Birds/ Budgies!!!

Question
HI Chrys Meatyard,
                   I was just woundering if you could answer some questions about My Budgies and handfeeding Budgies. Well my pet Budgie is (for some reason) moulting all the time ( always growing new pin feathers) he starts moulting even before he has completly refeathered again from the last moult! why is this? What can i do to stop this? And could you please send me some tips on handfeeding budgies and cockatiels.

   Thanks so much,
                     From Tanya!

Answer
Hi, Tanya.  Thanks for posting your questions.

Parrots (your budgie is a parrot) moult twice in their first year and only once per year thereafter.  If your budgie is losing/regrowing feathers more than this, then there is something else going on.  Could be another bird is plucking or overpreening your budgie or your budgie could have some type of feather problem.  Sometimes when they play hard, they can lose feathers, if they don't bathe enough their feathers can suffer, and an improper diet or improper lighting can also affect feather quality and growth.  Age could also be a factor.  I can't really help you more with the feather problem without more details or seeing the bird.  If you have other birds together with this budgie, I recommend you watch them secretly to see if you can find one picking on this one.  If you don't have other birds, then I recommend you review the diet you have this bird on to ensure s/he is getting enough vitamins/minerals in his food, as well as allowing s/he to bathe more often.  Full spectrum lighting might be necessary to improve feather quality, etc.  Otherwise, a trip to an avian vet might be in order to rule out any medical conditions.

Do you know how to handfeed at all?  There's a whole lot to know about handfeeding babies and I would need to know how much you already know in order to know what kind of tips you need (or if you could give me an idea of what areas you need help in).  I have a website under construction that might provide the information you are looking for if you'd like to visit:  http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index/html
The information on handfeeding baby parrots is so massive, I need a starting place!

Chrys