What is Budgies Molting | What Should I Feed A Molting Budgie

Hello guys, this is Boby and you are watching your favorite channel, Bird’s Lover.
in this video we Will discuss about What Should I Feed A Molting Budgie?
Molting is essential to a budgie’s life cycle, typically occurring at least once a year, sometimes more frequently. Molting enables a budgie shed old, worn feathers and regrow new, healthy replacements. The well-optimized diet makes this process easier for budgies.
Budgies become quieter and more lethargic when molting. A molting budgie can also be irritable, as shedding feathers can lead to itchy skin. New feathers must sprout from pores that have been vacated.
Healthy feather growth relies on a balanced diet, so don’t abandon existing food plans, as wholesale change can unsettle budgies. Focus on providing calcium, protein, magnesium, iron, zinc, and Vitamins A, B, and C through food and supplementation.
Leafy greens, shelled hard-boiled eggs, and occasional nuts as a treat will all aid feather growth during molting. These will give budgies everything needed for a successful molt and regrowth of feathers.
Table of Contents show
Why Does Molting Affect a Budgie’s Diet?
A healthy adult budgie has between 2,000 and 3,000 feathers throughout its body. To understand food’s role in molting, it’s important to understand the different types of feathers.
The outer, colorful feathers on a budgie are vaned feathers. A vaned feather has a long shaft down the center, known as the rachis. This rachis is, in turn, surrounded by barbules, or barbs.
These barbs are connected by tiny hooks that keep them together. Below the vaned feathers are down feathers. These are the feathers that your budgie fluffs up when cold. The budgie is trapping warm air within the down, preventing it from growing too cold.
Budgies’ feathers grow ragged over time because they’re used constantly and undergo wear and tear. This is why budgies molt - they shed old feathers and replace them. These new growths emerge from the follicles that have been vacated and are known as pin feathers.
Pin feathers are initially encased in wax, which is rubbed away during preening. At first, pin feathers are small, stubbly, and itchy, causing discomfort.
The right nutrients, vitamins, and minerals encourage a robust and steady growth of pin feathers, which later evolve into vaned feathers.
Budgies’ feathers are made of keratin, which is the protein found in the beak and nails.
Keratin is created within a budgie’s body, but a specialist molting diet stimulates natural production.
Do Budgies Eat More When Molting?
Budgies have a fast metabolism, rapidly burning energy through exercise. As molting budgies are more static, especially older birds that sleep a lot during molting, less energy will be expended.
Additionally, budgies are often uncomfortable during molting. The bird will not be in physical pain, but the shedding of feathers, and growth of replacements, leads to irritable and itchy skin. This could cause the budgie to show less interest in food.
However, the regrowth of feathers takes energy, which is why your budgie is sedentary - the molting process is exhausting. This may lead to your budgie eating just as heartily as usual, so expect some degree of fluctuation in your budgie’s appetite.
While your budgie is molting, stick to a familiar routine and schedule. Keep feeding your budgie at times it expects, in similar quantities.
What matters most during this period is the contents of a budgie’s food bowl. As discussed, offer foods that’ll encourage the rapid growth of new feathers to minimize skin discomfort.
What To Feed A Molting Budgie?
To encourage the growth of strong feathers and smooth skin, food for molting budgies must focus on specific nutrients. Even during molting, a balanced diet is essential.
A seed-only diet isn’t a good option during molting because budgies need to consume a range of foods, most notably a selection of fruits and vegetables.
If your budgie has special dietary requirements due to an existing health concern, discuss what to feed during molting with an avian vet.
Protein (Amino Acids)
Some foods can increase a budgie’s protein intake, including:
Leafy greens, such as spinach and kale
Hard-boiled eggs
Walnuts, pine nuts, cashews, or almonds
building blocks of protein:
Histidine
Isoleucine.
Leucine
Lysine
Methionine
Phenylalanine
Threonine
Tryptophan
Valine
Calcium
Magnesium

[@amjadjutt1001]

Nice information 😍

[@birdsloverenglish]

Thanks amjab brother