CHAPTER V. 



MOULTING. 



MOULTING SEASON. The moulting season extends from July 

 to November in each year; in exceptional cases, where birds 

 are permitted to breed so late as the months of August and 

 September, it may last to the end of December, or longer ; 

 but when it reaches this advanced period it is regarded aa 

 unseasonable, and ought to be avoided if possible. Those birds 

 bred in the spring and early summer months invariably get the 

 best and most satisfactory moult, and appear far more improved 

 by the change than those that are bred later on. Birds which 

 are bred in August and September never appear to shed 

 their feathers freely, and the change of plumage takes place 

 (particularly if the weather is bad) almost imperceptibly. 



Some naturalists assert that when birds do not cast their 

 feathers at the proper time they get a new covering without 

 shedding their old feathers ; be this as it may, I have noticed 

 that whenever a bird gets a " fresh coat " during cold weather, 

 you rarely see any loose feathers about the cage. 



CRITICAL TIME. The moulting season is always considered 

 the most critical period in the life of a bird ; and much depends 

 upon the manner in which it gets through this process or 

 malady for its future well-being. This is strikingly the case 

 with young birds, which, as a rule, are much more difficult to 

 moult than older birds, for with them it is very similar in its 

 effects to what the distemper is in young dogs, and it is quite aa 

 liable to be attended with baneful results. Some young hens 

 fail to breed the first season, whilst many of the males are 

 incapable of impregnating eggs; these and similar drawbacks 



