Experiences at the kitchen table at 5:00 or so in the morning...
Moulting...
Posted 09-07-2009 at 03:29 PM by NotEnoughTime
Outside the temperature is dropping to 11 degrees overnight (or about 52 degrees Fahrenheit).
With the change in temperature comes a major moult. And Gari is really itchy, somewhat crabby and maybe a bit confused.
I'm picking up feathers from all corners of the house. It is funny to think that sucha small bird (weighing in at a full 60 grams) can produce soooo many feathers and still look completely covered in feathers. Along with the hair from the dogs and cat we have our hands full trying to keep the floating hair and feathers at bay in our home.
Gari's lost a few of primary flights during this moult and cannot fly as well right now too. She's actually landed on the floor a couple of times - which is very unusual for her. No tailfeathers have come out (yet). Last moult she lost a couple, but I believe she's lost the majority of the feathers she's going to lose now - and the pinfeathers are starting to come in heavily.
She has three pins overtop of her nares. They are "unripe" right now (just a little white on the tip - the rest dark), so if I scrach there she will squack and nip. It seems she has a bit of a dilemma... She wants a head scratch - but occasionally I'll hit a pin and then it hurts... So she squacks. I've learned to scrach lightly - but sometimes she just leans into the scritch and then I hit a pinfeather... Sigh... She still asks for scritches though - so I don't think it is causing any long-term damage to our relationship if I hit a pin feather or two.
She has four or five pins coming in on her back - between her wings. I can see them when she "fluffs" up. She takes care of those by removing the white sheath as the feather is growing in. It is quite the process - almost a full time job - taking care of so many feathers.
A feather is an amazing thing. Feathers provides good insulation against the cooler weather, they are aerodynamic, they are shaped to provide lift when the wings are flapped and they are strong enough to hold a bird in the air when in flight.
Twice a year I get to watch the production of new feathers as Gari undergoes her spring and fall moults. I am amazed every time.
With the change in temperature comes a major moult. And Gari is really itchy, somewhat crabby and maybe a bit confused.
I'm picking up feathers from all corners of the house. It is funny to think that sucha small bird (weighing in at a full 60 grams) can produce soooo many feathers and still look completely covered in feathers. Along with the hair from the dogs and cat we have our hands full trying to keep the floating hair and feathers at bay in our home.
Gari's lost a few of primary flights during this moult and cannot fly as well right now too. She's actually landed on the floor a couple of times - which is very unusual for her. No tailfeathers have come out (yet). Last moult she lost a couple, but I believe she's lost the majority of the feathers she's going to lose now - and the pinfeathers are starting to come in heavily.
She has three pins overtop of her nares. They are "unripe" right now (just a little white on the tip - the rest dark), so if I scrach there she will squack and nip. It seems she has a bit of a dilemma... She wants a head scratch - but occasionally I'll hit a pin and then it hurts... So she squacks. I've learned to scrach lightly - but sometimes she just leans into the scritch and then I hit a pinfeather... Sigh... She still asks for scritches though - so I don't think it is causing any long-term damage to our relationship if I hit a pin feather or two.
She has four or five pins coming in on her back - between her wings. I can see them when she "fluffs" up. She takes care of those by removing the white sheath as the feather is growing in. It is quite the process - almost a full time job - taking care of so many feathers.
A feather is an amazing thing. Feathers provides good insulation against the cooler weather, they are aerodynamic, they are shaped to provide lift when the wings are flapped and they are strong enough to hold a bird in the air when in flight.
Twice a year I get to watch the production of new feathers as Gari undergoes her spring and fall moults. I am amazed every time.
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