yeah, they vary here, but they all seem to be molting in some way. Screech is molting reall bad, and the zons are going through a mild molt...

Jewel has TONS of pins, when I give her scritches, it looks like it snowed on my shirt.

I could make a bird out of the feathers I've been collecting.

nope not yet, not for another couple of months

Tausi lost a couple of flight feathers last week, and I thought "oh boy, here we go". But since then nothing. No sign on the others yet. I think they look out the windows at the 8 foot snowbanks, and figure they'll hang on to those feathers a while yet!

No, no trick question. I was just curious because, in the Northern Hemisphere, we are at the beginning of the breeding season. I already got eggs from keets, lovies, tiels, mini macaws, toos and the canaries just started also (I don't count the doves because they seem to breed all year round -and no, I don't breed them, I replace the real eggs with plastic ones if they actually go into brooding, if not, I just dispose of them). And, normally, birds never molt during breeding season (cannot afford to spend all that protein making new feathers when they need it for the eggs) so I was very, very suprised to find out how many people here have molting birds at the beginning of spring.

And yes, I am the same Beatriz from New York Birds (see the e-mail underneath?).

Like Sarah said about her birds, my Laker [Budgie] has been molting this year, off & on all winter. It's a real head scratcher. Just when I think it's done, a couple weeks later he starts again - but not all the same feathers each time. Rio stopped molting after Christmas. He's Ok right now & Laker just got a bunch of new crest & face feathers in.

My housekeeping skills are always being challenged - as I often find 'dust bunnies' of little Budgie feathers in the strangest places.

Maybe being 2 lads together - they can afford to spend energy on feather growth. I really think this winter has been strange. I don't see much change in their diet or light. If anything, Laker is more active then he was last year without Rio around.

It must be a trick question for Leigh - her birds are obviously molting. Lets hear it for the vacuum cleaner.

Well, I don't think it's the winter itself because my birds were a little early this year in their breeding behaviors but, aside from that, they are right on schedule: spring=breeding. And, last year, they finished their molt at the end of the summer, as they were supposed to, and they did not molt at all during the winter. It has to be the light schedule and diet that is doing it for your birds. Birds only react to the conditions they live in.

I have a question...

Jewel, my blue and gold is molting the most. The rest ehhh, not so much.

Jewel is 9 and 1/2 months old. I was expecting a juvinille molt, but I thought it wouldve been a little sooner.... Do you think this is whats goin on now?

Not much is different, to my knowledge, but maybe it's the little things. They're up around 7 am & off to bed around 7pm. Thanks to my husband's schedule [ I think he was a bird in his last life] he gets up with the sun & goes to bed really early most of the time. However, they are known to sing away until he does go to bed around 8:30.

We do use our FS light more consistently this year than before - on from 4pm until 7pm. These things take time for me to make part of my routine - no timers.

The seed mix brands changed - I forgot which type to buy & it was at another store - it does smell different. They still get their greens [baby spinach & arugula & red lettuce wrap] & treats [cooked bird friendly, banana muffins or carrot cake once a week on average] & 1" of millet, for their bedtime treat.

so - what do you suggest? More sleep & 10 hours of daylight? Different foods?

Why was last year different? - wish I had better notes. If anything, I think Laker used to stay up later when he was alone - he napped a lot more in those days.

Most probably a juvenile molt. It would have been expected about 6-7 months but maybe she forgot. They only seem to get molting and adult feathers right at the 2nd adult molt time. I have found birds hatched close to the begin of the season have a juvenile molt at 6 months then maybe have adult type molt 2 or 3 months later at the real molt time. I am not sure how long a northern hemisphere season is but our season can stretch 8-9 months because of our weather.