gouldian behaviour, and voice lost...

[lonchura_boi]

a week ago i picked up my first pair of gouldians. a 2 year old black head cock and a 1 year old orange head hen. the breeder told me they are a proven pair and have raised 3 broods this year already. the guy seems very genuine so i took his word on it. after a couple of days of settling in i noticed the pair don't tend to have much to do with each other, no sitting together or allopreening or anything i would expect from other finches, however, i am new to goulds so is this normal? they do actually seem quite feisty with each other, no out right aggression but they do seem to take delight in displacing each other from a perch.

I became a little concerned that i had not heard the cock sing at all in fact he seemed very quiet other than the odd squeak, then i actually saw him singing, but no sound. he sits bolt upright, fluffed out, beak moving along with his throat, but nothing more that an occasional muffled click. today the hen seemed to make no sound either. they are both very active, eating well, bathing, preening and I've seen the cock going through the motions of singing and even some low intensity displays but no sound from either of them. they are in a roomy cage, with a full spectrum light, good quality seed mix, millet spray, fresh water, egg food and a grit/mineral/charcoal mix.

can anyone shed light on why they appear to have lost their voices and also the stand offish behaviour of an apparently proven pair that raise their own chicks?

[finchandlovebird]

Seems improbable that a 1 yr old hen could have had 3 clutches already
Could you ask the breeder if they have been treated for anything? (medicine wise) Such as Air Sac Mite prevention?

[KarenB]

Treat for air sac mites ASAP. Also give Amoxitex or similar because as the ASM die off, they may cause a secondary issue of infection in the respiratory tract. Follow that up with a probiotic.

[debbie276]

I totally agree with Dolly, very unlikely that the hen has raised 3 clutches. Gouldians are not a cuddly sit next to each other and preen kind of bird so I wouldn't worry if they seem stand offish. They may be still getting used to their new environment and your routine so may not be themselves just yet.

During quarantine of all in coming birds I would treat with Scatt, a one time treatment for air sac mites. You could also use S76 or another ivermectin based air sac mite treatment but you'll need to do multiple applications. Scatt stays in the birds blood stream for 21 days which is the life cycle of the mite.
Personally I wouldn't treat with anything else unless you see other symptoms.

Your diet looks very good.

best of luck

[lonchura_boi]

the bird is close rung 2013 bird, could have been bred very early last year perhaps?

all my birds have been treated with ivermectin today as i had ordered it last week. I've never heard of Scatt il look into it and see if its available over here.

[lonchura_boi]

third and final dose of ivermectin due tomorrow. seems to be doing the trick, hen has more or less got her voice back and the cock is starting to. when he sings now i can almost hear him, still just muffled squeaks and chirps but its louder.

[dutch]

lonchura_boi....my males sing everyday and they are pretty loud....you can hear them over 100 + zebras easy