His basic dry food is the commercially available brand known as P28
in Singapore. He gets this food for most of the day with some guppies, mealworms and crickets at the end of the day.In the next 2 weeks, DDS225 will complete his body molt leaving only his tails to continue to grow. I expect that they will eventually be well beyond 12". Although he is not yet in his best coat, his alert look suggests to me that he is getting the proper nourishment that he requires to ensure a good molt. The molt places a great strain on a bird and a shama that is improperly fed during this time will often look pretty miserable.
The feathers will grow more quickly along their spine and this may cause the tips of the tails to temporarily outpace the growth of the rest of the feather as can be seen in the photo.
The molting shama requires plenty of rest and I ensure this by covering his cage with a cloth cover all the time except when he is having his bath and the time to dry after that.
Although his cage is covered, he tells me with his sub-songs and occasional loud songs that all is well with his molt.
[Note: I used P28 for only about 3 months and then stopped. The reasons are in my post White-rumped Shama: Update on dry food for Shamas, Aug 27, 2014]
