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The Original All Roller Talk Discussion Board Archive >
How Long Does
How Long Does
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Bluesman
Pigeon Fancier
408 posts
Aug 10, 2005
4:14 AM
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Nick.Usually 4 to 8 weeks. Some only have a partial body moult while most will go thru the full moult.My kit birds is where I notice the difference in moulting.I guess it is because I spend more time studing them than the breeders.Feeding them Safflower along with their regular feed is very helpful in getting them thru the moult.I think it speeds up the process too.David
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Shaun
75 posts
Aug 10, 2005
11:57 AM
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David, you might be interested to know that whilst I've been flying my small kit of 10, half of which are Mason birds, they've started to go through the moult - they're about 4 to 5 months old.
I learned a lot about the moult from one of my earlier posts, so I've been experimenting by giving them a richer diet (plus lots of baths), hoping it wouldn't unduly affect their performance. I've varied their staple wheat and kibbled maize diet and, have given them more of the stuff I'm feeding to the other loft full of Masons which I'm not flying, in readiness for them breeding next year. This is a mix of all sorts of beans, peas, small fatty seeds which a canary would thrive on, plus a proportion of wheat and milo. The potential breeding birds adore this stuff - real luxury food.
So, with this richer diet, I anticipated a change in flying from the kit as a result. The main difference? Well, they fly a bit longer than they did when given the staple of mainly wheat - and that's a surprise because I appreciate that shedding big feathers can make them sore. True, they're not rolling as much - but that could also be because of the moult and not the richer diet. They're still kitting very well and, unless I've fed them too much, they get good height also.
So, all in all, with the richer 'Please Daddy, help us through the moult' food, nothing much has really changed. I half expected a flying loft of lardy birds which didn't want to come out and play, but they're still as willing as ever.
But, of course, that richer food does cost a lot more...
Shaun
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J_Star
21 posts
Aug 10, 2005
12:26 PM
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Also the richer food makes them race around and less performance. And if you feed them a bit more than they shoud, then they will sky out on you. Therefore, be carefull. Skying out will cause an overfly.
jay
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Shaun
78 posts
Aug 10, 2005
1:01 PM
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I agree with the racing around, but I've not seen any skying out. I think it's because my line of birds can be quite difficult to get right up in the air at the best of times, so the richer food hasn't made them lift much during this time. Once again, it seems that the family you're working with makes a lot of difference.
When they do fly quickly round and round, it certainly isn't much fun to watch, but this seems to be the compromise we have to accept during the moult.
Shaun
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