When do birds moult?

Question

I have a African Gray parrot and he is molting. I was wondering why he is molting now. Is it because of the weather? Or the season, the month?

Answer 1

Birds feathers get damaged and need replacing regularly, normally once a year though in some species a second moult occurs. This second moult is known as an eclipse moult and birdwatchers often refer to a bird as being in 'eclipse'. Most birds do not shed all their feathers at once. This would be dangerous. The exception to this rule is some female hornbills which spend time each year walled up inside a hole in a tree sitting on eggs. She is brought food by her mate and uses this opportunity to shed all their feathers and grow a complete new set. Penguins also moult in a disorganised way. They cannot afford to lose many feathers at one time because of the cold. They stand around in large groups with new feathers growing all over their bodies. These new feathers push out the old ones which the bird then removes by preening. During the 2-3 weeks the moult takes, birds stand on the sea-shore unable to swim and therefore feed while the new feathers gradually replace the old ones.

Most birds moult by replacing a few feathers at a time. Moulting is normally symmetrical. Thus a bird may lose primaries and one or two separate secondaries on each wing - when these are replaced they will lose the next ones along. This way a bird can still function. The feathers grow quickly and it requires a lot of energy to build them, even so moulting can take a long time and some parrots take up to 9 months to complete a moult. Some larger birds of prey are an exception to the moulting every year rule and only moult their flight feathers every 2 years.

Many water birds moult all their flight feathers in one go. This means that for a part of the year they cannot fly. Often they congregate in huge flocks during this time. This is because the larger the group, the less the chances of being eaten by a predator - there is protection in numbers. A good example of this is when nearly all the Shelducks (Tadorna tadorna) in north west Europe, about 100 000 birds, congregate in the Grasser Knechtsand area of the Baddenzee in Germany to moult.

Moulting costs in terms of resources, a bird's metabolic energy usage may be as much as 30 percent higher during moult.

Answer 2

when they mature......... i know for cockatiels it is 1-4 years or something........... not sure for greys

Answer 3

This is what I have learned about molting since I have sooooo many birds. Birds have what is called a progressive molt. they shed feathers in one area at a time. Like the wings...they will lose a flight feather on each side at around the same time until the wings are done...then they will molt at a different area. This is because birds need to have all their feathers to fly. So it actually takes months for them to go through a single molt.

Yes molt is usually brought on by the spring. ALL of my birds start to molt once spring has sprung. This is because days get longer which stimulates breeding season. For breeding season birds want to be in their best and most beautiful plumage for their mates!

Most species will molt a couple times before gaining their adult feathers. Once they gain those they will normally go through molt once a year. It just is a slooooow process and it seems to take forever. Birds also "shed". This is when you will see tons of white dust and little downy feathers mixed with longer "filoplumes". African greys you can usually REALLY tell when they are shedding!!! They have feather dust every where!

Answer 4

Yes, it is because of the change of season.  They have a heavy molt every spring.  Lasts about 6 weeks.  

Enjoy!