Balding Gouldian!

[kimberley breeder]

I have a DF Yellow Gouldian cockbird that has gradually been losing feathers around one of its eyes then I went away for a week and now the top of his head is also lost feathers hes almost completely bald on just his head. I have put some scaly mite on the balding areas and a drop of Ivermec on the back of its neck about 10 days ago. Is there something else I should be doing? He and his mate are currently feeding chicks so Im hesitant to remove him unless absolutely necessary...none of the other Gouldians in the same aviary appear to have this condition. Advice would be awesome!! Thanks!

[Craig52]

I have a DF Yellow Gouldian cockbird that has gradually been losing feathers around one of its eyes then I went away for a week and now the top of his head is also lost feathers hes almost completely bald on just his head. I have put some scaly mite on the balding areas and a drop of Ivermec on the back of its neck about 10 days ago. Is there something else I should be doing? He and his mate are currently feeding chicks so Im hesitant to remove him unless absolutely necessary...none of the other Gouldians in the same aviary appear to have this condition. Advice would be awesome!! Thanks!

Hi Kb,i don't think there is much to worry about but there is a couple of theories out there.One being stress and the other iodine deficientcy so it's up to you what you do but he will moult back at the end of the year from looking so ugly. Craig

[kimberley breeder]

Thanks for that- Ive been doing a bit of googling and reading up about the Iodine deficiency.. I would have thought then the others would be affected then too..The skin doesnt apprear crusty either so probably nt mite/parasite/fungal related. Bird appears to be behaving normally and feeding his chicks..will keep a close eye on him and hopefully he will moult out

[Diane]

There was some discussion about iodine in this topic.
viewtopic.php?f=40&t=12747&hilit=iodine
I give a wide variety of different seed, green foods and have also fed a wide variety of supplements and vitamins and trace elements and yet I still have one hen that is on the verge of being bald.

Ive read a few articles about keratin production during human pregnancy and how this leads to, some cases a lot of hair loss. Not being a scientist and working on the theory that if nature has a winning formula with different species things change very slowly, Im wondering the lack of feathers in the birds could be due to the keratin production being disrupted during egg laying and rearing as it does in human pregnancy. Although that fact that this seems to appear more in gouldians than other bird species and only in some birds and mostly in hens seems to indicate that is could be an inherited thing as well as something passed down the female line.
Any thoughts?

[finchbreeder]

My young red headed cock, Dad of two rounds of young is also very bald on the back of the head/neck. Think it could be due to giving all the good stuff to the young.
LML

[Netsurfer]

Where are the birds kept? Indoors or outdoors? It often occurs in birds kept indoors, (it's a form of allergy), couple of months outside in an aviary (plenty of direct sunlight, good air circulation) will often clear this. Also, keep an eye on other birds, some can be nuisance, plucking certain individuals. I have two lots of young out of the nest, the older for some reason are plucking the younger once, I will have to remove those from the aviary. In your case if you provide some greens daily it is most unlikely that some kind of deficiency is that is causing it. As for the mites, unless your birds and cages are infested, it is unlikely mites are the problem.

[Diane]

My young red headed cock, Dad of two rounds of young is also very bald on the back of the head/neck. Think it could be due to giving all the good stuff to the young.
LML

Yeah I also have a RH cock that is getting pretty sparse feathering around his beak but I put this down to him pushing is beak into the youngsters mouth, he is on his second round of 6.

[kimberley breeder]

The bird in question is a cockbird and he is feeding his second round of young for this year. Bird is housed in large outdoor aviary with plenty of variety of greens, livefood, seed, suppliments etc.. also has plenty of access to sunlight. I will see how he turns out after the moult in a few months time. Ive never had a Gouldian do this before except the standard moulting and feather loss around the mouth from feeding chicks. Hope he comes good as he is my best DF Yellow cockbird!

[Netsurfer]

The only other thing I can think off is the nest. Is it dry, is the nesting material fresh, no mould on the grass strands, no dust in the nest etc.

[kimberley breeder]

I thoroughly clean the boxes after each clutch and put in fresh clean and dry soft grass. They have access to similar material to build on it if they want too. Apart from a bald head hes healthy and doing all things finchy!