FINCHforum

Is it normal for gouldian chicks to start molting just a little bit over two months? My two gouldian chicks hatched October 23. They have started to molt and its only the end of December. I thought gouldian juveniles didn't start molting around 4 months? Any feed back is welcomed. I have a bh pb bb male juvenile and the other is a bh pb gb female (I'm pretty sure). The parents were bh pb gb/bb.

I apologize for the blurry picture. But if you look at it closely the purple has just started to come in the chest. There is some black starting around the lower face and like a light blue pin feather on the neck.

It's not too uncommon to start seeing a few patches come in at that time. The full heavy molting may still be several weeks away. I've had some gouldians have these small patches for months without completing their full molt for another couple months. In my limited experience, I've found my hens to be completely finished within 4 month and my males take a bit longer.

I agree with Brian, not uncommon.
good looking bird

I've had gouldian babies that will start to get little blurbs of color on their face or chest but take much longer to fully color in.

Out of 9 babies we had in July, all are fully colored now except for two holdouts - one male, one female. One has a big splash of bright purple on the chest. The other looks like it hasn't started coloring at all. Not sure what to do. I have them separated by sexes, have been giving Feather Fast regularly plus a good diet.

Thanks everyone for your advice/help. I feel a lot better knowing this is common.

Debbie...thanks for the compliment. He's my first clutch and surprise blue gouldian. I'm looking forward to him molting into his adult feathers.