Gouldian Hen going bald...

[ranchnanny]

This is the worst moult some of my Gouldians are going thru. They get lots of veggies, greens, egg food and vitamins and still this one hen is going bald. What am I doing wrong. This has never happened before they would molt and new feathers would come in quickly. This hen eats well and is very active.
Not a good photo just got done bathing.

Anyone have any suggestions.

[Brette]

Your gouldian needs iodine (not the kind we use for scraps and cuts). My male gould suffered from the same thing and was looking great again about a month after adding iodine to his water. You can read about iodine deficiency here:

http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/features_balding.php

You can buy the product here: http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/produc ... iodine.php

Bookmark that website, it has really good, in-depth info about gouldian finch health!

[debbie276]

I would remove this hen from your breeding program and let her recover. Offer her hard boiled eggs.
Here is a great article for you to read, https://ladygouldian.com/content/why-my-gouldian-bald

Poor nutrition is the prime reason for Gouldian baldness; insufficient iodine is not the bad guy here. So please do not add extra iodine to your bird’s diet, whether you are already using a vitamin/mineral system, or not using any vitamins and minerals at all.

[Brette]

Poor nutrition is the prime reason for Gouldian baldness; insufficient iodine is not the bad guy here.

Just wondering why you think an iodine deficiency is out of the realm of possibilities in this case. My goulds get greens, broccoli, eggshell, boiled egg and egg food at least twice a week and one of them still went bald. Twice. And both times i supplemented with iodine for a week, his feathers came back.

Also want to point out that i do not breed my birds. Although it may be a genetic weakness in my male, he was still in great shape after using the ladygouldian iodine in recommended amounts. This bird is now 12 years old and still sings, is active, loves his baths and looks good.

[debbie276]

That is a quote from the article on LadyGouldian. com site written by Laraine.
The article goes into more explanation of causes of baldness and what you can for it.

This is the whole section on iodine:
Importance of Iodine
The metabolic function of iodine is in the biosynthesis of the thyroid hormones. To much or too little iodine in your bird’s diet can retard the production of these thyroid hormones contributing to a hormonal imbalance which is responsible for a poor molt and resulting baldness. A correct balance of iodine in the diet will allow the thyroid gland to produce the hormones which control the speed and quality of the molt. If no vitamin/mineral supplements are being used at all, by adding a good supplement containing the right proportion of iodine, you will see miraculous results as the feathers quickly return, although sometimes this will not happen until the next annual molt. However it is not necessary or desirable and can be potentially harmful to add just an iodine supplement alone to your bird’s diet.

Poor nutrition is the prime reason for Gouldian baldness; insufficient iodine is not the bad guy here. So please do not add extra iodine to your bird’s diet, whether you are already using a vitamin/mineral system, or not using any vitamins and minerals at all.

[Brette]

That is a quote from the article on LadyGouldian. com site written by Laraine.

Yes, I read that the first time my gould went bald. I think iodine is worth a shot (in the recommended amounts) if a balanced diet is already being provided (or what appears to be a balanced diet). I can only comment on this one bird of mine who seemed to do very well after iodine was added to his water for a week in the correct amounts. Maybe other birds do not.

[debbie276]

Exactly, that's why I posted the link to the article so after you read the information you can do what you want with the information.

[ranchnanny]

I purchase all my bird supplements from Lady Gouldian and I have started them on loford. I have use powdered kelp in treat cups, egg food, greens, broccoli, herb mix etc. Its hard to believe that what I feed them isn't enough. Hopefully the loford will work..

Thanks

[debbie276]

Cuttlebone and oyster shells are a good source of iodine so if your offering it chances are it's not an iodine deficiency, as long as they're eating it.

[dutch]

ranchnanny....are your birds kept indoors?

[ranchnanny]

Yes they are indoors with plenty of lighting.

[dutch]

ranchnanny..what type of lighting are you using?

[debbie276]

On The Finch Information Center's nutrients and their sources page there is a chart that may help:
http://www.finchinfo.com/diet/nutrients_and_sources.php

[ranchnanny]

Dutch I am using full spectum lighting.

[dutch]

ranchnanny....has this hen raised any chicks?