normal for gouldians to molt so much that they cant fly?

[karenstr]

my finch died this morning he was busy molting and lost a lot of feathers and couldnt fly up on to his stick he went crazy trying to fly hurt his wing and later died.. is it normal for Gouldians to molt so much that they cant fly properly?

[debbie276]

Not normal for any bird, they would never survive in the wild if that was normal.

So sorry for your loss

[lovezebs]

karenstr

So sorry about your bird.

Normally feathers are replaced gradually, so that they always have the ability to fly.

Something seems to have gone very wrong with your bird's moult, if he lost all of his flight feathers at once. I would be looking at the lighting and diet carefully, to make sure your birds are getting what they need to go through normal moulting periods.

[a_gouldian]

We have a male Gouldian that started molting in July and lost it's ability to fly up to the top branches. He stayed on the floor of the cage and lower perches he could hop onto. The 2 outer wing feathers on one wing were tattered and a middle feather on the other wing. They might have been damaged in the plastic greenery as the prized sleeping locations seemed to be in a few spots in the greenery and the birds would sometimes chase another out of one of these locations (we have since removed all that greenery).

The good news is that by sometime in August he could fly again and now he is finishing the molt on his head and should look brand new in a few weeks.