Handling Hormonal Birds
March 29th, 2009Patty
It’s that time of year. (sigh) I hear the same question over and over: “What is happening to my sweet bird?”
Spring is a time that seems to bring out the worst in our companion parrots. Hormones (triggered by weather changes, increased daylight hours and a variety of other factors) start coursing through the blood stream bringing about chemical changes in the body and some pretty odd behaviors. Some parrots seem immune to the effects, some might just be a little “off” for a while, others turn into screaming, biting harbingers of death. Some may remain this way for a couple of weeks, others, several months. Its intensity can also vary in one bird from season to season.
The most important thing to remember is that your bird is NOT being “bad”. This is nature at work. It is up to YOU to cope with and manage any undesirable behaviors in such a way that your relationship is intact when the storm is over.
Here are a few tips on how to deal with a hormonally charged bird:
1. Keep your bird from going into dark, hidden areas that would make a lovely a nest. A dimly lit corner is enough to get my male cockatoo going. One of his favorite things to do is to play inside of a paper bag, a box, or beneath his cage cover. This is not the time to allow these activities as they encourage territorial behavior. The paper bag is perceived and prepared as a nest site and your normally sweet baby can work himself up into a frenzy if allowed.
2. Be very respectful in and around his cage. This is his home and, therefore, his nest. He will defend it mercilessly, even from you. When it is time to clean or change toys, I put my larger birds in a carrier with some foot toys and a treat and bring them to another room. I would rather they didn’t know I was in their cage at all.
3. Limit out of cage time. If your parrot is becoming beaky or nesty, bring him back to his cage. Be fair and do this BEFORE it becomes a problem. Extracting him out from under the couch will likely result in a bite. Keep in mind that even the crook of your arm can be perceived as a nesty spot by a creatively thinking bird. I let mine out for shorter periods of time more frequently.
4. Avoid warm mushy foods. They are a trigger for hormonal behavior. I tend to feed more raw veggies during this time of year, and avoid mashes.
5. Be careful what parts of his body you touch. Head and neck only!! Avoid touching him under the wing, on the back and tail, and especially the vent area. If your bird rests his rear end on your hand while you are carrying him, put him down on a perch. You should always keep your bird off your shoulder and carry him away from your face, but this is especially true during the spring.
6. Limit daylight hours. I make sure mine get 12 hours of covered sleep during the spring months. Too much light will also trigger breeding behaviors and can cause excessive egg laying in females. If you don’t cover your birds at night, be sure that the room they sleep in is dark.
If you find you are having a rough time with your hormonal bird, it’s important to realize that tomorrow is another day. Last year it appeared that someone told my male umbrella cockatoo that he, alone, was responsible for the carrying on of his species. He acted accordingly. There were days when he attacked me with such vigor that I wondered if our relationship would ever again be the same. The next day I would get up expecting more of the same, and each time he would surprise me with a sweet disposition.
It’s all about respect and patience. Allow him his nature without getting angry. Be watchful for any behaviors that could potentially escalate into problems and redirect his attentions BEFORE things get out of hand.
I have a blue and gold and a military macaw. They have shared their cage for about four years. The military has in the past few years laid eggs, but she hasn’t this year. The blue and gold is extremely aggressive, is building a nest daily, cannot be touched – you have to use something like a broomstick as a perch to move her from place to place. I can handle my military until it gets near the blue and gold, and then she becomes aggressive too. I used to let them out and the blue and gold would remain on the top of the cage, but she gets on the floor with my military and they start attacking everyone, including the cats and dogs. How long does this hormonal thing last anyway? Any suggestions would be helpful, because I am finding it impossible to let the blue and gold out of the cage because she or he is such a terror. She or he has not laid any eggs, so I don’t know what sex it is. I have not witnessed any sexual behavior between the birds, but they do cuddle, and when I remove the military and bring her with me, the blue and gold gets angry. I’d appreciate your input.
Hi Mary,
I fully understand the problems associated with hormonal birds, and I sympathize. Last spring was a nightmare for me. The breeding season in my house runs from about mid February to mid June, but it can last longer depending on the environment in your house.
First, let me get this out of the way: Don’t let the parrots near your cats and dogs, even if they typically get along. If one of the parrots decides to get testy and provokes an incident, the parrot will likely be on the losing end. For now, keep this possibility out of the equation.
You didn’t mention the age of the birds. Sexual maturity for macaws is between about 3 and 5 years of age. I’m going to assume they are at least that age. Let’s also assume that the blue and gold is male (given this situation, you might want to have that confirmed so you know what you are dealing with in the future. I did a post last week on where and how to do this).
Now to the nitty gritty, you have to separate the birds for a while. Your military is feeding off of the aggression of your blue and gold. I don’t know what your living situation is like, but even if one goes into a large dog crate for a little while, this is what must be done until the situation is brought back under control. I would keep the cages in separate rooms. This doesn’t mean you can’t let them perch (out of cage) together during the day as long as they behave themselves.
Also, you mentioned nest building. Remove any materials from the cages that could be used or perceived as nesting materials. That might be shredders or paper and remove wood chips as they destroy their toys. Make sure there are no dark corners in the cage, and never let them hide under any furniture or behind the drapes while they are out, these are nesting spots for them. It will only perpetuate this behavior. If there are any toys they get too “friendly with”, those need to come out for the time being too. Be careful how you handle them physically.
Once you remove all of the breeding reminders, the behaviors you described will subside. Eventually they can go back to their usual routine together. Just a word of warning, many parrots get hormonal again in October and November, though it is usually mild by comparison. Be watchful during that time too.
Please keep me informed of how things are working out for you or if your have anymore questions that I can help with.
Patty
I have a Crimson winged Parakeet called Montselvat that I have only had for about 7 months and has become very aggressive.
