Last night Afa my G2, "presented" to Alex my RB2. She is 2.5 and he will be 3 in April. Im sure she is hormonal but is she really ready to mate? We were saying our usual night night nights. Afa and Alex always kiss. and have become somewhat bonded. She kept turning her back to him, then got closer and lifted her tail, Alex immediately tilted his pelvis. They attempted 3 more times with Afa now lifting the wing closest to him. I was a bit horrified. The last thing I need is a baby bird on my hands. Since they are both toos, could they reproduce? And my next question is, could all of this cause her to produce an egg anyway? Im so worried she will become egg bound. Afa is the tiniest too Ive ever seen. Then I think, could you imagine an rb2, goffins hybrid? I think it would be a lunatic! Pretty, but crazy.

Mr Buddy is also very moody, biting, and pinning with me, and now loves John. Occy will hump and puke for anything he can rub and has taken to footing my face. Isnt this all spring behavior? I know its way warmer here than it should be at this time of year and maybe thats causing all of this.

Leigh, it has less to do with warmth and more to do with lengthening of days. I personally keep the birds to a schedule of sunrise and sunset, just to avoid these types of problems. My family hates it, but it works. Also, protein in the diet will encourage breeding - you may want restrict their beans or whatever protein you are feeding them.

If eggs are produced, you need only to freeze them and they will not hatch. There is a website, Fake Eggs, Artificial Eggs, Plastic Bird Eggs stop laying. - good to have a few of those on hand. If her diet is good, getting enough day or all spectrum light, calcium and D3, she shouldn't have a problem being egg bound. But that is something you can monitor. The lower belly would get distended and she could become listless, shred paper, etc. You may want to have a conversation with your vet about that.

On another note, that's wonderful if two of your birds bond. I would love it if my birds bonded. Congratulations.

Im concerned their bonding is causing her to be more aggressive towards ME. She is a nightmare already. I cant leave her out anymore, since she is a terror. raiding cages and dumping food everywhere. She flies all over the house in spite of being clipped. She wont sit on her perch anymore, she has to be ON me. And when she is, she bites. SO now she is in her cage more than ever while the other 3 can be left out in their room to play. Now, if she wants Alex, I cant leave them for a second. They might mate. Im exhausted.

Now Leigh, excuse me if I am being dense, but what exactly is the problem with the two mating? She is more aggressive toward you. Yes, and this is what happens when a bird grows up, they want to leave mommy bird and find a mate. At 2.5 years, I would say she is a young, healthy bird looking to mate. And this is one of the main reasons why many birds are given up before they turn 10. One has to weather these years when all a bird can think about come mating season is to do just that, and often they will either want to mate with their caretaker, get very frustrated and turn on their person, or they will perceive the person as an obstacle, and get mean. You can do certain things to shorten the breeding season (like keeping to a strict daylight schedule, reducing protein, etc.) but you really can't alter their desire to breed. These undomesticated little wild creatures, why that's all they want to do! Next, yes, she can lay eggs even if you don't let them mate. If she is stimulated, she will lay - therefore, I personally would let them mate. They will be happy and bond with each other, or not. You will get eggs in either situation, only in the latter case, they will be fertilized. I know many people who work in rescue and sanctuary, and all they do is switch the eggs and then freeze the fertilized ones.

Let me tell you, my sons drove me nuts when they were young teenagers. All those raging hormones, foul behavior, etc. I'll take birds anytime Anyway, this is testing time for you, it's very trying, and please take the necessary precautions to avoid getting bitten in sensitive areas. I would keep her away from my shoulder and face until her hormonal situation abates.

Im just worried that mating will make them more aggressive. I dont want them to go into a breeder mode. I already have my hands full. Id rather take the chance that she wont produce and egg on her own, than to let her mate and actually count on one. I dont do vets unless there is a real need for one. If she starts with egg issues, Ill be in vet bills up to my eye balls. I keep them on a reduced light schedule, they have full spectrum and southwest sun exposure. The diet is acceptable I think. Fresh foods, pellets daily. Alex is finally calming down and doesnt really bite anymore but does attempt on occasion. He is easy with the other birds and pals with my ekkie. They sit next to each other and play with toys on the big perch. They seek each other out on the boings to play. I really think he could care less about mating. Afa seems to be the aggressor. I just dont want to prolong her hormonal state by allowing them to breed.

Leigh, I can't speak to the breeding/mating aspect of maturity and hormones as my two birds do not have physical contact. They don't care for each other.

As far as hormones, maturity and egg laying are concerned there is no stopping that. As Sweet Marie said; You can do certain things to shorten the breeding season (like keeping to a strict daylight schedule, reducing protein, etc.) These things will help but not eliminate what is a natural cycle for them.

While you may be seeing sexual behavioral changes, there are also physical changes that are going on that you can't see when they're in a hormonal state.

I recently had full body radio-graphs done on Kady and his entire gonadal area was enlarged and it was very viewable on the rad that his body was in a hormonal state. Once they're in that state it's not something you can turn off in a day or so with a diet or photoperiod change. It has to run it's course and it may take several weeks after you make the diet and photoperiod changes.

I was so worried when Kita laid her first egg, but my AV assured me egg laying is a very normal process for Hens. It's not something I encourage and I'm very careful about the triggers that could put her into a hormonal state. I'm still learning how to deal with these mature birds, it's not easy and as careful as I've been I still have made many diet and behavior mistakes that have sent her into a hormonal state at the wrong time of the year. To date, my Hen has had no problems passing eggs and I make sure she is supplemented with Calcium and has calcium rich foods when she is in a laying cycle.

I dont think I give them too much protein. They get mostly carrots, yams, corn, peas, string beans, kale, mustard greens, wheat pasta, brown rice, red peppers, flax seed. Im not sure, maybe I dont know my proteins? Maybe Im just a worried mommy. Im dealing with the birdie moods as they come. Its just the horror stories of impacted eggs that have me so scared. Im trying to avoid any problems. Afa is barely 200 grams. She is very very petite. A good avian vet is a good hour away from me if not further. I did check the hollow above the cloaca last night and it seems empty, She's not nesting. Thankfully she allows me to lay her on her back now which took 2 years. I guess Ill just keep my eye on her.

Leigh,

I'm sorry that I have no advice to offer, but this is a very interesting thread as Lucy is a matured bird and I worry all the time about her laying. After being given hormone shots, there's not a guarentee she will lay, but its still very possible.

I hope that everything turns out for the best!

I'm not qualified to give advice either, but I also wanted to add that this thread is very interesting. Being another parront with a female bird, Lulu, it is scary to think of her laying an egg, but I do try to remind myself that it's a normal process (as Karen stated).

Leigh, it will be helpful to weigh her everyday. There is a noticeable weight gain if they have an egg. Kita can gain a 40-50 grams when she has an egg. Also I can tell she is going to lay several days before I see the egg because she will have an increase in urine in her droppings. So with the indicators of the weight gain and the urine increase it gives me a chance to supplement calcium.