Cockatiel's First Molt

[Doyle'sMommy]

I put this on PC, but I thought I would ask here too.

At what age do cockatiels normally go through their first molt? Prinny has been molting and her cheek patches seem to be getting brighter. Is that normal? Or could she possibly be alot younger than I thought?

[Amanda]

The usual is between 6 and 12 months. Sad to say I don't remember when our baby's first molt was.

[Doyle'sMommy]

Hmm, we've had her for 4 months now. I never knew her exact age, I assumed she was the same age as Danny (3 years) because he said he got her for his daughter when she complained that he had a bird and she didn't. I am starting to wonder how old she is. Her cheeks are becoming brighter orange than they were.

[Amanda]

Hmmm I don't know. I never had females, just males. Maybe Clara or someone else with tiels can give you some input. Sorry!

[Archive]

Amanda's right in that their first molt is roughly at 6-12 months.

My first thought is that her brighter feathers are from a better diet? I know you've had a hard time converting her diet, but is it at all different from what she was on at her previous home?

Side note - when Lulu was going through her first molt she would molt in yellow feathers on her head and face (she was primarily grey when she came home), and we would always joke, "You better not be turning into a boy!!" LOL!

[Doyle'sMommy]

Her diet is better. Less sunflower seeds, but she still eats alot of seed. Also she gets birdie bread twice a day packed full of veggies as it is the only way I can get her to eat them. She also has pellets available to her all day, though she doesn't eat them as much.

I would really hate if my sweet little girl turned out to be a boy, lol. But maybe you are right and it is just a diet thing.

[Archive]

I'm a believer that cockatiels still need a good portion of seed in their diet since they are primarily seed foragers in the wild. Lulu's diet consists of 50-60% seed, and my AV agrees with that. She also eats fresh foods (she's a pickier eater than Jerry is though, she has her favorites and she sticks to those), and I think that that in combination with good exercise are just fine.

It does sound like Prinny's diet has changed a lot for the better, I would bet it's a diet thing. After Lulu went through 1 or 2 big molts her feathers never looked better, they were a bit brighter and sleeker than ever, and that's how she still looks today.

You can sometimes tell tiel genders by their vocalizations, males tend to whistle and sing much more than females. Lulu makes the tiel "squawk" contact call and some really off-key singing lol, but that's about it. When I hear males whistling away in pet stores Lulu sounds very different from them.

[Doyle'sMommy]

She probably eats the same amount of seeds as Lulu, maybe a tad more. This morning she was so cute, she looked up at me from her food bowl with a little seed stuck on her beak, lol. I know she still needs seed as a cockatiel, I just wish she would eat more veggies. Oh well. I think you may be right about the diet making her feathers brighter. She isn't really noising at all, just a few chirps here and there and of course the hissing when she's had enough, lol.

[Tiki]

Maui and the 5 youngest ones all moulted about JulyAugust-ish for the first time so he would have been 9 months and they would have been 6 months.

[Bustersbuddy]

Hi, Prinny is just a happier bird, that's all. Diet and comfort have a lot to do with overall coloration. Buster's color has deepened and become much more pronounced over the last year. If it weren't for the pearling on her back and the barring of the tail feathers, you would swear she was a male. Her crest, however is grey even though her head is bright yellow. Wish I had a camera that would talk to the computer! But I wouldn't worry that Prinny is actually a male. She's just a happy girl in good health.