Petri and I have a question...How long does molting take??? He's been losing quite a bit of feathers for a month and a half now. Also, I was vacuuming under his cage yesterday and came across two very large tail feathers on the floor. Is it normal for them to lose those long pretty tail feathers?
And also, why is he SO grumpy???
Full Version: How Long Does Molting Last?
Quincy can take 2 - 3 months to molt, he's just started so it's going to be a long one! Molting takes a lot of energy and is probably a little uncomfortable with all the new feathers coming in. See if he'll take extra baths to help ease the discomfort.
I agree with Catherine, could take a few months; Its hard to compare what would be the human equivalent to a bird molting. As Catherine also suggested added misting and bathing can help with the itching and you can have a bonding/preening session with him to preen the pin feathers off the back of his neck and head. Pinching the coating between your thumb and finger with break that little sheath up and it will turn to dust.
You might also add a little extra protien to his diet such as scramble egg or boiled egg,perhaps a little bit of chicken and chicken bone to help boost his system a bit.
Its is not uncommon for them to lose their tail feathers and their flight feathers quite soon into the molt...and they will probably grow back in unilaterally as well. Just be patient with the little guy, especially if this is his first molt. Its as new to him as it is to you.
You might also add a little extra protien to his diet such as scramble egg or boiled egg,perhaps a little bit of chicken and chicken bone to help boost his system a bit.
Its is not uncommon for them to lose their tail feathers and their flight feathers quite soon into the molt...and they will probably grow back in unilaterally as well. Just be patient with the little guy, especially if this is his first molt. Its as new to him as it is to you.
During our last molt -- yes, "our" 
, I felt like I was involved, too -- ALL FOUR birds molted at once. Two grumpy budgies and one grumpy parrot (Jade wasn't grumpy but Clyde was). I got nothing else done but picking up feathers, and started saving them in a jar so I could make feather art. Seems like every day I found a couple of tail feathers, a few wing feathers and a few I couldn't identify. And budgies shed little fuzzy feathers constantly, but they were losing tail and wing feathers, too. I thought they never WOULD stop molting, but they finally did. This was the third molt we've been through with Clyde, and his take about a month, all told. Jade was faster, maybe a couple of weeks. The budgies started and stopped and started and stopped and it was probably about a month before they were completely done, too.
The good news is, new feathers are coming in as old ones are falling out, so even though it looks like they're going to lose them all and be naked, they're not!
It's like dogs shedding, if they did it all at once. I know I sweep up enough dog hair in any given week to make a whole new dog and I always wonder how they can lose all that hair and not have bald spots. The birds are the same way.
, I felt like I was involved, too -- ALL FOUR birds molted at once. Two grumpy budgies and one grumpy parrot (Jade wasn't grumpy but Clyde was). I got nothing else done but picking up feathers, and started saving them in a jar so I could make feather art. Seems like every day I found a couple of tail feathers, a few wing feathers and a few I couldn't identify. And budgies shed little fuzzy feathers constantly, but they were losing tail and wing feathers, too. I thought they never WOULD stop molting, but they finally did. This was the third molt we've been through with Clyde, and his take about a month, all told. Jade was faster, maybe a couple of weeks. The budgies started and stopped and started and stopped and it was probably about a month before they were completely done, too. The good news is, new feathers are coming in as old ones are falling out, so even though it looks like they're going to lose them all and be naked, they're not!
It's like dogs shedding, if they did it all at once. I know I sweep up enough dog hair in any given week to make a whole new dog and I always wonder how they can lose all that hair and not have bald spots. The birds are the same way.
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