I'm a little worried about my bugie, Tori-chan. He's been molting full-on for several months now, and it doesn't look lke it's going to be ending soon. He's always got new pin feathers on his head, and I'm finding a lot of dropped feathers and "under-feathers" all around his cage. How long does a molt usually last? Should I take him to the vets again?

My budgie Blinkie has been moulting for a couple of months now. He always has new pin feathers on his head. I'm not sure how long a moults suposed to go for.

Ive got Max starting his first molt now and boy is he grumpy above his cere you can see the pink skin he is losing that many feathers my floor is like a feathered carpet.

 

Candys first molt lasted around 3 months if I remember.

i think a lot of pet birds moult all the time because the conditions dont change ie temp food water light

hath is right. there is nothing to worry about unless the feathers that fall out have blood in the stems, or still have the sheath on.

a prolonged molt can be a sign of illness.

My budgie Rocky never stopped molting either and i am convinced this was a sign of something wrong.

not really a sign of illness as such. more of a sign of stress. yes it is possible that stress could be caused by an underlying illness, but stress can also be caused by conditions in the home (constant warm temp, no goodnes from natural light) or a slightly erratic routine. a lot of budgies moult all year round because in the hotter weather they moult naturally and in the cooler months they moult because of the central heating.

 

i have to be very on the ball with things like these, because one of my budgies has a feather disease. moulting is only a problem when there are abnormalities in the feathers or continual moulting of primary wing and tail feathers is accompanied by other symptoms (eg. unusual droppings, wheezing, weight loss, etc).

 

as always, if in doubt speak directly with your vet

Pixie, budge is actually correct. When we took Merlin to the vet when he was sick, they said he had pinfeathers on his head because he was sick and he wasnt actually moulting at the time. Now he is moulting "properly" the difference is amazing. You can really tell the difference between pin feathers from illness and proper moulting.

what was the illness

i said moulting is a sign of stress. and yes possibly from an underlying illness whic is why i recommended that if there is any doubt then speak directly with your vet. common fungal and respiratory infections can put stress on a bird and cause them to moult or look a little bit ragged. although if your budgie is sick from another problem there are usually more signs that they are ill than just pin feathers...eg. tegz did you take your budgie to the vet for another problem and just found out hat the pin fetahers were a consequence of illness?

 

i know that a prolonged 'heavy' moult is definitely something to be concerned about. i.e. the continuous shedding of large feathers from the tail or wings. both of my budgies have polyomavirus so the new forming feathers always fall out before they are fully developed. so i have read up a lot of similar feather diseases.

 

shedding of baby feathers is not really a problem and is quite normal in the home. maybe i should have worded that post better (Laughing out loud), it was late.

I'm just a bit concerned, because Tori-chan has had health problems since he was about 2 months old. At first he was diagnosed with a respitory infection and a slight case of airsacculitis (sp?), and was put in Psittavet. The made a small difference, but he kept showing symptoms of illness. Then we went and got some blood tests done, while he was put on polyaid plus (nutrient suppliments). The tests came back indicating that there may be a small liver problemor that his immune sysmtem may not be working as it should. But the bloods were inconclusive, so the vet (she's a registered avian vet, By The Way) thinks it could be something fungal. Aside from that, we don't have central heating (or central anything ), and his molt has been going on since... maybe February?

hmmmm, when my budgie who has polyomavirus had a fungal infection it caused a lot of his flight feathers to fall out all at once. he used to have quite a few but now he has one or two on each wing - sometimes he doesnt have any, and because of his virus the new feathers cannot grow back properly.

 

if the feathers that are moulted are normal then i think it is unlikely to be a feather condition and he is probably moulting because of the stress of an underlying infection that can be treated. sometimes different antibiotics can cause a budgie to get a fungal infection as their immune system is weak during treatment, thats why a lot of vets give you probiotics - to counter balance the effects of the antibiotics.

 

let us know when you find out what is causing it, try not to worry it sounds like you have found a very good vet

Edited July 14, 200519 yr by pixie25

A full molt takes mine about 2 months to complete, they look really rough for about 1-2 weeks. Mini-molts vary from a week to three. Stress definitely makes them molt harder, and can induce a molt right after one has finished. Mine stress-molt and sometimes pluck whenever I am away for more than a day or two. Indoor a/c and/or heat will cause a continuous molt if the temp does not fluctuate. But a 6 month molt does sound excessive, especially if tail and flight feathers are being continually lost. If it is just body or head feathers it is harder to tell if it is due to illness, stress, or artificially induced temperature conditions from living indoors. A gram stain and/or a choanal swab will tell your vet if there is a fungal infection going on - they are easy to treat although it may take more than one round of antifungals depending on the severity of the infection. Sometimes if one type doesn't work, the second round will be a different medicine. Keep us posted.

I'm just a bit concerned, because Tori-chan has had health problems since he was about 2 months old.  At first he was diagnosed with a respitory infection and a slight case of airsacculitis (sp?), and was put in Psittavet.  The made a small difference, but he kept showing symptoms of illness.  Then we went and got some blood tests done, while he was put on polyaid plus (nutrient suppliments).  The tests came back indicating that there may be a small liver problemor that his immune sysmtem may not be working as it should.  But the bloods were inconclusive, so the vet (she's a registered avian vet, By The Way) thinks it could be something fungal.  Aside from that, we don't have central heating (or central anything ), and his molt has been going on since... maybe February?

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okay, liver problems, that makes it a bit easier. My budgie started to moult in february too. HE continued to do so for about 3-4 months I think, then one day he was really sick. He had slight liver problems as well as the other stuff... and they get so run down their systems don't have the energy to moult AND fight the illness. So in order to survive they must stop moulting. The pin feathers on the head tend to stay because they are a sign of illness too. Merlin's just gotten sick again after just beginning his moult, and there is now an insane number of pinfeathers on his head. Once you get the illness sorted, your budgie will begin to moult again and will do it properly, you just have to make sure you keep up the veggies for the proteins and things. I can't even remember half of what I was told it was a few months ago.

 

How's the lil dude going?