Molting?

Stickvilla · Post by **Stickvilla** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 7:33 am

In the past several day.. I have been seeing white down feathers in Shamrock (aka Shammy) cage....

I am seeing more each day....

I have checked him over and see not signs of plucking.. and I know that he has not molted at least his flight feathers in over a year since before his orginal owner died....
The person that had Shammy for over a year never got him clipped ... For his safety I took him to be clipped the day after I got him and it was discovered he had a light clip and was just trimmed harder and more flights cut so he could not gain altitude or fly for any distance..

I am use to the molting of my tiels and have never seen the white down feathers like this all over the place....

Is this the beginning of a molt for Shammy???

And if so what extra care and dietary needs will he have during this time....

He gets a thorough mist bath every other day....

Diet is fresh fruits, soaked and/or sprouted organic grain/seed mix, fresh veggies, cooked bean,grain,pasta mix with veggies and peppers.. and in evening and till I wake in AM pellet/ parrot seed mix with safflower/ no sunflower... then seed/pellet pulled when I wake and fresh, sprouts or cooked foods thru day till hour before bed..but pellets in sperate dish available thru day also...

Diet varies with addition of cooked quinoa with fruit (instead of fresh fruits for breakfast or dinner), scrambled eggs with peppers every other day and birdybreads...

Donna · Post by **Donna** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:38 am

This is probably his hard molt they get after breeding season. His diet your giving is perfect

For molting birds in my house I spray them down with 100% pure Aloe juice, helps with the itches and crankiness they get while molting. I do this once or twice a day. Will not hurt them a bit.

Donna

Post by **kyria** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 5:18 pm

The aloe juice should be diluted in water , right ?

Donna · Post by **Donna** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 5:27 pm

I spray it on full aloe no water. But this is my preference. You could mix it 50 50 I guess.

Donna

Post by **kyria** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 5:37 pm

Thanks Donna,

ust wondered, because I put it into the quaker and tiels bath water, which is diluted and if I put too much in it seems to put a coating of whitish stuff on the tiels feathers.

Not an area I know much about.