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Feather Loss, Balding Gouldian Finches
[Introduction] [Essentials] [Aviary Hygiene] [Canker & Protozoan Infection]
[Pest Control] [Fostering] [Inbreeding] [Feather Loss] [12 Steps to Success]
Do
your Gouldians look like vultures? Are
they balding or have no
feathers on their heads? There are 3
common problems which can cause this. The
most likely is a lack of nutrition in the birds diet, seed alone is not
enough. Gouldians need additional supplements (vitamins and minerals) in
their daily diet to maintain healthy feathers year round.
Next could be an iodine deficiency. Iodine
is one of the elements that Gouldians finches are deprived of in captivity. They
need a little more of it in their diet in
order for their thyroid gland to function properly.
The thyroid gland is directly related to their feather production.
Gouldians do not get enough iodine in their diet from the seeds, water and other
nutritional supplements they are fed on a daily basis in captivity. This deficiency is known as goiter. Without
getting into the science of this problem if you increase the iodine in their
diet, this will usually clear up this problem.
If you use Frisky Finches specialty products:
, Daily
Breeder Seed Blend & Breeding/Winter
Seed Blend) which all include
extra liquid & organic iodine(s), you should be able to eliminate this problem.
For unusually stubborn cases of
feather loss, Frisky Finches now offers a Molting
Aid made by Vetafarm in Australia and a Concentrated
Liquid Iodine, which can be mixed with any of the other liquid products we
offer to help cure this problem in the Gouldian finch.
Please “DO NOT THINK MORE IS
BETTER”! when using a supplement iodine,
it is actually
poisonous and can kill your Gouldians if you administer too much of it into
their diet. Follow the product
directions very closely.
Once you get your birds the iodine needed in their system to cure this
deficiency, the thyroid gland will heal quickly and it will take about 4 to 6
weeks for your birds to re-grow their feathers back.
You will be amazed at the results.
The third problem that contributes to feather loss in Gouldians is stress from over crowding (to many birds in a living space) or over
crowded breeding conditions. Gouldians are very territorial when breeding
and become aggressive if they are over crowded, this causes high levels of
stress to the birds. Stress can be directly related to feather loss.
The 4th cause could be the canary
feather mite which gets into the pours or feather follicle and eats the feathers as they
try to grow out. The Gouldian
finch species is actually related to the canary (they are in the same avian
family) although this is "not usually the problem" Gouldians can be susceptible to this mite, we recommend trying to supplement their diet
with nutritional supplements and iodine or look into reducing the population in their living environment before trying insecticides on
them for feather mites.
Contact Information
"Frisky Finches"
- Phone
- 661 295-6700
- Fax
- 661 295-4994
- Address
- Castaic, California USA 91384
- E- mail
- gary@friskyfinches.com
- Websites
- www.friskyfinches.com
- www.sierraexports.com
Thank you for visiting our website. We hope you will find it informative and helpful.
General Information
[Introduction] [Essentials] [Aviary Hygiene] [Canker & Protozoan Infection]
[Pest Control] [Fostering] [Inbreeding] [Feather Loss] [12 Steps to Success]
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