I believe it has something to do with that time of the year.
Monty turns 2 years old in about September so I am presuming it is him going through sexual maturity that is causing this behavior change.
Over the past 3 to 4 weeks he has become very aggressive, territorial and bites and attackes randomly. He has collected a few items that he scatters across the lounge room floor i.e. pens, and coloured plastic items and just sits with them. Nobody is allowed to approach them.
Anybody coming with in a few feet of him gets there feet attacked or he will fly towards your face and try and bite.
Monty was hand raised to only a young age before being put into a large avary with another male of the same species but he has always hated any hands coming near him.
Sometimes he will be very complacent and you can get very close to him and gently snuggle with him if he is on your shoulder or on his perch (provided no hands are involved) then all of a sudden it’s into a frenzy of biting and he has to be pushed away.
When he does attack I try to put him in his cage but that is realy difficult as it means I have to chase him to do it and it just aggrivates his aggression.. as they say aggression begets aggression.
I have had a lot of severe bites near my eyes and mouth and also on my hands drawing blood on many occasions.
I am at the point of being really scared of him.
Is there anyway of coping with this or any ideas you may be able to offer.
I have ordered Chet’s training CD I don’t know how much I can pu tup with, I hope it gets here soon..
Hi Jacinta,
Sorry you are having troubles with your parakeet. He is indeed becoming sexually mature. Take a deep breath, you can deal with this. First of all, take away the pens and things, and don’t allow him any access to any small items he might collect to replace them, these are nesting materials to him, odd as they may be. He has turned your lounge room floor into a giant nesting site and he will defend it by attacking you. If you are having trouble getting him back into his cage when he is on the attack, it would be best for you to keep him in there more and try to contain him to a smaller space when he is out. I have to seriously limit my umbrella cockatoo’s out of cage time when he gets worked up. I just make sure he has plenty to do in there. Inside the cage, be sure there is nothing that will cause him to continue breeding type activity. If you cover his cage, make sure you take it completely off so there are no nesty dark corners, Take away any loose articles scattered around and make sure all of the toys are hung and not lying on the floor of the cage. That eliminates nesting possibilities. If you see him inside his food dishes, remove them until he has forgotten what he was doing with them – maybe for a couple of hours. Limit baths and showers. A bird’s environment tells him that it is time to breed. If you remove all of the breeding indicators, the “mood” subsides. It might be a couple of weeks before you see real results, in the meantime be safe and keep him in the cage as necessary.
Patty
sorry
My male cockatiel regularly wants to mate and I provide him with a small cushion for this. It solves the problem of my last male which preferred to mate with my hand! He does it most days any time of year, and “getting his rocks off” seems to not lead to any other behaviour and sweeten his disposition (like most males!). Do you see any problem with this?
Hi Kass,
This is tricky. I have two male cockatiels that are constantly getting friendly with their perches or whatever else they can find, and at all times of the year. Generally speaking, it isn’t the best idea to encourage this behavior because it often leads to aggressiveness somewhere down the road. As long as you aren’t seeing these tendencies, I wouldn’t worry about it. But if he starts preferring to hang out in dark places as well, I would not allow it. You will see aggression following that.
Patty
My 40-year-old cockatoo, female, lays up to 8 eggs a year despite trying to take precautions to stop hormonal behavior. I try to pet only her head, but even this causes her to pant. It doesn’t matter what time of year it is either. She’s a very loving bird, and I can do anything to her (she hands me her feet to clip the nails), but I am worried about the egg-laying extreme–at least it seems extreme to me. Her diet is seeds and fresh fruit (rarely does she get warm oatmeal and that’s in winter). I have even tried in a new, large cage with wire bottom so there’s nothing to nest in, but still there are the eggs. I’ve tried to just talk to her instead of touching her, but that seems to distress her more. She is a feather picker, and was before I got her at age 14. She loves her eggs dearly and broods them for weeks–then bashes them to smithereens with a metal feeder pan. Any ideas to at least lower the egg count?
Hi ParrotPal,
I have to assume that there is something in her environment that is sending her the signal to breed. Check out this post on egg laying: http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/parrots-and-egg-laying/, I hope some of these suggestions will work for you. Eight eggs really isn’t excessive, but it’s still a lot and will take a toll on her. Until you figure out the cause of this stimulation, please be very careful to see that she gets enough calcium in her diet to help her through this. The calcium she needs to produce these eggs is coming directly from HER body and can leave her with a deficiency that can impact her health. I would definitely try to get her on a good pelletted diet in addition to the fresh veggies. Seed should be offered in VERY small amounts if at all, even then only as treats.
Try to get her into productive, independent play, foraging toys are great. (Avoid shredders for the time being because they can be used to make nesting materials.) If she can use her time to entertain herself, she will be thinking less about her breeding environment and require less touch from you. Good luck!
Patty
Hi Patty, I’ve written to you before on other topics…. My female Alexandrian is 1 yr 10 mths old and for the past month and half, is showing signs of going thru’ hormonal changes. Normally very loving, she has become quite aggressive and unpredictable. And one big change is that she screams for no reason at all. Earlier she would shout to get on my shoulder but now she screams into my ear! She also cannot stand me going near her cage when she’s in it – she lunges and bites my hand and screams….. She also shreds the paper that is placed at the bottom of the cage and moves around in it – is she trying to make a nest? Should I give her a nesting box? I thought shes still too young for nesting….. I feel so bad for her and keep wondering how she must be feeling and what I could do to help her. She and the male are not loving at all and keep mock fighting. The male is very loving with me – he keeps kissing me and regurgitating his food onto my face, hands and feet! I’m really puzzled at his behaviour!! Can you give me some advice pls…. Thanks. Jenny