Banana is molting.............. alllllllllll the time. All my birds are intense molters and its all my fault which isn't intentional on my part.

The temperature in my home dictates how often my bird is going to molt and unfortunately it seems often due to the up and down outside temperatures which keep me either cranking the heat or opening windows and deck doors or blasting air conditioning etc. This constant change in temps makes all my birds have soft molts and I am forever hoooooovering my house to keep up with the dust of one little tiny budgie and her massive amount of feathers, its a drag.

Not so much a drag for me but it is for the bird that needs to deal with this all the time ... our avian vet says this is how it must be due to the fact that we have such crazy weather and it does affect our little birds. Yet he assures me my birds are healthy despite the fact I could fill a feather bed mattress with all the dang feathers they've molted over the past years.

Sweetheart parakeet is being affected by the change of the seasons, as well -- growing new winter feathers -- but since she had plucked out the small fluffy down feathers off her belly, earlier, she has some belly patches showing in between the larger belly feathers -- making a rather messy display. But the good news is that more feathers will continue to grow, to eventually fill in her bald belly spots. If not, there is always the fashionable remedy of clip in real feathers.

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J. gave Sweetheart a major misting today because he caught her plucking out her belly feathers royally. She was angry at J. all day -- not looking at him, and fussing when he came near her. On the other hand, she gave me some kisses on my nose, even after she was chittering, anxiously, in my proximity.

Poor lil Sweet Pea! Sad that she's plucky. I hope with more attention she will settle down and not be so destructive.

Funny that she was mad at J. The funny lil girl sure does know how to hold a grudge and show she loves her Mom when she wants to me angry at Papa and show him what's what.

Since I last posted this comment, Sweetheart's belly feathers have all grown back, so she has a sweet blue front again. We encourage her to play with her macrame twine toy, to put more focus on this activity than plucking at herself. BUT she can be on the sly side, turning herself away from our prying eyes, and over-preen on the down-low.



Right now she is perched up high on her yellow mirror, chirping at us, while looking intensely in our direction. Now J. is getting ready to go out, so is getting dressed + shoes on in the chair next to her cage. So she figures that this must be "visiting time" and has come close to J. to interact with him. The other day J. leaned in close to her cage, and Sweetheart gently preened his beard!


She was a good girl during the Nightmare Before Christmas party, and enjoyed the time spent with Mel, my son Alex's fiancee. Mel grew up with having budgies and finches as pets, and showed her tenderness towards Sweetheart, and Sweetheart responded well.


HAPPY HOLIDAYS!