Spirulina

[Smurf]

I've being having alot of issues with my gouldians and infertile eggs, even a pair which raised 4 chicks in 1st clutch only had 1 fertile egg in 2nd clutch, another pair after rearing chicks had all clear eggs in next clutch

I'm trying to rule out any dietary causes as there's no fertility issues with my other species with only noticeable difference being that the gouldians havn't touched their iodine blocks and only the hens seem to take the crushed oystershell, they all get the same eggfood mix which contains hard boiled eggs minus shells. I read somewhere that lack of iodine can be a cause of infertility, 1 of the hens does have a slight bald patch under beak which could simply be from feeding 1st round chicks, otherwise all are in perfect feather.

Going to start adding spirulina to the eggfood which i believe is a good source of iodine and was wondering how long it would be likely to take for the possible iodine deficiency to be corrected / see results. It's more to do with finding/confirming the issue than this seasons breeding.

[cindy]

Spurlina is really high in protein and if you are already serving egg food, that in itself is pretty complete. Asking birds to process excessive protein can have a negative effect on the kidneys.. try the granulated iodine instead, mine love it and go right to it.

There are a few factors that causes infertility... how old is your pair?

A miracle food may not help. Are you providing an avian vitamin/mineral/amino acid supplement?

[debbie276]

I add iodize table salt to their mineral mix, they pick what they need. Also feed hard boiled eggs and have never had a problem with iodine deficiency.

[Sally]

I have a friend who works with Gouldians, and she adds a touch of spirulina to her egg food mixture. Just a tiny bit, as if you add too much, the egg food turns really green, and the birds don't like it. I know, because I did it--I had St. Patrick's Day egg food!

[Smurf]

cindy the dosage seems to be between 0.5-1 % by weight which would dilute the high protein content by a factor of over 100 so i don't think it would be an issue, i havn't seen iodine granules for sale over here but on thinking about this maybe crushing up the iodine block and adding to the crushed oystershells would be an alternative.
Both pair mentioned are 2013/2014 close rung and i've had them for over 9 mths in full colour so age is not issue
They get Oropharma Ferti-vit added to water about 3-4 days a week up until first egg is laid then just plain filtered water

@debbie276 i never even considered adding salt to mineral mix, havn't heard of this being done before so will try and research it a bit more, i can't see it doing any harm in small quantities

@Sally lol, st. patricks day feed for finches , sounds like only a tiny amount is required

I'm kind of clutching at straws at moment trying to find reason, my biggest worry is starting next season not knowing cause of the infertility and having the same issue.
I'll give the spirulina a chance and reintroduce nest boxes in about 3-4 weeks keeping them on breeding diet to try and put off moulting, if there's no improvement i'll try following 'year in life of gouldian finch' article on ladygouldian site including Doxycycline treatment after moult (i would prefer not to treat them as none are showing 'SBS').

[cindy]

I did ask my avian vet about adding spurlina, it is really high in protein she cautioned about feeding non-feeding/non breeding birds to much protein. She told me that the protein should be around 17 to 19 % normally, when feeding young you can go a little higher 19% to 25% but no higher than 30%.

[cindy]

you may be able to buy kelp and grind it... or look in health food stores.