Male gouldian beak turning black??

[ilmillu]

I got a red headed male gouldian, i know hes a male cos he sings like one and bright colors. lately his beak been turning black like females do im so worried please help. PS note that when i got him from a breeder he was puffed up but with dyoxicilin and vitamins hes very nice looking now.

thanks

[gina]

Hi! I am no expert - my gouldian finches are pets and I do not breed (only have males) but is it possible that your red headed male had an injury to his beak? The beak is living tissue and it can bleed or bruise when injured. A bruised beak can get "black and blue" much like a person gets when bruised. I had a finch injure his beak pretty badly and it was bruised like this. It took a while to grow out, but now he is fine. The picture I have sent you is of his bruised beak and you can see the underneath is turning "black and blue". I have also read on another forum that owl finches faces can turn black without enough UV light and vitamin D - perhaps this is a similar thing? One more thing - if your finch is young, you might try a different antibiotic. I am a "human" doctor and Doxycycline is not used in young children because it prevents the child's body from absorbing enough calcium and they get very bad, discolored teeth. Once they are older and do not require as much calcium for growing, then it is ok to use doxycycline. I hope your new guy is going to be ok. Maybe he just needs a good diet, UV light and care from a good owner. Good Luck!

[ilmillu]

here are some 2 of his pictures. even its tail is not full