bald baby gouldian

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 7:33 am

I have four yellowback gouldians that should fledge sometime this week.
Three of them are doing great (society fostered) but one which was very small is totally bald on its head. It appears to be quite healthy and is holding its head up looking all around the place. I must admit it is quite a funny looking little thing.

These babies started being fed by the parents, then an owl finch took over the feeding and then I put them with society finches that were feeding three other babies. God bless the societies! So they have been through quite a lot. Any ideas about this bald head?

BTW it does have feathers on its little body and wings. Just a little bald head.

poohbear · Post by **poohbear** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:59 am

Some of my hens are prone to baldness...it sounds like some genetics have passed this on to this young 'un.It will be interesting to see how it moults out for the first time.
With mutations possible inbreeding is another factor.
Paul.

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 6:51 pm

poohbear wrote:Some of my hens are prone to baldness...it sounds like some genetics have passed this on to this young 'un.It will be interesting to see how it moults out for the first time.
With mutations possible inbreeding is another factor.
Paul.

So do they usually STAY bald or grow feathers later? It sure is a funny looking little bird.

poohbear · Post by **poohbear** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 2:38 am

I put two bald hens and a disabled cock in a cage indoors 9 months ago so I could keep an eye on them.One of the hens now looks perfectly normal and has regrown her head feathers...she will be returned to the flight soon.The other hen has remained completely bald and will be kept seperate until her next moult is over when hopefully she will regrow her feathers.
I've had bald hens before that have taken two years to regrow their feathers...Always hens...never cocks.
They have eggfood daily loaded with powdered kelp which is rich in iodine.The consensus of opinion is that gouldians need this to stay in fine feather.Whether this is fact is another matter.
Paul.

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:05 am

Poohbear,
I have kelp in a treat dish available at all times. This chick has not come out of the nest yet, but looks quite healty in there. I expect it to come out this week for sure.
After it is weaned do you suggest I keep it seperate in a cage? I was planning on leaving it in the aviary with the rest of the birds. .]

poohbear · Post by **poohbear** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:57 am

The only reason I seperated the bald hens was so I could keep an eye on them and control what they ate without the rest of the birds pinching it.
Paul.

kittani79 · Post by **kittani79** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:49 pm

Maybe she needs a little more iodine than her siblings. When I adopted a bald gouldian I used iodine supplements in her drinking water for a month and now she's gorgeous.

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:09 pm

kittani79 wrote:Maybe she needs a little more iodine than her siblings. When I adopted a bald gouldian I used iodine supplements in her drinking water for a month and now she's gorgeous.

Well she is still being fed by the society finches. I don't think she will fledge for about another week since she is so small. But I do have kelp availabe for them. I am not sure what else to give them for iodine supplements. It seems when I add anything to their water they won't drink very much.