Molting is the natural shedding of old feathers and growth of new ones. Pigeons molt their smaller body feathers all year round, but they lose and replace all their feathers, including their primary flight feathers, once a year—often in the late summer to late fall.

<aside> 🐦 Molting in a different season is not a cause for concern unless the bird is stuck in a continuous molt cycle, as this may be indicative of a health issue.

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Molting may look very alarming, especially the first time you see it, but it’s a completely natural process, and your pigeon will be just fine. In fact, young pigeons grow more and more feathers with every new molt, so very soon they will look even more beautiful than usual! In the meantime, they may look particularly bedraggled—or even lose the ability to fly or steer in flight in particularly bad molts—but this in itself is not an emergency.

Some birds will act indifferent or even irritable towards you during this time. This does not mean your bird suddenly hates you! Pin feathers are itchy and it’s likely your bird is simply uncomfortable and not in the mood to be pet.

Note that your bird requires increased levels of calcium and vitamins during the molt, as regrowing feathers is a lot of work! Calcium and D3 supplements can be a good idea, even if you’re already using a good grit mix.

A molting pigeon regrowing neck feathers.