need some help- bamboo is molting

[cassiepengo]

hey, i seriously need some advice from you all, because im very confused.

okay, so till now i thought bamboo (my budgie)was around two years old. but then he started molting so i was like...how old is he?? turns out hes just 3 months old.

looks like this is his first molt now. do you have any idea how long he will be molting? he seems kind of annoyed with it.
also, i wanted to know about his pinfeathers. they're growing all over his cere, and around his neck. but i dont see them anywhere else. isint he shedding all his feathers? i heard you arent supposed to touch them or they start bleeding. that will be hard for him. but i dont know how true that is. sounds exaggerated, you know.


aaand- one final thing. he just shedding of all the time!!! i touch his neck, a feather falls. he preens, a feather falls, i hold him, another one. isint that way too much?? or is it supposed to go that way... i dont know anything about molting and i think he is shedding his new feathers too?? cause im finding loooots on tiny feathers, around 5mm long. is this even possible ??

thanks anyways, and please help!!

 

[MomtoPercy]

I can't help with your first questions but I can offer some insight into your last one

Percy is also currently molting and at first, like you, I was seriously alarmed by the number of feathers he was loosing. So I came here and asked . If the feathers falling out, have no blood in the shaft, it means it was time for them to go and no need for you to worry. I'm not sure how severe a first molt would be but Percy never got any bald patches so I assume new feathers came in thick and fast. He also has lots of pins and feather shafts. Bathing helps A LOT! It softens the shafts and soothes the itchies. Give bamboo regular baths during his molt and he will thank you for it.

 

[Kalidasa]

You can play with him as usual, it will pass soon. What you're describing is normal. It helps him if you have water for him to bathe in during the day, a shallow dish. When it's said and done, he'll be sporting a fresh new set of bright feathers.

 

[mandolynn]

My IRN Flora had a hard molt once too. Low humidity makes it worse, and when heaters run it makes it even more dry. I highly recommend a humidifier, they are great all the time but especially needed during winter time. I was freaked out by Floras molt too and took her to my vet, just in case. She laughed and called me a worry wart. There are also molt ease products out there, not sure if they work but it's worth a try.

 

[cassiepengo]

@momtopercy: oh thanks, thats great help
how often should i bathe him? he dosent like baths, so if i need to bathe him reallllly, often, i need to think of some good ideas lol!
@kalidasa: yeah, i cant wait for this to pass. it makes my baby look so ugly. huff!! stupid pinfeathers, ugly idiots
@mandolynn: thanks for the idea!! i never imagined humidifiers would help...
oh, and join my club!!! people say i worry wayyyy too much!! high five!!

 

[MomtoPercy]

Well, bath or mist him as often as he is comfortable. Just use a very fine mist bottle and gently mist him. If he shies away, back off and try again tomorrow. He will soon learn how fun it can be.

My baby looooooves to be misted.

 

[SoCalWendy]

Birds have ALOT of feathers. Some more then others, obviously. Some go thru harder molts the others and it seems like a never ending sea of feathers. Just provide him a dish of water for bathing, or if he likes to be misted then mist him. When Rio fist started molting (before and she is molting again) Every time I looked at her she had a molted feather in her mouth. She likes to play with her molted feathers. So don't freak out if you see this too. Also when they puff and shake to readjust their feathers lots of very tiny feather might eject away from your bird. Totally normal. Bird can get cranky when they molt, so just make sure he has a good diet, water to drink, and water to bath and he will be fine.

 

[WesselG]

Cassie,

From where are you?

Here in South Africa it seems to be molting season as well. Even my most gorgeous IRN silver-coloured male that doesn't usually seem to suffer from molting issues is having a hard time with it.

On the other hand I have another IRN male that used to pluck until I got him a female companion end of last year and he's growing in a gorgeous new feather suit...I'm not sure if it's to impress the lady, hehe.

So like the others said make sure he can bath or spray him regularly and he should be fine and looking his old stunning self soon.

 

[Mekaisto]

Birds will moult almost all of their feathers at once, it minimises the amount of time they have you spend with decreased fitness in the wild

As already mentioned, you should only start worrying if the moulted feathers have blood, or if the moult is annoying your bird so much he starts plucking himself (this is rare).
The feathers on his cere and neck are called the capital feathers, these tend to moult first, followed by the feathers on the back, chest, wings and tail. Your bird may need help removing the covers of the pins on his head, some birds will scratch them off themselves, but giving him a little soft scratch can help.

The reason some people say not to touch the pin feathers is because it can cause pain in some birds. If your bird shows any signs of pain when you pat him, try to let him lead the interaction.

I sometimes spray my birds with warm water when they're moulting, to help soften the shafts, but you only really need to do this if you notice your bird's new feathers are not erupting correctly.

 

[cassiepengo]

@socalwendy: okay, i'll put a bowl for him. i doubt he'll use it, though....
bamboo likes playing wid his feathers too. i find him with a feather in his mouth, and he dusnt give it to me. we have a little war everyday

 

[cassiepengo]

@wesselg: im in india... thanks anyways
@mekaisto: no he does not have blood on feathers. okay, so we're going good then
so you say i should mist him?? do you mean hot water, or lukewarm, or anything?

 

[Mekaisto]

Lukewarm definitely, make sure you test it on your skin first. If he's not having any troubles, you probably don't need to mist him though

 

[cassiepengo]

okay... thanks!!

 

[cassiepengo]

this dusnt make sense.
im sure this is his first molt. its supposed to last 2 months.

but now he has stopped shedding and i dont see pinfeathers either. its only been around 2 weeks. whats wrong??