Female Gouldian's bald head

[Gouldian lover]

Hello: I've enjoyed all the information and tips I've found on your great site. My husband and I have fed the birds outside and fell in love with the Goldfinches. When I saw the Lady Gouldians I knew we needed a couple inside. I purchased three male Gouldian brothers, identical except one has a yellowish beak while the other two have red. They are perfect! Our daughter saw how much we loved the brothers and brought a pair of Gouldians, a black face female and a red faced male. This single female everyone is in love with and she had a bald spot when she arrived and it is slowly getting larger. None of the others have "caught" anything from her and the skin looks ok, she is a good eater and acts fine. I have done some reading but can't put a finger on this problem. Could you folks shed some light on this and maybe I could get her off the bald list. Thanks for your help.

Gouldian Lover

[lovezebs]

Gouldian lover

Hello and welcome to the Forum.
There are many Gouldian lovers on this forum, myself included, so you should feel right at home.

Regarding your question.
The first thing, is to make certain that she's not being plucked by one of her cage mates.
Next you need to look at the diet carefull, are your birds getting everything that they need nutritionally.

A good quality finch/Canary seed mix
Sprouted seeds
Hard boiled egg food
Lots of vegetables and some fruits
Kale
Spinach
Broccoli
Cucumber
Romaine
Beet greens
Carrot greens
Grated carrots
Corn
Parsley
Red Swiss chard, etc.
Also:
Chopped apple
Mandarine orange
Chpped grapes

Gouldians (as well as other species) love fresh foods

Along with that, I offer a mixture of fortified grit, mixed with grated cuttle bone, crushed egg shells, grated mineral block, AND grated iodine block.

Although all of the above mentioned are important, I do mention 'iodine block' especially, because at times, birds will go bald, due to lack of it in their diets. I don't add liquid iodine to their water, because it's too easy to overdose, doing more harm than good. However, with the grated iodine block in their grit mix, they can take as much as they feel a need for.

It might take untill her next molt, but hopefully her pretty feathers will grow back.

Good luck.

~Elana~

[Sally]

Elana has already covered your questions, 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 care, nutrition, and especially the Gouldian finch. If you put your general location in your profile, it makes it easier to answer locale-specific questions later on.

[MiaCarter]

lovezebs has it covered very nicely!

The only thing I would add is that kelp is a natural source of iodine which is vital for gouldians to avoid balding. I simply sprinkle it over their egg and they eat it right up.

Elana covered all of the food essentials.
I made up a printable list of safe and dangerous foods for finches and other birds. So you can pop it up onto your fridge for easy reference.
http://www.petfinchfacts.com/finch-diet ... for-birds/

And as an aside, the male with the yellowish beak may actually have an orange-headed gene! That's a marker for the orange-head gene. So good to keep that in mind if you ever decide to breed!

[debbie276]

Mia is right, your yellow tipped beak is genetically a Yellow Head but can't express it because he has no Red Head gene.
I would definitely consider that one of the males may be plunking the hen. You may want to rule out mites also with a mite spray. Other then that I would just supply good seed, hard boiled eggs and other goodies. I would caution against supplementing too much with iodine which can be worse then a deficiency. Iodine is not the most common reason for balding. The feathers may not grow back till her next molt so have patients.
Here's a link to the Finch Information Centers section on nutrients and their sources, http://www.finchinfo.com/diet/nutrients_and_sources.php

best of luck

[finchandlovebird]

Along with that, I offer a mixture of fortified grit, mixed with grated cuttle bone, crushed egg shells, grated mineral block, AND grated iodine block.

Elaina......where do you get the iodine block????

[Smurf]

On reading this i would also think lack of iodine is a possible cause, you should be able to get an iodine block in any pet shop or online

[lovezebs]

finchandlovebird

Hi Dolly.

As Padraic already mentioned, iodine blocks are available in Pet Shops, in the bird section. They are usually next to the cuttle bone and the mineral blocks. They are pink or reddish in colour.

I just grate them on a hand held grater, and mix together with the above mentioned . I usually spread about a teaspoon of mix a day on the clean papers at the bottom of the flights (less for cages) and let them scratch through it like chickens. They love it.

~Elana~

[debbie276]

Here's a very interesting article on balding in gouldians that may be of interest to you
https://ladygouldian.com/content/why-my-gouldian-bald

[lovezebs]

debbie276

Hey Debbie....
Congratulations on becoming a 'Bird Brain'. Does that mean, that you are no longer the 'Ruler of Roosters'? lol

Thanks for posting that article, I have read it before.
I am still trying to get all the kids on the same page, but still have some in heavy molt, and others not yet started. I hope they all get their act together...
A quick question here if I may. Why is it, that birds living in the same conditions, will undergo different types of molt? I have some adults, looking like a patch work quilt, while others are barely showing bit of gray fluff coming through their feathers. What's with that?

How are your birdlings doing? Are they all molting ?


~Elana~

[debbie276]

Every birds is a bit different, maybe one is more stressed then another, could be a hormonal issue, different metabolism, maybe breeding was overly taxing, there are a number of reason why one bird molts faster or better than another. Chicks coming from a large clutch may not get all the nutrition of another clutch mate, etc.
It's still a bit cold here so their molt hasn't started yet.

Personally I don't think you have to worry about iodine if you feed foods with iodine

Examples of foods high in iodine:
hard boiled egg
brewer's yeast
Dried Seaweed
Iodized Salt (can be mixed in their mineral mix)
Bananas
Strawberries
Canned Corn
Cranberries
Green Beans
Watercress

[lovezebs]

debbie276
Thanks Deb.

Not concerned about the iodine inasmuch as curious about the different levels of molting. So thanks for information.

I am keeping the temperature in their area at approximately 25c in the daytime, and around 20c at night, which seems to be moving things in the right direction.

Suprisingly enough, my couple who were breeding last, are still not really molting.

~Elana~

[finchandlovebird]

Interesting topic = varied times of molting.
Also interesting is varied times of Goulds coloring up. I have a pair who hatched 2 chicks Jan 22; so they are basically 2-1/2 months old, 1 blue, 1 green. They are already coloring up so much. The green ones shows a white breast & yellow tummy; believe a male. The blue one is starting to get blue spots. I think this is very early. I left them w/their parents, who have now hatched 2 more; 1 a blue & 1 a green. It would seem kind of obvious that these 2 older chicks are getting better care, more food & less stress, so are more advanced in their maturity. Would that all my Goulds just raise 2 chicks at a time

[Gouldian lover]

Hello: We've been away for a couple of days and I'm thrilled with all of the wonderful information and concern I read on my return. Thank you sooooo much.

I have not seen any of the others picking on her. They all seem to do well together. She will come to the side of the cage to visit and I've inspected her poor little bald head with a magnifying glass, but don't see anything moving or remarkable. None of the others have this problem.

Moving on to the food ... I do feed egg (with shell) and sunflower seeds ground together. They love it. They love kale, seed, sprouts, and millet. I have tried other foods - carrots shredded, tomato, apple, tangerine, orange - they just don't seem to take to it. Are there any secrets to getting them to try these different foods. (Rather like trying to get your kids to eat broccoli.)

These wonderful birds have been with me for two to three months, so I have a lot to learn. Good thing I found you folks! Thank you again for your input.

[debbie276]

Gouldian lover

I wouldn't worry too much unless it gets much worse. Seeing how they are new to you it will probably take till their next molt before it fills in. With all the foods you are offering I'm sure they will only improve from here on out.
Getting them to eat new things may take quite a while, gouldians aren't known to be all that adventurous.

Best of luck, would love to see pictures when you can.