Gouldian Face Feathers

[Paul's Amazing Birds]

I'm fairly new to Gouldians with only a few years experience with this particular species. Last month I acquired 3 pair of Goulds from a collector with a impeccably clean display spaces. Several of these birds appeared to be finishing their molt with some balding around the eyes. One pair set up a nest almost immediately and they already have 2 babies close to leaving the nest now. Both parents (OF and RF) still have this balding condition although it seems to be improving some... so my question is: what is the cause of this balding around the eyes and is there anything I should be doing about it. No evidence of mites.
Also on another subject, I would like to know if there is a way to know if your birds are split to blue or not. I was told that this pair is split and their babies could be blue.

[lovezebs]

Hello.

I would check with debbie276 , and see if she has any suggestions.
I know that some birds get stuck in molt, and you have to wait until the following molt, to get new feather growth. Not sure however if that's the case here.

Good luck

[debbie276]

Balding can be caused by several things such as stress, hormonal imbalance, plucking and/or parasites just to name a few. In gouldians you usually have to wait till the next molt for the feathers to fill in.
If your RH and YH just finished their molt there should be no balding. I'd be interested in seeing a picture once your able.

Unfortunately there is no way to know if gouldians are split to Blue visually.

good luck and welcome to the forum

[Sally]

You've gotten good advice already, but I wanted to welcome you to the forum! There's lots of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on finch keeping, especially the Gouldian finch.