MOULTING AND COLOUR FEEDING 



11 



factor. A quick moult is a healthy moult, and generally 

 speaking it is also a most successful moult viewed from 

 the standpoint of the exhibitor. Nature herself has 

 chosen the most fitting time of the whole year — the end 

 of summer. The earth at that time is full of the heat 

 which has been poured upon it by the sun during the 

 months just past, and which keeps the nights almost 

 as warm as the days, as when the sun is not shining the 

 earth is giving off some of its stored heat, thus equalising 

 the temperature of day and night. Further, at this 

 time of the year there is more humidity in the atmosphere 



Type of Moulting Cage Used by Lizard Breeders. 



than there is in the earlier summer months, and as 

 moisture assists the growth of new feathers, this is 

 Nature's plan of supplying it. 



Nature being so bountiful we should make sure of taking 

 the greatest advantage of her bounty. To secure the 

 full measure of her provision we should see to it that the 

 time of the moult is not delayed in our stock. An early 

 moult is a quick moult. Contrariwise, a late moult is a 

 slow one. If our birds do not moult till late in the 

 autumn the process is naturally slow due to the fact that 

 the atmospherical surroundings are not so favourable, 

 and as a consequence the throwing of the old feathers 

 and the growth of the new is retarded, and generally 

 many undesirable complications ensue. 



