IndianRingNeck.com

sky is about 17.5 months old and started moulting about 2 weeks ago, im aware this is normal for his age, but have a few more questions.

1) its the middle of winter, is that normal, or is it because he is indoors so timing isnt to important

2) he is looking scruffy, and in patches his feathers look white instead of grey, if that due to the outer feathers falling out and the downy feathers showing through or do the feather get/lose their colour over time

3) i know each moult/bird is differant, but how bad can they get feather losing wise? at the moment he only has to shake/jump/fly and feathers fall out

4) ive got 4 wing feathers so far, how many can he lose before flight becomes an issue

5) how long can the moulting take

i know its a lot of questions, but looking at him he is a scruffy looking bugger, he is not picking, he cleans as normal, baths as normal, is eating normally, and his attitude hasn't changed, if anything he is getting friendlier letting me stroke him all over, where as before he would have bit.

many thanks.

So sorry we missed this. A picture might help? Sounds like hes healthy to me. They do look scruffy and patchy during a moult, this is normal, but if you see bald spots that are not growing any feathers, this could be a concern. You might find down feathers fall anytime of the year. I'm not sure when moulting starts where you are, but over here its summer. Usually my eldest moult lasts a couple of weeks, but his last moult was a long one. Yoda is around 15months and has had a moult already.
I find as soon as they loose a flight feather the new one appears soon very soon after, so flight is not an issue as they are constantly replacing the lost feathers.
I think they like to be petted when moulting, its a natural thing, in the wild a mate will prene them to help with all the ichies! Jibs has been super cuddly and affectionate lately, he likes a head scritch, but when I rub the pin feathers the wrong way he snaps. They are super sensitive!

he seems healthy, appetite etc is as normal, i can see pin feathers coming through so everything is working as normal, it was just the amount of feathers he was losing at the time, but that seams to be slowing down now.

as to a photo, i would love to, but the little sod has decided the camera is his, i only have to get it out and he tries to take it off of me. i will try.

thanks.