FINCHforum

Hi all,

I rescued a hen Gouldian over the weekend, and shes very ratty, to say the least.

She has virtually no feathers on her head, around her neck and the rest are ratty. She also has a lump of feathers on her back making her look more Vulture like.

Ive given her charcole (should she need it) Vitamins, millet, cuttle fish, oyster shell (crushed) and I hope this will help her. She seems livley enough, but Im wondering what could be wrong????

The place she came from was a shed, with a strip light, lots of cages on each side, very hot and no natural light. So basically a box!!! Poor thing.

Can anyone give me advice on what else to do for her and do you think her feathers will come back???

Pics to follow

I would start with a good seed mix and a nice quiet area to rest and get used to her new surroundings. If she seems cold a heat lamp would be good. I'd also offer hard boiled eggs mashed up with a fork. Try not to add too many things to the egg so that you don't dilute the protein value.
Once she molts again she should regrow her feathers.

She does not look too bad. Perhaps she is moulting.

I'd let her settle in for a few days, then give her a basic quarantine proceedure.
You can search this site for various proceedures and meds that people use.

Just make sure she has access to warmth, good food and clean water.
She'll look fabulous by the next time she moults out.

I will give her some mashed boiled egg and leave her to settle. Im glad shes not as bad as I thought!! Thank you for all your advice.. I will go through the quarantine proceedures too.

Looks like hormonal feather loss. Maybe the person overbred the hen... or didn't allow her to breed at all... hen's hormones can get wacky. Lack of iodine and the effects it has. Here are some articles to help you understand better. So good of you to want to help her

http://ladygouldian.com/content/why-my-gouldian-bald

http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/features_balding2.php

http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/features_balding.php

http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/featur ... uldian.php