Newbie question - first moult ??

[RaineWaters]

Hi everyone,

We're first time finch owners and I'm hoping to get a bit of advice about the possible cause of a deterioration in the appearance of our female Cordon Bleu.

We have a M/F pair, purchased at the end of November with the seller stating they were about 2 mths old at that time.

We've just come back from a week away (Tues to today) and a relative has been staying to look after the fur and feather babies. Just before we went away we noticed the female seemed to look a little disheveled occasionally - a few feathers out of place rather than her normal smooth, preened appearance. Her overall behaviour appeared as normal so we weren't worried.

We've arrived home today to find her appearance to be quite noticeably "ratty" looking - feathers on her head and face look to be missing and on her breast she appears to have discolouration/patchiness - although this could also be also be more missing feathers. Again, her behaviour appears as normal, she's preening, singing, bouncing & fluttering around.

After a bit of research we're thinking she could possibly be moulting ? From what I read she seems to be within the age range for her first moult.

I've attached a pic to give an idea of her general appearance and I'm hoping someone with more experience may be able to confirm if this is just a case of first moult or whether there may be something more concerning going on. Pic not the best sorry, hard to get her to stay still for long!

Cheers guys, any info or advice will be greatly appreciated.

[Sally]

It very well could be just the first molt. Are these siblings? The reason I ask is that often when a pair are the same age, they are brother/sister. Is the male molting at all? How are his feathers? Waxbills don't tend to do a dramatic molt like the Gouldians do, but that first molt is the big one for them. She looks like a Red-cheeked Cordon Bleu hen. Another possibility is that they are becoming sexually mature, and he has been mating with her.

Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at http://www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on housing, diet, breeding, and especially the Cordon Bleu. If you put your general location in your profile, it makes it easier to answer locale-specific questions later on.

[RaineWaters]

Hi Sally,

Thank you for the fast reply !!

Thank you also for the welcome and the profile tip. We're in Brisbane, Australia ... I'll get the profile updated ASAP.

To answer your specific questions -

They are not related according to the breeder, they're from different clutches but are apparently similar ages.

The male appears fine - smooth and preened - keeping an eye on him though !!

The breeder did not specify a type of cordon bleu. From their appearance and the research we've done we believe them to be blue breasted variety.

The male has been holding up the feathers we've provided and bouncing/singing. We've not seen anything to suggest his efforts have paid off though and we're also not seeing a nest being built. We have provided a cane 'nest' for them but we don't have a nesting box. We've also been providing feathers, grasses and coconut husks.

Cheers
Raine.

[Sally]

I'd give her some extra protein to help with the feathers, and daily baths for conditioning. Egg food is the best source of protein IMO, but it may also trigger breeding--great if you want babies, not so good if you aren't interested in breeding. I love the Cordon Bleus, would love to see a photo of your male.