I now have 30 or more young birds in the walk-in flight cage. These birds, while now able to feed themselves, are still growing and are in need of the same great nutrition they received earlier in their lives.

Shortly they will be entering their first molt, a period of great danger for many young birds. Some breeders, exhausted from the workload of the breeding season, back off on providing for these young ones all the wonderful foods they gave their breeding birds. This is a very big mistake- and possibly a fatal one for your birds!

The way the birds are cared for just prior to and during the molt will in large part determine the quality of the feathers they will be wearing for the next year- poor nutrition results in dull, brittle feathers that wear poorly. Every year I hear from folks who wonder why the tail feathers of their birds break off despite being caged in good sized cages- in nearly all cases, the problem can be traced back to how the birds were fed during the molt.

Some people wonder how the molt can be fatal for a bird. Imagine if you had to replace all of the cells of your skin only one time per year- the stress on your body would be incredible! A bird's body must expend an incredible amount of energy to produce feathers in a relatively short period of time (right around 8 weeks). If provided with good nutrition, the bird is able to acquire the tools its body needs to build feathers without dipping into its physical reserves.

The molting period tends to weed out birds who are less healthy- they are simply not able to survive the enormous physical strain of the molt. This is a dangerous period for older hens and for young birds which may be borderline healthy or that go into the molt too thin. As birds age, their molts tend to lengthen as well as they may no longer have the vigor that youth provides to push them through the molt quickly.

For this reason I always advise people not to purchase or move birds that are molting - if you must, be prepared for the possibility that they may perish from the extra stress. Also, I would never buy a young bird that has not completed its first molt - let the breeder take on the risk of it dying as a result of the molt. I have on rare occassions sold a bird that was molting for some extraordinary reason or another- but I never guarentee its health and provide detailed and clear instructions on care for the new owner.

All of that said, I have never lost a single bird during the molt. This may be unusual, based on my conversations with other breeders. The reason, I believe, is that I treat the molt in a similar manner to breeding season and provide the birds with very high levels of nutrition. I firmly believe that conditioning for breeding begins in the egg- treat your birds well from birth and they will reward you when they breed. If your birds must use up their physical reserves during the molt, that is just so much less of a reserve they will have for when they enter the most stressful period of their lives- breeding and feeding their young.

What I feed the birds during the molt as I said earlier is similar to what I feed during breeding season, but I do scale back the quantity they receive and the frequency it is offered. The birds are provided a high quality, clean, and fresh well balanced seed mix designed for canaries and Pretty Bird pellets (though nearly any good commercial pellet will do) at all times. They are also offered an "Herb Salad" blend I have developed which includes oregano, milk thistle, alfalfa, calendula petals, dandelion, and numerous other herbs in a shallow dish so they can pick out what they desire - this is offered free choice and replenished as needed.

I offer the following on a rotating basis- dry commercial nestling food, bee pollen granules, mixed homemade nestling food, prepared couscous, bird bread, and veggies & fruits.  Only one extra food is offered each day- though I sometimes combine foods- such as mixing finely chopped broccoli and carrots with nestling food or couscous. Approxiametely every other day dry commercial nestling food is offered - I prefer Witte Molen, but Quicko is popular with many breeders.  

The birds enjoy eating cucumber during the molt- lore has it that feeding cucumber hastens the molt, though I have seen no proof of this. Also, feeding rolled oats is said to hasten the molt and I do believe that there may be some truth to that. Oats are very high in carbohydrates, however- feeding too many oats will likely make your birds fat, so be careful. During the summer months the birds adore cantalope and zucchini and like the leaves of lemon balm, mint, sorrel, dandelion, plantain, and other plants I have in the garden.

I try to avoid offering too many eggs during this period- I prefer to rely on more complete proteins such as quinoa and other seeds and grains. I find that properly balancing COMPLETE protein foods with carbohydrates and fats greatly reduces the development of gout. In fact, my birds receive a very high level of protein- much higher than is generally reccommended- but they very rarely show any ill effects because it is properly balanced and derived from complete protein sources.

During the molt birds also need more fat in their diet- but it needs to be good fat and not excessive. I like using the Missing Link products to provide Omega oils to the birds- it really does add a sheen to the feathers. Just as with any other food, this needs to be provided in small amounts- too much of a good thing is still too much.

Watch the birds carefully- the birds should have a small amount of yellow fat on their bellies, but not be overly fat. Certain lines of birds- just like people- are prone to become obese and need to be manged more closely to maintain a healthy weight.