One second he was eating, and the next....

[Z28Taxman]

He was outta there!

I put Ditto and his food back in the cage after his tv time with daddy and he ate for half an hour (flinging half the bowl to the floor of the cage). I must not have closed the food dish door properly after cleaning up his mess once he was done, because 10 minutes later he was back at it vigorously attacking his nutriberries when all of a sudden zoom! The door swung open and he was gone. I could hear him calling me from the room somewhere (it was dark so he didn't go far). Great it's dark and a little bird is on the floor so I shuffled my feet so I didn't step on him and there he was, standing behind my desk chair trying to figure out how he got there. :omg: Food dish door is closed now! :whistle:

[linda040899]

Gheesh!! I sure am glad that I'm not the only one who has had that happen!!!! Scary thing when you know it's dark, they are somewhere that could be dangerous and you can't see them! I have pink salt lamps in every room so it's never completely dark anywhere but even dim light makes it hard to see.

[Z28Taxman]

Gheesh!! I sure am glad that I'm not the only one who has had that happen!!!! Scary thing when you know it's dark, they are somewhere that could be dangerous and you can't see them! I have pink salt lamps in every room so it's never completely dark anywhere but even dim light makes it hard to see.

Yeah it wasn't completely dark, his light was still on albeit 15 feet away and my computer screens were still on (he was on the floor in front of the desk) but even being bright yellow he was hard to see.

I'm just glad it was rather damp and dreary weather yesterday or shuffling my feet on the carpet would have created quite a static charge and he'd get zapped! :omg:

[linda040899]

Rule of thumb when living with parrots is to expect the unexpected!

Not long ago, it was nice outside and I left the french doors that lead to my lanai open for fresh air. Next thing I know, Monty takes off flying, went out the doors, cleared the pool and ended up all the way on the far side of the decking! Granted, it was in the middle of the afternoon but it's a perfect example of what can happen. That's why all exits from my house have screened in enclosures!

And, of course, once they land, it's OMG now where am I and how do I get back to where I belong???????? Mom/Dad!!!!!!!!!!:rofl:

[Z28Taxman]

Rule of thumb when living with parrots is to expect the unexpected!

Not long ago, it was nice outside and I left the french doors that lead to my lanai open for fresh air. Next thing I know, Monty takes off flying, went out the doors, cleared the pool and ended up all the way on the far side of the decking! Granted, it was in the middle of the afternoon but it's a perfect example of what can happen. That's why all exits from my house have screened in enclosures!

And, of course, once they land, it's OMG now where am I and how do I get back to where I belong???????? Mom/Dad!!!!!!!!!!:rofl:

My doors stay locked, that way I can't accdently open one with him on my shoulder.

Fortunately once he landed on the floor he just stood there and called for me to get him. I think he was more surprised than I was. He was really attacking the nutriberries rather violently. He's moulting right now and wanted skritches the entire time he was out with me so he was hungry! He went a whole hour without eating!

[linda040899]

Only hour??????? Such a spoiled, well cared for lovie!

Yup, dad. I'm where I didn't expect to be ssoooo.... get me outa here!!!!!!!!!!!

[Z28Taxman]

Only hour??????? Such a spoiled, well cared for lovie!

Yup, dad. I'm where I didn't expect to be ssoooo.... get me outa here!!!!!!!!!!!

After an hour he was getting hungry. I had the food dish with me (even more spoiled) and after 45 minutes he'd go grab a beakfull and run back to my hand for more skritches. It was 10pm and soon bedtime so off to the cage to eat his bedtime snack.

I came down this morning and he was already out of bed (2 hours before sunrise) and snoozing on the boing. the food dish was down 1 gram from what it weighed when he went to bed. While I was filling that he went and had some pellets.

[Z28Taxman]

Only hour??????? Such a spoiled, well cared for lovie!



Well he is moulting. Gotta have lots of scritches when the moult kicks in. He's got pins all over his head and my couch looked like a snowstorm hit after he went back in. Down feathers and keratin everywhere.

Today when he flew back to the cage after I got his dinner ready he lost a primary flight feather halfway home. He's not gonna sneak upon anyone now. His wings whistle when he loses a flight feather.

His moult is going according to plan. 2 weeks ago he lost 3 grams and a bunch of feathers. the feathers stopped falling out and grew back and his weight went back up. This weekend the weight went down as the feathers started falling. He says growing feathers is hard work. And he's eating like a horse! :omg:

Good thing it's abnormally warm or he'd eat even more.

