Confused Gouldian?

[Shepherd]

Hey guys and girls, I'm new to the forum so please bear with me. I recently purchased what i believe to be a male BHPB Gouldian. He is fully coloured however he has a charcoal coloured beak. Is it possible that he has retained the juvenile beak colour whilst attaining adult plumage or could there be an underlying problem?

On a related matter, i have noticed that he is constantly preening his tail with the result that he has lost a lot of feathers around his vent. There are also a number of feathers missing from the back of his head. At the suggestion of the breeder i bought him from i have sprayed him for mites/lice but things are not improving. He sits hunched over his perch for most of the day and seems to sleep a lot. His dropping are also large and predominately white. He still has a healthy appetite.

Any suggestions would be appreciated

Shep.

[benrayjay]

was he in this condition when u bought him? and if so i would return him to the breeeder for a healthier bird.

the beak is ok, i have been told that this is an indication of willingness to breed in hens i assume that it is the same in cocks

[jusdeb]

Has this bird been quaranteened ? If it has then keep it quaranteened if not then a diagnoses is needed ASAP to treat it and the other birds ( worse case scenario here) .

I cant help you with a diagnosis but if you have had this bird only a short time chances are it came from the breeder with the problem which is something you might want to sort out with the breeder as some stage .

Hope it isn't anything too serious and your little bird/birds are OK.

[gouldianpaul]

sounds like the bird does have mites...what have you treated him with?

As Deb advised I would be quarantining the bird away from all other birds, and provide him with a heat source to help him through this period.

With the beak color i would think that he is actually a she, particularly if it is fully colored with a charchol colored beak...best of luck with the lice treatment...cheers, Paul

[Simba]

Hi

Can you post a picture ? the black beak and feathers missing around the head sounds more like a hen.

Some hens (Mainly Black Headed in my experience) loose feathers around their head when breeding.

[Shepherd]

Sorry guys, can't post pics yet as i don't have those privileges yet. I guess that this is a case of "Buyer Beware". Although i did a lot of research before buying my first Gould, including buying the book - A Guide to Gouldian Finches and their Mutations, collecting pictures of what a good looking specimen should look like and browsing this forum, it all went out the window when i visited the breeder (and i use that term loosely) The bird didn't look to bad but it was getting dark and I was rushed a little. I should have backed out right there. I didn't even notice the beak colour until the next day. The guy that sold it to me told me that the males beak only turns a pearl colour with a red tip when he was ready to mate. The other problems (white droppings, feather plucking around vent etc, sleeping a lot) didn't present themselves until a few weeks later. He (she?) is in a separate cage with a yellow back that i got at the same time. She doesn't seen to be suffering the same problems. As i said i have treated them both with lice/mite spray containing Pyrethrum. He (she?) has a dark black head with a bright turquoise band around this. The breast is a rich deep purple below which the feathers are bright yellow. He is twice as bright and colourful as the BH hen i have and as bright, if not brighter then the RH male i have.

[Tiaris]

Not a good idea to buy birds in arvo at all - especially Gouldians at this time of year.

[finchbreeder]

Bright coloured with a blue band sounds male. Have to agree. Never buy birds late in the day. And definately never release birds into an avairy late in the day.
LML

[dano_68]

Hi Shep,

you may want to have a look at my 40 day Quarantine program.

http://www.qfs.org.au/Downloads/40_Day_ ... antine.pdf

It works well with Gouldians!

ps. I have never seen a cock bird with a black beak, but I have seen plenty of well coloured hens ;)

[BENSONSAN]

Hey dano much agreed about well coloured hens i dont know if you remember that yellow back i had which turned out to be a hen. Hey dano with your quarantine regime. I do like it but must say im in the alternative line with the cydectin aka moxidectin and carlox aka baycox as drugs of choice. Nice plan by the way. Quarantine is a must!! Your a smart man. And i liked it as a guideline