Aves Species Basic Info (Molting)

Nearly all Aves go through a molt sometime in their life, if not at least once a year. Molting is the act of replacing all of one's feathers with a new set of feathers. Sometimes the old feathers will even be replaced by feathers of a completely different coloration, however this is most common in juveniles when they gain their new, adult coat. Some Aves will have their old feathers all fall out at the exact same time making the Molting process fairly quick, while others will gradually lose their feathers over a few months. 

Molting not only is a messy process, causing feathers falling out and into everything but it can also be extremely uncomfortable, especially when one's primary or tail feathers are being replaced. When an Aves feathers are ready to fall out, the base of the feather will start to itch and can even become painful. The body does this to cause the Aves to try to remove the feather by scratching at it. Once removed the skin will continue to itch, although at a much less intense degree, until the new feather has broken skin. This constant scratching and Itchy skin often makes an Aves irritable and annoyed with everything until the molt is finished. Those that molt slowly are better at handling their emotions at this time where those that lose it all at once are timebombs simply waiting to explode if you get near them.

The feathers that fall out during a molt often become dirty and are thrown out, however on occasion they can be reused for things such as quills.

Something to note, a Aves molting is different from an Aves plucking. When an Aves scratches its feathers out during a molt it is to make way for new feathers whereas an Aves Plucking removes the feathers before they are ready often leading to bleeding and permanent damage. Some think that the act of Plucking is done because the Aves is trying to find a similar relief in their life to that felt when a Molting feather finally falls out and no longer itches.