[mstomcat65]

Is this time of year a lovebird molts the most? I know I've had lacey will be 3 in January but this year she seems to have this never ending molt... it's not a lot of feathers at once but when I see she has most of the pinfeathers gone a week later there are a lot more again... does weather affect this? we are having a warmer then normal December but it's getting colder now again so I was wondering if that affects the molt

[linda040899]

Lovebirds will generally molt twice/year and when that happens pretty much depends on when they were hatched. The first molt of a juvenile starts at age 4 months and can continue for up to 2 months. That first molt is the most noticeable change in coloring. After that, the next one is at age 12 months when coloring intensifies and deepens. After that, it's usually every 6 months, but not all feathers molt at the major molts. Parrots replace feathers all the time, which is why you see pin feathers all the time. :)

[Z28Taxman]

Ditto usually moults in june/july then again in Decmber/January.

He hatched at the end of february so it fits Linda's timeline perfectly.

His moults go in stages, lose a bunch, stop and grow them in, then it repats 2 or 3 times. His weight matches the cycles too. When he starts losing the feathers his weight drops a few grams then goes back up while the feathers grow in the back down again when the feathers start dropping. Growing new feathers takes alot of energy.

[mstomcat65]

thanks linda and dave :)... I did some figuring and came up with a mid January hatch date being the breeder didn't give my girls a date when they got her... she's was a gift to me so I didn't get the ask the questions I would have if I would have bought her myself :)

That has been what she had been doing the last couple years... june/july then again end of November/early December. Just seems this year it's been more feathers then the previous years... a bit crabby/bitey/bossy too lol.

[linda040899]

With the parrots that live with me, I have an abundance of feathers all year round! Macaws and Amazons are the heavy molters at the moment so I have enough feathers to make a BUNCH of dream catchers! :lol

As birds get older, their coloring becomes more intense and vibrant. Some of my older lovies have coloring that is absolutely spectacular!

[Z28Taxman]

With the parrots that live with me, I have an abundance of feathers all year round! Macaws and Amazons are the heavy molters at the moment so I have enough feathers to make a BUNCH of dream catchers! :lol

As birds get older, their coloring becomes more intense and vibrant. Some of my older lovies have coloring that is absolutely spectacular!

With all the parrots you've got, you should be buried in feathers by now! :rofl:


His moult is going strong right now, he's been miserable for the last few days and ate a bit less than normal. His weight has been 38 grams the last two days but he's been eating like crazy all day today so I expect that will do as it usually does and go back up. When he drops weight during his moult it'll bottom out for a day or two at 38 and then go back to the low to mid 40's.

He snuggled in my hand for an hour of scrittches last night and his head is a major pincushion.

[michael]

Is this time of year a lovebird molts the most? I know I've had lacey will be 3 in January but this year she seems to have this never ending molt... it's not a lot of feathers at once but when I see she has most of the pinfeathers gone a week later there are a lot more again... does weather affect this? we are having a warmer then normal December but it's getting colder now again so I was wondering if that affects the molt

Depending on location, diet, and overall health, molting can often times be hard on certain fids. Here in the Northeast the air tends to get quite dry during the colder winter months. This along with the fact that most heating systems in of themselves will usually lower relative humidity levels, combined, the effect can often exacerbate the discomfort associated with molting. .. What has helped here, is to run a humidifier, frequent bathing/misting (if applicable) along with adding small amounts of olive oil (or even sunshine oil) to certain grain recipes i.e., birdie bread, rice, couscous, etc.

Hope every fid here feels better soon. .......:)

[Z28Taxman]

It didn't help that it was raining and foggy the last few days. He hates that. The sun came out and the air dried a bit and he was wound up and eating every thing that didn't try to eat him first.

He's still a porcupine though.

[Z28Taxman]

Well this moult is a biggie! He was miserable again this weekend (rainy dreary weather didn't help), slept a lot, ate less and is down 3 grams today from Saturday. Last night was a scritchfest with a few trips to the food dish to grab a beak full of food. He'd then be right back to my hand to crunch on it while getting scratched. Today after feeding him I cleaned out the tray and more feathers, he's started on the flights now so hopefully he'll be done soon. Flights and tail feathers usually come last. And he's got enough pins that I can't tell if he's lovebird or cactus.:omg: