Molting

[ITHINKISAWAPUDDYCAT]

How can you tell when your CAG is molting? How often do they molt a year? I've read a few book and they don't mention molting. Then I was talking to someone and they said birds molt. Is there something that a owner can do to help in the molting process?

[The Outlaw]

Birds in captivitiy molt at least twice a year. Actually, most birds living indoors seem to have a continuous molt of the body feathers.

THE OUTLAW

[smallonion]

You can tell when they are molting because: 1.) the lose a lot of feathers 2.) they scratch, and 3.) you can see 'pin feathers' on them (like the end of a feather - the hard part - sticking out of them)

If your parrot is very tame, when you\re petting him, you can gently roll these pin feathers (especially on the back of his neck - the rest on his body might not be ready or he would have taken care of them) between your fingers to loosen the hard casing. This is what the parrot's birdie partner would do for him is he had one. It is good for the bird and increases bonding between the two fo you. However, if you touch a pin feather and it seems to irritate or hurt the bird, don't do it again. It is too new to work off.

Michele and Humph