Canaries molt when temperatures rise and day length decrease after it reaches its peak, that is roughly in the middle of summer. Any fluctuations in temperature or artificial light may force the bird to molt out of season, and this is unhealthy.
Expect your canary to enter the molting phase in July or August, but some birds may delay until September, and this depends on the geographical area in which they live, but this can only occur naturally and expectedly if you let your canary wake up with sunrise and sleep with sunset. You should expect the molting period to last from 6 to 8 weeks for adult canaries, and it can take longer, but it should not exceed 12 weeks.
Canary molting signs
It is fairly easy to know whether your canary is molting or not, the canary molting signs include:
- Male canaries stop singing because molting takes so much of their energy.
- The bird starts to shed its feather gradually so that the fallen feathers are noticed on the floor or at the bottom of the cage.
- The breeder can notice new feathers pins on the bird’s body (e.g. the chest, head, and wings).
- The bird becomes less active and energetic than usual and sometimes sleeps during the day due to a lack of energy.
- The bird preens its feathers more often.
Partial and full molt
Partial or soft molt is a stage that canary juveniles go through after they reach the age of two months. They replace all feathers except the tail and wings.
When the juvenile canary becomes an adult and goes through its first breeding season, it replaces all its feathers including the tail and wings, and it fully molts around the same time every year after the end of each breeding season. The molt marks the end of the canary breeding season.