[Bushi]

Hey there!

I’ve been lurking for a few months but I had a question about my little Bushi (rhymes with sushi) so I thought I would sign up. Anyway...

My name is Kate! I’m a 24 year old teacher from Los Angeles and I have had a parrotlet for about three months (since September 17th...so, 2.5 months)

Now to the more important things: here is Bushi!

He is my precious little guy! He’s about to be ~4 months old and is molting. He’s having a really hard time I think because it is going on FOREVER! I hope he’ll be done soon. Anyway - nice to meet all of you. I can’t say how active I’ll be but I am so grateful to have a community of people here to all a nervous new bird Mom such as myself! I hope everyone has a lovely day!

 

[kpenguins48]

Hi Kate and welcome. Your little boy is very handsome.

 

[GracefulWolf]

Hello and welcome! Bushi is sooo cute! Adorable little angel. What you are seeing as molting is just normal feather loss. It’s completely normal for them to lose and grow new feathers all the time. He’ll start his first molt when he hits 5 months old. Molting can last anywhere from 1-3 months. Just depends on how much sunlight you get where you live. The difference between normal feather loss and molting will become obvious when you see it. He’ll have pin feathers galore! Easily 10-20 pin feathers all over his head. And feathers will drop like crazy. You’ll just be scratching him for a few minutes and three feathers will drop. He’ll become a little touchy because pin feathers have blood at the base to support the feather growth. So if you accidentally brush the pin feather the wrong way, it hurts. You’ll get an indignant squeak and a quick nip. I usually apologize when that happens lol. A nice mist bath or bath in the sink helps during molting to loosen the sheathes of the pin feathers. Makes them a little less itchy.

 

[JackieRTP]

Welcome Kate! Bushi is beautiful

 

[theteenygirl]

Welcome Bushi looks a lot like my Levi.. maybe a bit brighter blue though! Molting isn't fun.. Levi seems to finally be finishing a molt that I think has been 6 months long. I don't know why he keeps molting.. we've adjusted his diet, given him a UV lamp to regulate his daylight hours.. 12 hours of dark each night.. I just think he loooooves me preening his head so he just keeps molting so mummy keeps giving tickle tickles!!!

 

[Malachi]

Greetings and welcome! That's a lovely little fellow you have. Enjoy!

 

[Rubydoo252]

Hi and greetings fellow teacher! He is adorable!!!!

 

[Mrs.JP3]

Hi, welcome! He is so pretty! Please share all your adventures and photos. Especially the photos.

 

[David Miller]

Salutations of the highest order!
It is nice to have you on board. Bushi has a nice tushi! He has a nice smile. He has a nice parront.

Be patient with him during a molt.He can get a little edgy, but this is part of the game. Start teaching him words right now! Repetition is the key. My Bogie is a greenie and he says, " Hello Bushi ".

David and Bogie

 

[Bushi]

Aaah! Such a pleasure to meet you all! Sorry for my delayed response!

Yes, I am being very patient during the molt though i did panic about two weeks ago when I accidentally opened a pin slightly too early and he bled a tiny tiny bit. We have since recovered and I know how to identify pings on his head that are ready va the ones that need a bit more time! :’)

Bushi is super chattery right now so I can only imagine he is saying his hellos! He also heard the shower go on so I think he is excited. He enjoys perching right at the top on top of a towel and soaking up the steam. I sort of make a towel hammock for him by laying my towel over the ledge.

I have to say it is such a pleasure to meet you All and your beautiful birds! Thanks for the warm welcome!

If I may ask: is it normal for Bushi to have super loose tail feathers in this time but not lose them quite yet? I haven’t seen pins anywhere but his head and neck but I imagine he will replace his other feathers too? Please let me know! Thank you!

 

[Rubydoo252]

Molting for birds in captivity really follows no rules, so whatever happens, happens. He sounds like he's getting along with you quite well. He also sounds like a water worshipper. Parrotlets develop obsessions, often based on sounds like plastic or running water. Be warned, he likely will try to fling himself into any running water source. They are crazy tiny monsters!

 

[Bushi]

He already has flung himself into my sink!! He got soaked to the bone, but thankfully it was summertime (well, September in Los Angeles) and super warm in my apartment so he dried so quickly.