moulting, & wing clipped feathers

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*kimi*
Posts: 34
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 7:30 am

moulting, & wing clipped feathers

Post by *kimi* »

Hi, I'm sorry If this has been answered elsewhere, If so please direct me to the post..

I have a 6 month old ringneck who had one wing clipped when I got him as a gift last year. I am not really sure when he is supposed to moult out these feathers and grow new ones, so If anyone can tell me at what ages do ring necks moult up until adult hood, & If he should have already grown them back by now, does that mean that the breeder could have damaged his wing feather follicles?

thanx,
Molossus2
Posts: 353
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2011 4:01 am

Re: moulting, & wing clipped feathers

Post by Molossus2 »

Kimi,
Irns molt annually during summer. If the clipped flights are absent then you can flex the wing and inspect the wing to confirm your suspicion. I doubt that the wing was damaged given that the bird was practically a baby when you got it. You wouldve noticed the injury through bleeding or see the wound scab or the bird will display discomfort due to this. If the bird was injured through bad clipping then it's difficult to determine extent of damage without inspection.
*kimi*
Posts: 34
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 7:30 am

Re: moulting, & wing clipped feathers

Post by *kimi* »

Thanks yeah, when I bath him I can pull out his wing & see how the feathers are. They don't look too bad just they look like they have been clipped unevenly & he is starting to hack at the ends of them so they look pretty yuk. Besides that he can fly perfectly & isn't showing signs of discomfort.

So when they moult, do they slowly loose all there feathers, because he lost his main two tail feathers recently & they grew back really quick, but he hasn't moulted any other feathers.

Because he was born last oct/november does that mean he won't moult until the end of this year?
Molossus2
Posts: 353
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2011 4:01 am

Re: moulting, & wing clipped feathers

Post by Molossus2 »

Molting is a gradual process. He should molt from around December. Normally this is just after breeding season In the Southern Hemisphere.
parebear
Posts: 24
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2013 6:31 pm
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Re: moulting, & wing clipped feathers

Post by parebear »

how do you know if your irn is molting? My Jack has a couple of little (1cm) bald patches on her head in places that I know she can't pluck herself, I'm in New Zealand, so can she be molting early? We are beginning Summer now and its been quite hot. Shes a also losing her downy feathers from under her wing area. It's this normal? I know we have had a number of new visitors and she had been getting quite territorial. How do I know it's molting?

Thank you in advance
zentoucan
Posts: 151
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 10:45 pm

Re: moulting, & wing clipped feathers

Post by zentoucan »

kimi
after much research, I'm not a fan of wing clipping but if you must, than both wings should be clipped evenly as only clipping one wing put the bird out of balance when it try's to fly.
ranechild
Posts: 295
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2013 12:57 pm
Location: Baltimore, MD

Re: moulting, & wing clipped feathers

Post by ranechild »

Just as a matter of record against the old posts, My baby in Baltimore lost his two tail feather at about 5-6 months old in the middle of summer along with feathers on the head and top of wings and down feathers. At 7 and a half months old, his flights are growing in over his clipped primary flights and are about the same length now. I expect the clipped ones to drop in the next month--speaking about November.
Donovan
Posts: 833
Joined: Tue Oct 08, 2013 4:18 pm
Location: North Carolina

Re: moulting, & wing clipped feathers

Post by Donovan »

my irn was 6 months old when I got him.. his wings had obviously been clipped already. It must have taken him 8 months to be able to fly again.

now he's unstoppable.
parebear
Posts: 24
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2013 6:31 pm
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Re: moulting, & wing clipped feathers

Post by parebear »

this is jacks bald spot. I have a suspicion that she may have gotten it rubbing against the bars of her cage
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20131101_175714-1-536605157.jpg
20131101_175714-1-536605157.jpg (66.17 KiB) Viewed 2025 times
parebear
Posts: 24
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2013 6:31 pm
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Re: moulting, & wing clipped feathers

Post by parebear »

hi all,
so it looks like my Jack is coming out of molt, lol, thought I would take a pic of her. You can see on the side of her head where her pin feathers are. ... Shes looking a bit raggedy at the moment and has a temper to match. we used lots of aloe and extra showers to help her through.
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jack post shower
jack post shower
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