Is this the right time for a budgie to be molting?

[Alfie]

Hi! My bird is molting but I'm not sure if she should be right now? I got her around the beginning of December when she was 6 months old. It's Spring now and I've noticed she looks a little lumpy/ruffled and has about 6 small black dots on the white part at the top of her head. I've also seen two of her larger feathers on the floor of the cage. Is this healthy? I'm worried that it's not the right time to molt, and that maybe my late-night studying for exams have ruined her sleep schedule, even though I do cover her cage. My other bird is a bit younger, and isn't molting right now. Should they both be molting at the same time?

[Wolf]

I don't know what your other bird is as you only have one budgie listed, but most birds will molt right about the same time of the year. The age of the bird may be a factor for a short period of time when they are young. It is not unusual for bird that is kept on a human light schedule to molt off and on all year long. This is further affected by the fact that our birds have an abundance of high quality food available all of the time.
I take this as an indication that their endocrine system is out of balance and so when I see this happening I take time to re evaluate their current diet, their sleep schedule and their lighting quality and schedule. Most birds will begin to molt in late July and August, although we are beginning to see birds beginning to molt earlier than normal and think that this may be an effect of climate change.

[Alfie]

Okay thanks! My other bird is a budgie as well. Would molting more than usual be bad for her health?

[Pajarita]

Yes, it is. Molting is a natural process but it's also a stressful one for birds because the body needs to metabolize protein differently and direct it to creating feathers, plus, the process itself is very uncomfortable for them (itching and painful blood feathers). A normal molt will happen right after the breeding season, last between 6 to 8 weeks, and replace half the plumage in a parrot so a molt that happens off-season, lasts more than 8 weeks and/or replaces more or less than half the plumage is not a normal one. BUT I have noticed that birds that have come to me from not good conditions (bad light schedule, bad diet, etc) would often go into molt soon after arriving and been exposed to a solar schedule and a good diet, and I've always thought (I have no scientific basis for this, it's just what I call an 'off the wall theory') that it means that the body is trying to 'catch up' and adjust itself to the seasons... kind of like starting off with a blank slate type of thing.

[Alfie]

I'm glad that it won't cause anything more than discomfort! I can move her cage somewhere dark while I study for exams, and soon it will be Summer and she and I can both return to our regular sleep schedules