How often does a gould finch molt or should I say at what ages does he/she molt? How many times do they do it in the lives? do they slow down once they are older?
My kids were asking me and I thought I had read it somwhere on the site but not sure so I thought I would just post the question.
thanks very much
Molting?
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kiwi & mango
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rottielover
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I am going from memory here, so there may be mistakes...
As I understand it Gouldians will go through a cycle something like this:
Hatch - Weaning : Growth of Juvenile feathers
6-12 months of age: "Juvenile Molt" where all the juvie feathers (with dull colors) are replaced with the adult (colorful) feathers.
There-after once a year gouldians go through a "heavy molt" right after the breeding season (the molt is what actually stops the breeding season according to authors).
Birds have a feather folicle (sort of like hair folicles) where the feathers grow out from. If the shaft of the feather is completely pulled out, then the folicle will begin to grow another (replacement) feather (and all birds will loose a few feathers here and there over the course of year and replace them). However, if the shaft is intact (such as a wing feather that's been damaged or clipped), the folicle will not begin to re-grow another feather until the shaft is gone.
I hope that helps, as I said I'm going from memory here and don't have my notes in front of me.
As I understand it Gouldians will go through a cycle something like this:
Hatch - Weaning : Growth of Juvenile feathers
6-12 months of age: "Juvenile Molt" where all the juvie feathers (with dull colors) are replaced with the adult (colorful) feathers.
There-after once a year gouldians go through a "heavy molt" right after the breeding season (the molt is what actually stops the breeding season according to authors).
Birds have a feather folicle (sort of like hair folicles) where the feathers grow out from. If the shaft of the feather is completely pulled out, then the folicle will begin to grow another (replacement) feather (and all birds will loose a few feathers here and there over the course of year and replace them). However, if the shaft is intact (such as a wing feather that's been damaged or clipped), the folicle will not begin to re-grow another feather until the shaft is gone.
I hope that helps, as I said I'm going from memory here and don't have my notes in front of me.