Euro. Goldfinch weird molt - feathers changing color

[alexa_price]

As I have written about before, my European goldfinch (who I believe is a female) has been molting recently. She has been molting since I got her about a month ago, and when I got her she had a tiny bald patch in her red mask next to her right eye. The bald patch has not changed, and she has continued molting pretty heavily. I find several downy feathers lying around in or outside of the cage every day, but luckily her feathers don't seem to be thinning out. She is very active and talkative. However, she seems to be losing some of the red and the black on her face, and those feathers are being replaced with gray ones. What is going on??

[finchmix22]

alexa_price
change in feather coloring can be a sign of malnutrition or if going through a molt and on antibiotics they can temporarily change color. How old is she and what is she eating. Have you treated with antibiotics?

[alexa_price]

Hi Deborah -

She is eating a seed mix that contains grass seed, oats, rapeseed, millet, niger seed, fruits, veggies, and herbs; and that mix has been supplemented with Harrison's Sunshine Factor. I give her (and her cage mate the Gouldian finch) vegetables as well (broccoli, carrots, corn, etc), and have given them hard boiled eggs a few times as well.

Perhaps I should go with even more vegetables, and eggs more often?

I have not been using antibiotics... but I don't know what she was exposed to in her previous aviary situation. I would hope the person who sold her to me would have told me if anything was amiss, but I didn't get any negative information about her. She was the only goldfinch the guy had, and he had actually gotten her from a friend. So, sadly, on that note, I don't actually know how old she is. :/

[alexa_price]

Here is a picture, if that will help anyone:

[jonvill]

she's going through a hard moult. Nothing to be concerned about as long as she behaves and appears healhty. I would add sunflower hearts and hemp seed to the diet. EGF's really benefit from the oily seeds in their diets. Dark leafy greens will help the red mask deepen to a beautiful shade of red if fed through the moult. And offer baths every other day if you can. They love to take baths!