GreenThing
Jogging around the block
Merlin has grown in at least two of his missing flight feathers, dropped one tail feather, and has been shedding small feathers for almost more than a month. This week his head is especially prickly with pins (especially places that look uncomfortable, like around his eyes). His behavior hasn't changed at all since he started molting, but all day today he has been extra sleepy.
The sleepiness makes sense-- he wouldn't go back in his cage at bedtime, last night, and I ended up falling asleep with a closet light still on-- I'm sure that disturbed their sleep. But his droppings have been super watery all day-- there are distinct fecal and urates parts, but SUPER liquid. He was sleepy and irritable with Percy-- he went on top of the cage to nap while I was on my break.
I'm putting double seed in the cage to make sure he's getting enough (he is super resistant to trying new things and doesn't eat as much of the greens as Percy-- he wouldn't touch the seed when I added egg mash, either). Just wanted reassurance on how much of this behavior is normal for a first molt. In the weeks before this he was behaving exactly the same, so it's jarring to see him out of sorts. He doesn't seem to want Percy to preen him either, and he was avoiding a spray bath when usually he'd enjoy it (neither have shown interest in shallow bowls, either, but I might get another Lixit bath, since that has an apparently magical attraction to the finches).
The sleepiness makes sense-- he wouldn't go back in his cage at bedtime, last night, and I ended up falling asleep with a closet light still on-- I'm sure that disturbed their sleep. But his droppings have been super watery all day-- there are distinct fecal and urates parts, but SUPER liquid. He was sleepy and irritable with Percy-- he went on top of the cage to nap while I was on my break.
I'm putting double seed in the cage to make sure he's getting enough (he is super resistant to trying new things and doesn't eat as much of the greens as Percy-- he wouldn't touch the seed when I added egg mash, either). Just wanted reassurance on how much of this behavior is normal for a first molt. In the weeks before this he was behaving exactly the same, so it's jarring to see him out of sorts. He doesn't seem to want Percy to preen him either, and he was avoiding a spray bath when usually he'd enjoy it (neither have shown interest in shallow bowls, either, but I might get another Lixit bath, since that has an apparently magical attraction to the finches).