Why budgies lose feathers




















It is worrisome for pet owners when moulting happens in young budgies. But the truth is that moulting starts in budgies at the age of 3 months. And budgies get lazy during the moulting period and they might also look sick, but it is nothing to worry about.

Budgies do not lose all the feathers at once instead they lose it gradually that gives new feathers the time to grow.

And it also keeps the budgies warm and cozy and in the early stage of moulting, budgies can easily fly too. Sometimes, the moulting process in budgies stalls mainly because they are not getting the proper nutrition or care that they need during the moulting period. If the moulting process is disturbed due to any factor then it leaves budgies with bald patches and bald spots. And if nothing helps then there is an immediate need to see a vet for the budgie.

In that disease, the feathers of budgies get removed, and then they never grow back leaving the budgie all bare and bald. Then he will never be able to fly, and it will also cause other problems like viral attacks and so much more. Sometimes small creatures that are called feather mites start residing in the feathers of budgies. And then they cause extreme discomfort and loss of feathers to the birds.

These mites are commonly called aviary pests or aviary parasites. And the owners confuse the loss of feathers due to mites with moulting. So, it is very important to check your budgie properly and see for mites or even lice in their feathers. And for that regular bathing and cleanliness is very important for budgies. Moulting in baby budgies and adult budgies occurs at variant frequencies. When budgies are three to four months old the first episode of moulting occurs that replaces all the feathers on their bodies.

And as they grow old moulting occurs once every year. These pin feathers are covered with a sheathing that is made up of Keratin. And they transform into new complete feathers over the course of 2 to 3 weeks maximum. They do not cause any physical pain to the budgies but the behavior of budgies during the moulting definitely changes. Pin feathers can be compared to the beard hair that grows back right after shaving and they are not necessarily hurtful, but they cause slight discomfort and are quite itchy.

A fun fact about pin feathers is that all of them have a blood vein inside them which subsides with time as the feather grows. Moulting is a very uncomfortable period for budgies as their feathers are shedding. And the growth of new feathers requires tons of energy and nutrition, so budgies are not necessarily happy and cheerful at the time of moulting. And most of the time budgies hate to even interact with their owners.

And there is nothing wrong with it because as soon as the moulting period ends budgies start acting normally. So, to ease the process and end it quickly owners should deal with their budgies politely and provide them with all the nutrition they need. As moulting proceeds, the budgie starts getting calmer and comfortable. But in the beginning phase of moulting a budgie is extremely irritated and uncomfortable all the time. Some budgies start to bite because of the itching caused by the pin feathers as they are unable to scratch the pin feathers because of their sensitive nature.

So, they develop extreme anger issues and are jumping more than usual. All of this is a normal episode during the early stage. Even after he is better, you might need to keep him isolated in case he is a carrier. If you can't figure out why your little buddy is shedding feathers, it could be simply that he's bored or anxious. If you've changed anything about his routine recently, your bird might be using feather pulling as a coping mechanism to deal with the change.

Just like some people, some birds are more emotionally sensitive than others, so even a little change in his diet or daily routine may set your bird off. Boredom self-mutilation occurs when you don't give your bird enough toys or attention, and it is fairly common in pet birds who are left at home in a cage while their favorite person heads off to work each day.

If you spent all day alone without much stimulation, you'd probably be pulling your feathers out, too. Bridget Coila specializes in health, nutrition, pregnancy, pet and parenting topics. Her articles have appeared in Oxygen, American Fitness and on various websites.

Coila has a Bachelor of Science in cell and molecular biology from the University of Cincinnati and more than 10 years of medical research experience. Types of Pet Birds. Molting in budgerigars -- or budgies -- is usually a totally expected and healthy pattern, one in which the birds' old feathers fall out only for others to grow in fresh and new. Complications can sometimes occur, however. Some budgie youngsters, for example, can get an ailment known as French molt that can actually prevent them from flying for good.

If your budgie is undergoing a typical molt, you might notice his feathers dropping out gradually, with new ones popping up as successors relatively quickly. Apart from his feathers' simply dropping, you might also observe him being a bit less lively than normal, with more time spent sleeping.

Throughout all of this, budgies usually manage to retain their normal flying abilities. Since molting can be so physically taxing, it isn't uncommon for budgies to be rather grouchy mid-molt.

Time isn't usually a reliable indication of standard molting in the budgie world. Budgies differ from many of their fellow birds in that they don't usually molt according to predictable schedules.

Note that these birds, on the whole, are capable of molting at any time.



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