Two males sharing nest and bald spot back of head

[GouldieFledge]

I recently introduced nests to my gouldians. However I keep finding the two males hanging out in the nests together! Does that happen?

1 female has shown interest in the nests and I believe may have mated with 1 of the males, but the other female has zero interest. At other times, 1 of the males (the one that I believe mated) will not allow the female into any of the nests.

Side note: said female has a bald spot on the back of her head that was not there before. Could this be from the male being overly aggressive while mating? She is acting perfectly fine.

[debbie276]

Gouldians don't normally even look at nests unless they are ready to breed. The males will add nesting material and entice the hen in to mate. Each male should pick a nest and protect it from intruders, not share
The mating should not cause bald spots on the hen. Sounds like they are not all in breeding mode. You should have more nests then pairs available. If there is bickering you'll need to set up perches so that they can get away from each other.
How large is the cage you have them in? How many total birds are in this cage? How many nests? Are you offering high protein food like hard boiled eggs? How old are the birds, is this their first time breeding?

[GouldieFledge]

debbie276

Yes, they are new to this, it 4 birds. They males were new and in a cage with a divider so they could acclimate to one another for a month, then I finally decided to remove it when I found the 4 of them courting each other at the center of the divider and the females' beaks had darkened up.

The final girl popped into a nest today to check it out! That was good to see. Her beak has darkened, but not quite as intensely as my WB so she probably does need more time.

The cage is 60x18x36, and there are 4 nests: 2 wicker/bamboos, 2 box-style and an extra wicker on deck if I feel it's needed. At first, the male was into the furthest basket on the right, and started building that one up steadily and protecting it. Then I added the box-styles the next day and after a few days, they started really warming up to the box to the left of the originally-picked basket and that's where I am always finding the boys hanging out now. He's built up this box one nicely inside. I even heard him start singing as he entered with the other male already in there today! The other male spends a lot of time just hanging out in the nest, way moreso than anyone else. They also were briefly into the other wicker and started building that nest up for a few days, but then it seems that they pulled out all the nesting material and haven't shown too much interest in it since. The one male that is more dominate is the nest-builder, I don't think I've really seen the other male actively building. But HE is the male that sings alllll day long, the other male not quite as much which seems to make his song more enticing to the ladies.

I think (?) I have enough perches and branches to give everyone space to feel comfortable and enough foliage for hiding spots/privacy, but I'll attach a picture so you can tell me for sure. Not sure of ages, girls I've had about a year and males about 2 months, and all four were colored up when I purchased them.

They are getting boiled egg-eggfood 3-4 times per week now and have access to Miracle Meal 24/7. My girls would never touch anything I gave them other than seed and millet until the boys came along, as they loved what I gave them and it taught the girls--now they immediately go nuts as soon as the plate is down in the cage, which is really nice to see. They've all had great appetites. They girls are pecking away at Bloomford/F-Vite mix w/eggshells, they all love herb salad, and they eat their vegetables now that I've learned they like it chopped up and semi-mixed into a side portion of their eggfood.

[debbie276]

Sounds like a great set-up, they may just need a bit more time to get it together.
Would love to see any pictures you have of the cage and birds.

best of luck

[GouldieFledge]

debbie276

Oops! Haha, I guess that's what happens when you stay up all night reading bird articles. I attached the photos.

Sadly today my WB does not look good. I noticed this morning she was hanging out by the heat lamp and she is puffy and trying to rest. I have a heater going on the side of the cage by the lamp, I think I should probably move her to a hospital cage later today if she's still lethargic. You can see in the pictures, she is definitely looking ill.

[GouldieFledge]

one more

[debbie276]

Very nice set-up!
Poor bird does look under the weather
Good luck

[SocietyBird]

Oh what a gorgeous set up! I hope your little lady gets feeling better soon.

[GouldieFledge]

thank you!! She seems fine again now, but definitely has those balding patches on the back of her head...mystery goes on.

[Sam007]

What a beautiful set up you have created! Your birds look beautiful. Good to know that your WB is fine now!

[GouldieFledge]

Sam007, thank you very much! Yep, she's peppy as ever!