Molting
By Shandi
The question of molting recently came up on the Linnie Forum, and Shandi gave a wonderful quick summary of the process that all birds go through:
Molting is the process of shedding old feathers while producing new ones. Mature feathers are dead, and after some time need to be replaced. The dead feathers slowly fall out and new ones replace them. While growing, the feathers are alive and full of blood, hence the term blood feather. If broken, blood feathers will bleed out. As many mentioned above, blood feathers need to be plucked out as the bleeding will not stop. A bird could easily bleed to death if left with a broken bloodfeather.
As the feathers mature, they are very sensitive and itchy, especially when they are pinfeathers, and covered in little white sheaths. Your bird will need your help to gently rub off the white sheaths on the feathers on the back of his/her neck.
Birds molt at around 4 to 6 months of age, and again at a year. After that they typically molt once a year, but some are known to do two big molts, and periodically lose feathers throughout the year.
Things you can do to help your linnie go through a molt: provide lots of healthy food and possibly even a vitamin supplement. Feather Up is a favorite of several members here. it is specifically formulated for molting birds. You can also help release pin feathers from their white sheaths, and offer a bath to your bird. Water seems to relieve the itchiness of the new feathers.
Have a molting-linnie story? Share below! 
Additional discussion threads on the forum related to molting:
“Molting? Yup, and grumpy!” (Includes photos)
“Molting”
“Linnie Molt”
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OH my gosh thanks sooo much I learned sooo much about molting