinch for about 4 years.he have been fine till this summer singing and jumping on his cage wood sticks...he began throwing feathers on this molting sesson and still continues to do till now..he doesnt seem to be good..today i found too many big arm feathers on the bottom of his cage i thought any wild bird had attaked him...i dont know too much about birds..i give him mix canary seeds and sunflower seeds to eat and 3-4 days a week green salad and apple pieces...i clean the cage every 2 days and change the water every day,i also give him red pulver (called pastoncine here in my country) for the red color of the mask..recently my cage fell from the wall where i had hanged it..not big distance but he got affraid the first days...then he returned to normal...i always kept him together with a female not in the same cage but the cages near each other for 2 years.this summer the female got out of cage and flew away while i was cleaning her...i think he got stressed because of her abssence.please can anyone give me any advice how to help him stop throwing feathers.does any of the things i mentioned affect on his condition...i keep him together with 2 other male goldfinches and a blue singer canary...

[Sally]

If he is in the same cage with the other birds, could there be some aggression going on?

[bylyku888]

no i keep every bird in a single cage sally

[bylyku888]

i place the cages near each other at my balcony

[Ursula]

I have a European goldfinch too. One year he was molting so much that he was almost unable to fly. (I have a walkin aviary, he's not in a cage.). He was only able to hop from branch to branch. He fully recovered, and I hope that yours will too.

Give him extra protein like eggfood, and maybe some vitamins or feather growing supplements if you can get that.

[bylyku888]

thank you ursula,i haven't give him egg food because i've heard that that the bird might get to fat..anyway ill try it i give him vitamins too.thanks again for the advice...

[jonvill]

My european goldfinch is going through a moult now too. It's much later than usual but everything else seem normal. Just feed him eggfood in small quantites and you won't have to worry about him gaining weight.

[gostokom]

marinate overnight a quarter of onion in 1 liter of water, then serve the solution for 8 to 10 days.

[bugaboo5]

marinate overnight a quarter of onion in 1 liter of water, then serve the solution for 8 to 10 days.

Just for future references for other members who may want to know -- what is this onion solution good for? Is it for molting? For stress? Feather growth?

Also, how long is this solution good for? Do you store this solution in the refrigerator? Or can it be kept at room temperature? Do you serve this solution in addition to their normal water? Or is this solution a replacement for normal water for 8 to 10 days?

Thank you for your help and advice.

[debbie276]

While searching online why you would feed your bird onions I came across many articles like this:
http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-diet-an ... arlic.aspx

Also curious as to what feeding onions benefits.

[gostokom]

Yes, it is preferable to keep the solution in the fridge and offer it to your bird as a normal water, don't worry he will not die of it. Normally, you will stop seeing the feather on the bottom of the cage.

Parrot are not Fringillidae, there beak can tell

[Sally]

From the Finch Information Center, linked at left, onions are one of the foods that are listed as 'safe' but should be used in moderation. I too would be interested in how the onions work to prevent feather loss. There are many homemade remedies that have worked for various breeders for decades--just be aware that most were never scientifically tested. Doesn't necessarily mean they are wrong, just that they haven't been researched. You may notice that rape seed is listed as one of the foods to be offered in moderation, yet rape seed is included in many seed mixes, just in small quantities.

http://www.finchinfo.com/diet/safe_toxi ... _foods.php

"Acorns, lettuce, carrots, rape seed, grape seeds, bananas, spinach, onions, milo, grapes, and raisins have high levels of tannins. (Rhubarb, tea, coffee, and chocolate also contain high levels of tannins but these foods should never be fed to birds anyway as they may be harmful or toxic). Tannins can inhibit digestive enzymes, bind protein, and reduce the bioavailability of vitamin B12 and iron.5 Additionally, at high levels, tannins can cause epithelium and liver damage.5 Tannins (tannic acids) are the chemicals that are responsible for the normal browning of fruits and vegetables that have been bruised or cut. If feeding any of the above-listed "safe" foods that contain tannic acid, only feed them in moderation."