It’s springtime again (finally)! The flowers are beginning to bloom and the grass is beginning to grow. We’re happy to say that Tree Top is also blooming and freshening up with a little spring cleaning. We are moving things around, cleaning all the nooks and crannies, painting, launching a new computer system, and getting ready for our new baby birds to arrive. Please pardon our mess while we get things reorganized—we truly appreciate your patience during this time.
Springtime also means that our feathered friends will be freshening up their feathers, or molting, which happens once (sometimes twice) a year.
Molting Basics
Molting coincides with the changing of the seasons. Your bird’s species and age will determine when he molts. Other factors, such as stress, can also influence molting and cause a bird to enter the molting stage early and quickly, causing a hard molt. The molting process can last for several months, especially in larger species. Parrots will only molt out several feathers at a time so that flight is not inhibited, and not every feather will be replaced in each molt. For example, flight feathers may only be replaced every other year.
Most molting may go unnoticed, while a few birds may have a somewhat scruffy appearance. It is not natural for a bird to have bare or bald spots during molting. Bald spots likely indicate plucking, which we will discuss at another time. If you suspect your bird is plucking, he should be seen by an avian vet.
When birds molt and the new feathers appear they are called pin, or blood, feathers, and they are encased in a sheath called a quill. The quill is whitish in color and has a clear plastic-like appearance, much like a clear straw. The quill will contain a blood vessel. As the feather grows inside of the quill, the blood vessel retracts and the sheath flakes off and disintegrates.
You Can Help!
Birds remove the sheaths from their pin feathers and pairs will preen each other to remove the old sheaths. Singly kept birds will benefit from having their owners preen the new feathers in the places that they can’t reach, such as their head and neck area. Before you preen your bird’s new pin feathers, check for the presence of blood feathers. New blood feathers are quite sensitive and your bird will surely let you know if you accidently try to preen one of them. Gently roll the end of the quill between your fingers to remove the sheath. The sheath should fall off easily.
While birds are molting, they need extra moisture to prevent the feather sheath from becoming dry and hard. If this happens, the feather will be prevented from opening. When this happens to a flight or tail feather, you’ll need to soften the sheath using warm water and gently remove the sheath. If this is not done soon after the sheath would have naturally been removed, the feather will be useless. When this occurs with more than one feather during a molt, it might indicate a vitamin or mineral deficiency, so an avian vet check is recommended to find out what changes might need to be made in the bird’s current diet.
Bathe or spray your bird daily with plain warm water. This will also help alleviate some of the itchiness birds experience during this time. You can add aloe vera juice to the bath water to help soothe irritation. I usually add about 1/4 of a cup of aloe juice to 16 fl oz of water.
A bird’s feathers are comprised primarily of protein. The addition of protein before and during a molt may be beneficial in promoting new healthy plumage. Some sources for protein are hard boiled eggs, cooked chicken, nuts, beans, insects, etc. Be sure to check with your avian vet about your bird’s total diet and the addition of extra protein or other supplements. Too much protein can be as harmful as too little.
There are also vitamin supplements that can help your feathered friends during this time. Ask a Tree Top employee for more information.
What To Watch For
You may notice your bird scratching more often while molting. Because molting is irritating and painful, your bird may experience a change in mood or behavioral issues, so don’t be surprised if your bird doesn’t want as many head scratches as usual.
Examine your bird’s new feathers during molting, looking for any signs of abnormal feathers which can be a sign of an underlying medical condition. Also check flight feathers to see if a wing clipping is needed. I recommend that wing clipping be performed after the completion of the molt. Clipping individual new feathers as they emerge from the feather shaft will leave new emerging blood feathers without any support, and they can easily become damaged. A broken blood feather can become a serious problem, as birds do not have a lot of blood and little clotting factors.
Safety is extremely important during this time. Smaller birds can take flight when just a few new flight feathers have emerged. Take extra precautions during this time to prevent injuries and accidental escapes.
Coming Soon!
Next month, as part of our spring cleaning, we will be changing up how we do the newsletter. You will receive a shorter email version of the particular subject we are discussing, and we’ll go into further discussion about the subject on my new blog: birdiacs.wordpress.com!
April Specials!
In the meantime, enjoy these April specials to help with your spring cleaning and your bird’s molting needs:
· All vitamin supplements – 20% off
· All bath and cleaning products – 25% off
· Mention this newsletter to receive $5 off a purchase of $50 or more for the whole month of April
Happy molting!
Debbie
Birdiacs 