Senegal shedding unexpectedly

[nikkid]

I have a much loved 24 year old Senegal, Japha, who appears to be moulting a great deal of his feathers lately. He's not fussing with his feathers or skin, all of which appear otherwise to be in good condition. He has no sore or dry patches on his skin which appears to be healthy and in himself he's full of beans as usual. It's just that he seems to be moulting rather heavily and unexpectedly. We have seldom been blessed in the past with any of his lovely yellow chest feathers for our collection but lately we've found a fair few on the floor of his cage.

Is it possible, can anyone tell me, that unsually warm weather could be causing this? Where we are at the moment it is particulary hot and we are all struggling. We spray him with cool water regularly as normal [he'll only bath in his water pot when the fancy takes him] which he does enjoy and it does serve to keep him a bit cooler but the feathers still fall.

He isn't showing any bald patches or anything which would normally have him ferried up to the vet's but I am a little concerned that he's losing a lot of feathers.

I'd be grateful for any advice.

[Wolf]

I am not sure of where you live or if anyone has even asked, but it is very hot here as well and I live in the Blue Ridge mountains. I do not think that the heat has anything to do with his molting. His breeding season is over and then comes the molting season, so it appears that he is right on schedule for molting. As for the reason for his heavy molt there are generally only two factors that I am aware of as having any effect these are the birds light schedule and its diet, so these are where I would begin my evaluation of why such a heavy molt.

[nikkid]

Thanks for your response. We live in the UK - summer here at the moment but it is unusually warm for us. The light schedule could actually be the reason for his moult now you mention it. We have been keeping curtains/blinds pulled to try and keep the sun out which could be affecting him. He's been getting less natural light - as have we all - as a result. We'll review that as a possibility. Thanks for your help.

[Pajarita]

Hmmm, no, light schedule influences when the molt happens but it doesn't affect the 'heaviness' of it - well, in a way it does but what you end up getting is what is called a soft molt which is a molt that is very light but that it also happens all the time (budgies that are fed nothing but seeds and kept at human light schedules are known for this). The ONLY thing that gives them a heavy (aka hard) molt is a diet of too much protein -it's as if the body, realizing there is way too much protein to go around, sets up a more than usual feather production to get rid of the excess. Protein is necessary for life because it's used for muscle cells, regeneration/repair of other cells, bones, cartilage, enzymes, hormones, etc BUT if the intake surpasses the need, the body ends up making fat out of it and storing it as nodules in the liver (as well as in the circulatory system which is as bad as the liver). But, because it's also used for feather and nail production, when we feed our birds too much of it, their bodies try to get rid of the excess by making more of them than it's actually necessary (and that's why they have hard molts). I don't know if your bird gets too much protein or not but, whenever I have a bird with an abnormal molt, I always re-evaluate very carefully their diet.