Feather loss on gouldian girl

[kyle]

Hi all, I have been having issues with one of my female gouldians loosing some feathers around her face and eye. I've noticed there's a few feathers missing on her cage mate as well but but not to the same degree. I don't think it's mites Or nutritional they eat better than I do. LOL. Does anybody have any idea what this could be?

[Jen]

kyle
Hey Kyle, you have a pretty girl there. Is she with other Goulds? How many to a cage? Do you ever see any aggression between her and her mate or other cage mates? With it being breeding season I see a lot of chasing around in my aviary right now. If you don't think it's mites then you might keep a close eye on what's going on in the cage.

[lovezebs]

kyle Jen

That is so strange, I have one like that as well, and wasn't quite sure what to make of it. I have put in more ground iodine block, which I mix into my git mix, thinking it may have something to do with that. Now I'm begining to wonder if maybe it is a plucking issue.

Will definitely keep an eye on it.

[Gouldianbreeder]

Hi All
this is a classic problem with Gouldians called balding. It is a deficiency in iodine which tends to happen towards the end of the breeding season and seems more common in hens than cocks. You need to give an iodine supplement and eventually the feathers will re-grow but it can take some time.

[debbie276]

Iodine may not be your problem and may be harmful if given too much.

Here is an excellant article that may be of interest to you:
https://ladygouldian.com/content/why-my-gouldian-bald

Here is a link to nutrients and their sources:
http://www.finchinfo.com/diet/nutrients_and_sources.php

best of luck

[kyle]

Thanks everyone. Jen it's her and her mate in a 30×18×30. I don't see any aggression going on. I'm not sure what it is. But if it were diet would't it affect all the other birds as well? I have 12 Gould's all eating the same thing. I have read a lot of conflicting ideas on iodine and if it were in iodine would't all my birds be suffering the same deficiency? All the other birds have beautiful Feathering. lovezebs did your little one recover its feathers?

[lovezebs]

kyle

Hi Kyle,

Not entirely sure what's been going on.

I lost one of my Gouldi girls a short while ago, one of my own babies from last year. She had spots on her head, and was quite thin (which I hadn't realized until I found her dead at the bottom of the flight). I also lost an Orange Cheek waxbill for no apparant reason.

Then I noticed that another of my girls had these balding spots on her head, and then two more.

A few mornings ago, I found another one of my girls at the bottom of the flight, still alive but very weak. I calciumed her, SCAT'ed her, and placed her in a hospital cage with a warm light on her.

Then I grabbed the other two gals, repeated the same treatment, and placed them in another small cage with a light.

I put in water, fortified with this new Vitamin NEKTON BIO, along with grated iodine block, charcoal, bird clay, crushed egg shells and oyster shell added to my grit.

I offered spray millet and egg along with some regular seed, and hoped for the best.

Something else that I'd noticed, was the temperature in my bird room. Being an end room, with two outside walls, it seemed quite chilly in there with outdoor temps well down in the -20's. I brought out my small electric heater/fan and plugged it in. Within ten minutes, the room was toasty warm, and all the birds appeared to be more comfortable and active.

As to the 3 Gouldi girls, they are now sharing one hospital cage, and appear to be doing better. They are eating well, and although still sporting baldy spots, they seem to be feeling better (keeping my fingers crossed here).

The rest of the Gouldi crew are fine, although some of them are just finishing their molt, which is really running late this year.

So now go figure, was all of this caused by the cooler temperatures, or something else? That my friend, I honestly don't know. So now we wait, and see how things go on from here on.

I hope your little girls makes a full recovery.

P.S. Regarding the iodine, I don't add it to the drinking water, as I think it would be too easy to overdose that way. I just grate an iodine block and offer it, so that they can take it or leave it according to their needs.