# (For advice, pls) Prolonged moulting



## JasmineAndPearl (Nov 2, 2021)

Hello

Candy started his first moult since 1 month ago. He dropped his first long tail feather on 25 March. But the moulting continue until now. (Click here for intro of my flock.)

Tonight I saw two new long tail feathers dropped out. And it’s not fully matured yet, there’s *blood* at the end of the tip. I checked him, no blood on him. Im just thankful that he didn’t bleed out.

*Is this common? It seems like he is finishing his first moult and before it ends, the next one started?! Is there a condition? I measure his weight daily, it’s consistently maintained at 33 to 34 g since March. *

I added nuts, eggs, mealworms to the variety of daily veggie chop, seed sprouts, beans and veg to ensure sufficient nutrition. They also eat dry mix of seeds, freeze dried veg and fruits, and some Harrison and Top pellets.

Attached the blood feathers dropped:


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Could you please explain what you mean by "diet" moult?

Many birds will molt a little at a time instead of a really hard molt which can be really tough on a budgie.
Flax seed and or oil is excellent for molting birds.

The following is general information regarding molting for all members:

Budgies generally have a first light molt at around 3 - 4 months old and another at 6 -7 months old.
When a budgie reaches at 1 year old their molts adjust to the Seasons.
After the adjustment the budgie will have its big molts in the Spring and Fall. 
Budgies may also have lighter molts throughout the year; triggered by stress, change in diet or change in environment.

You can supplement your budgie’s diet with egg food during a molt.
This helps your budgies replenish the energy lost during the time they lose and grow in the new feathers.
Additionally, egg food promotes good and healthy feather growth.
It is possible to buy ready-made egg food at any specialized pet store but just as easy to make your own by hard boiling an egg and mashing it up.
If you wish you can mix it with a bit of cooked quinoa and flax seed.
You can also finely chop some veggies and add it to the egg food mix.
If your give your budgie cooked quinoa, be sure you rinse it well several times before cooking.

Budgies get itchy during their molt, so they'll preen and scratch more often. Additionally, they may be sleepier and quieter as molting takes a lot of energy, and their poop could be a little runnier. To make them more comfortable, you can offer them baths either in a shallow dish of water (or Lix-It bath) or by hanging wet greens (romaine lettuce or kale works best) in their cage so they can nibble on it and rub against them.

Molting FAQs*
*Miserable Molting*


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

It looks to me like the feathers have not completely opened from the protective keratin sheath and also the tip of the quill is not sharp like it should be when a molted feather falls out, it could be that the feathers broke off or Candy bit them off. Do you see him picking at the tail area?


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## JasmineAndPearl (Nov 2, 2021)

Hello FaeryBee,
Can I clarify what is a diet moulting?


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Yes, please do explain what you mean by that terminology. 
I never heard of a “diet-molt” before you posted the term in your first post on this thread. *


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## JasmineAndPearl (Nov 2, 2021)

Cody said:


> It looks to me like the feathers have not completely opened from the protective keratin sheath and also the tip of the quill is not sharp like it should be when a molted feather falls out, it could be that the feathers broke off or Candy bit them off. Do you see him picking at the tail area?


Yah there is still blood inside the feathers. They are definitely not matured. He still has his tail feathers in the afternoon when he came out to play. After dinner I came home to check on them, and noticed two long tail feathers inside the cage. He does preen, but preens everywhere not specific to the tail area. I don’t believe my other budgie pull it out, she usually moves away from him. She might peck at him if he annoys her.


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## JasmineAndPearl (Nov 2, 2021)

FaeryBee said:


> *Yes, please do explain what you mean by that terminology.
> I never heard of a “diet-molt” before you posted the term in your first post on this thread. *


Oh silly me! It is a typo! It’s first moult!!


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## JasmineAndPearl (Nov 2, 2021)

JasmineAndPearl said:


> Oh silly me! It is a typo! It’s first moult!!


@FaeryBee im guessing if he is stressed I should be able to observe some telling signs? Like eating, dropping, flight, and preening? So far, every aspect seems like the norm to me, except for the moulting. He chirps a lot too, which seems like he’s happy. Loves his veggie too. 

I do try to pay attention to my birds as I’m 
very inexperienced (only started this hobby in Oct 2021). I try my best to learn and observe as much as I can. 

I will be scheduling a vet visit for general health checkup soon. I’m worried. Sigh.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*If all seems normal then it could just have been a problem with those two feathers. 
Sometimes there will be one or two that are a bit abnormal but everything else is as it should be. 
Having a well-birdie checkup will definitely put your mind at ease.

