Henager Family: Guinan's Molt

Guinan's MoltOctober 16, 2009

Our pet bird Guinan is a Crimson-Bellied Conure. She was hatched on May 8th, 2008 by bird breeder Marcy Covault (birdcompanions.com). They can live 25 to 35 years, if kept appropriately. Guinan says small phrases, although she is a little difficult to understand. So far, she says “come here,” “good bird,” “pretty bird,” and throws in some situation appropriate phrases like saying a dog’s name when we’re calling them in from the back yard. She makes loud whistling sounds, little bitty whistling sounds, and she’ll go back and forth with us saying “what”. She also loves being in the bathroom with us when we’re showering.

Crimson-bellied conures grow up to be extremely colorful birds, but have relatively dull coloring when they are young. Around their first birthday, they shed their baby colors and you see more and more color as the adult feathers appear. I documented Guinan’s molt during her most active molting months, although I missed one or two. Some of the photos aren’t in focus because of lighting and having the wrong setting on the camera, but you can still see her colors, heh.