How many times should i allow my birds to breed in a row

[karenstr]

How many times should i allow my gouldians to breed in a row? My finches had 2 babies and as soon as they fledged had 2 more should i allow her to breed for a 3rd time or give her time to recover ? i heard they loose a lot of calcium when laying eggs.. And she lost feathers on her head might this be the cause?

[w.l.]

Three times, and that's it for the year.
Of course if the female looks worn out, you should stop now.

[lovezebs]

Hi,

Goukdians once they get on a roll are difficult to stop.

I actually had a pair who would lay eggs in the nest before the last cltch of chicks fledged, using these nestlings as egg sitters.

As was already mentioned, three clutches are usually the maximum. I usually pull the plug on clutch number four, removing the nest and discarding the eggs right after the last chicks fledge.

If you have another pair that are sitting on duds, you can replace the eggs, or if you have Societies on a nest, you could replace their eggs with the Gouldian eggs.

Regarding calcium loss : add shaved cuttle bone, oystershell grit, and crushed eggshells to their daily diet in a small seed cup, or scattered on the cage floor.

[MariusStegmann]

I let them breed. I think that we give our birds a large variety of food and minerals in abundance. If they were to loose condition, I would stop them, but I never had to yet. There is lots of time that they can rest, they don't breed when they molt.

[karenstr]

Thanks ill stop her after the 3rd clutch when i bought her she looked like she was molting on her head but seems like some of it fell out with breeding too.. Im not sure if its the breeding or if its molting or what

[lovezebs]

Hi Karen,

Some female Gouldians tend to lose their head feathers... I have one right now that's sporting the vulture look as well.

Some people think that it's due to lack of iodine in their diet. What I do, is buy an iodine block, grate it, and add it to my grit mixture, or you could just hang it up in the cage.

Make sure that they have hard boiled eggs for protein, which is very important for feather growth. Also a variety of greens in their diet.

Hopefully our girls will grow back their 'hair' after their next moulting session.

[karenstr]

Thank you so much for the advice ill do that

[lovezebs]

You're most welcome.

I really hope their head feathers grow back in, as I really don't like the vulture look. Right now this one particular girl of mine, has one feather sticking up on top of her head . I'd take a picture, but it's just too embarrassing, lol.