Best wishes! 💜*


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## JasmineAndPearl (Nov 2, 2021)

FaeryBee said:


> *If all seems normal then it could just have been a problem with those two feathers.
> Sometimes there will be one or two that are a bit abnormal but everything else is as it should be.
> Having a well-birdie checkup will definitely put your mind at ease.
> 
> Best wishes! 💜*


Thanks FaeryBee.
My birds are doing well. Candy seems ok and we are hoping his tail feathers will return.

Nothing much to update, just wanted to keep the chat going, I enjoy the positivity and interactivity of this community. 😉 

Candy, my boy budgie, continues to badger Pearl, the female one. He now also annoys my cockatiel too. Sigh, thankfully Pearl and my cockatiel are able to live together in peace. I had since moved Pearl into my cockatiel’s cage and she seems happier! Pearl now initiates interactions with me, less aggressive and is eating well. She’s is a whopping 43g now! (I reduced the seeds in their diet to be about 3
Do you supposed she has English budgie bloodline? Candy is only 33g.

chonky Pearl:









Yellow/blue is Candy:


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

It's possible that Pearl has some English in her, years ago I had a 50/50 split bird and although visually he did not look like an English budgie he was much larger. In this picture, this is Lenny on the right, as you can see he was much larger than Bebe on the left.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Omg, Cody, he's HUGE  I'm really surprised at the size difference?


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

StarlingWings said:


> Omg, Cody, he's HUGE  I'm really surprised at the size difference?


He really does look like a monster bird in that picture.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I love the pictures of Pearl and Candy. I'm so glad everybirdie is doing well and that Pearl is happier now. 

You know, you could start an ongoing picture thread of Pearl, Candy and the Cockatiel (name?) in order to post updates and pictures....
💜

Pearl does not look at all overweight. She appears to simply be a larger size budgie. 
English budgies came about when breeders began specifically breeding larger sized birds together and also breeding specific ones with fluffier heads...
That's not to say Pearl may not have some English budgie background -- she could.*


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## JasmineAndPearl (Nov 2, 2021)

FaeryBee said:


> *I love the pictures of Pearl and Candy. I'm so glad everybirdie is doing well and that Pearl is happier now.
> 
> You know, you could start an ongoing picture thread of Pearl, Candy and the Cockatiel (name?) in order to post updates and pictures....
> 💜
> ...


I might just to do that 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻


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## JasmineAndPearl (Nov 2, 2021)

Cody said:


> It's possible that Pearl has some English in her, years ago I had a 50/50 split bird and although visually he did not look like an English budgie he was much larger. In this picture, this is Lenny on the right, as you can see he was much larger than Bebe on the left.
> View attachment 263230


Hi Cody, do you know how heavy is Lenny? I don’t think Pearl is so big, she’s about the same size as Candy, but 10 g heavier. I checked her keel bone today? It’s not as defined. I’m afraid she’s really chubby now.

*Any suggestions to help with dieting her? *
They mainly eat veggie chop with soaked seed sprouts for breakfast. They get pellets with dry mix of freeze dried stuff and flowers. Then dinner some seeds. I try to limit their seeds to about 35% of their diet. Only thing is Pearl stays in the same cage as my cockatiel, Summer. Summer happens to be a tad light weight for a cockatiel, she’s 88 to 89 g. I wonder how to manage her diet with other bird around.

They get about 2 to 3 h of out of cage time daily. The budgies love to zoom around the room. 😂

Summer:


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

JasmineAndPearl said:


> Hi Cody, do you know how heavy is Lenny? I don’t think Pearl is so big, she’s about the same size as Candy, but 10 g heavier. I checked her keel bone today? It’s not as defined. I’m afraid she’s really chubby now.
> 
> *Any suggestions to help with dieting her? *
> They mainly eat veggie chop with soaked seed sprouts for breakfast. They get pellets with dry mix of freeze dried stuff and flowers. Then dinner some seeds. I try to limit their seeds to about 35% of their diet. Only thing is Pearl stays in the same cage as my cockatiel, Summer. Summer happens to be a tad light weight for a cockatiel, she’s 88 to 89 g. I wonder how to manage her diet with other bird around.
> ...


Lenny passed away years ago, but I keep all medical records so I looked back and he was 50 grams but he was just a big tall guy, he was not overweight for his frame.


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