Question about molting....

[Jewelz]

Hi!

My 5 month old Black-cap conure is going through his first molt and I think it is a hard one.... His whole body is losing feathers at once ....it's been going on for a couple of weeks now but one thing I have noticed is he seems really, really tired for a bird.... I have had him to the vet recently as I have only had him a month so we did the full battery of tests....blood panal, parasites, bacteria tests... They all came back fine. I have a sleeping cage set up for him in my bedroom with a small heat source to keep him warm.... He is still friendly, steps up, bites as usual, but when he is out of his cage he is not active for long and after a short time likes to find some place to sit and fluff out.... He has not been very vocal at all since we got him...he makes little cooing,gurgling, laughing, and honking sounds....sometimes he tries to be louder than any running water in the house but that's about it.... The other thing I have noticed is he always chews on his feet.... He does it fairly consistently... I keep his cage clean and the bottom of his cage has bars to separate him from the cage paper....

Are conures, or birds in general, commonly on the lethargic side if they are going through a tough molt?

Any repiles would be hugely beneficial! Thanks

 

[Captsteve]

It takes a lot of energy to produce all those new feathers. It is bound to take a toll and cause the poor thing to be tired.

Look at the diet closely, they will need extra calcium and some extra protein and carbs might help too.

Get a cuddle bone and scrape to over it's food to get that calcium.

 

[Jewelz]

Thanks Captsteve..
I appreciate your thoughts.... I haven't had Felix long so I do not know his personaity all that well yet. Felix eats the Harrisons pellets & then gets a seed mixture, spray millet & of course a variety of fresh fruits as he does not seem to enjoy any vegetables at this point...

The cuttle bone is a great idea!!!!

Thanks Again!

 

[bluecrownmama]

My blue crown went through a very big and very long molt his first year. This year (his second) it hasnt been as bad. Someone just told me that too much protein can cause a long molt-has anyone else heard this? I will also try adding some calcium to his diet. Mine doesn't seem sleepy but certainly moody!

 

[psittac]

My gcc isn't all that active, most of the time when I have her out she is just sitting in my shirt napping, sometimes she gets on my shoulder but i'm usually not home until it's dark and no light means a sleepy bird.

I like that cuttle bone idea, my bird has never touched them so I stopped getting them.

Not to highjack but how often should a bird molt?

 

[bluecrownmama]

I've looked everywhere for the answer to how often they should and when they should...what I've gathered is 1-2x per year. With one of those starting in August (so I assume the other one in the spring?) Mine so far seems to only molt once (thankfully!) a year and definitely starting around August/September.

 

[MonicaMc]

Jayde has been with me for nearly 5 months and I think she's finished or is finishing with her molt. A little sad about this, as she still has some flight feathers that she needs to lose, but she's no longer grounded and doing better!

When I first got her, she was frequently preening! She was a blur of feathers! Scratching her head, preening, scratching her head, fluffing, preening, scratching her head, etc! It was like she couldn't hold still even when she wasn't moving around! She is still pretty active, but not crazy active like that! I think it was just more out of nervousness and being afraid than anything else... but then again, she went from Ohio to Nevada, and the change in climate could have made her that way.... likewise, it was right before she started molting! So that could have also had something to do with it! I can say that she is at least not as fidgety anymore!


A hard molt can make birds extra cranky and tired, but please keep an eye on Felix for any changes! (he sounds sick, even though the vet results say he's healthy)


I don't know that extra protein can cause an extra long molt, I only know that protein, calcium and possibly extra vitamin A and/or E may be required during the molting process. The birds blood is used to bring nutrients to the growing feathers, hence there being "blood feathers". Once the feathers are fully grown, the blood recedes back into the body, having done it's job.

 

[Jewelz]

Thanks everyone for your insights... Felix is not overly moody he is just really mellow....when I had him at the vet she asked if he had been like that for long and the truth is he has been this way since I got him which is why I was wondering if anyone else's conure is really mellow when they are molting...I'm happy to hear your conure is on the mellow side too psittac!

My vet said birds will molt atleast once a year but other factors may cause them to molt more than that like changing their diet to a high quality pelleted diet....

I have been keeping an eye on him and I haven't noticed any changes in behavior but as I said he is new to the family so I am not sure what his abnormal behavior looks like.....

Thanks again for the insights