LOL since I'm boring everyone to death about this protein/fat/rich food issue causing protracted breeding behaviors....I thought I'd post one of the exchanges from a site I'm on posted about Eclectus. I kept it so I'd remember to find out the results of the study and forgot LOL.

So not only is it dangerous to the liver and kidneys to overwork them with a ton of protein but we should IMO remember the heart disease side effects too.

And seeing hormonal behaviors outside of breeding season is a sign. That the diet and photoperiod needs to be addressed.

Permission to cross post, btw:

Poster number one:

"She [her vet] is doing a research study on 100 birds who are showing that long term sexual excitement, triggered hormonally is causing "hyperlipidemia" (high levels of fat in the blood conducive to coronary heart disease) and fatty liver disease". Livers of highly hormonal birds are enlarged and have high fat in them and the blood is often high in cholesterol, which is not routinely checked by vets. The vets recommendations are: 1). remove hormonal triggers, 2). "meal feed" to decrease perception of abundance, 3).reduce food variety, and 4). increase exercise.

Would like to hear if anyone else had heard of this."

Poster number two (my friend) :

"That's because heart conditions, high cholesterol, enlarged liver, fatty liver disease, breeding behavior and a host of other problems are all caused by the same thing: too rich a diet! Seeds, nuts, people food, treats, etc. are all too fattening and too rich for all parrots but more so for eclectus whose natural diet is actually very low in nutrients.

Most of their diet should be leafy greens and veggies low in carbohydrates and protein (very, very little seeds and nuts, very little corn, very little sweet fruit, very little beans, etc). Their organisms are made to work on a diet that would be considered deficient for most other animals so anything extra over a period of time is going to cause problems."

Poster number three, a random person who was lurking:

"I had not heard of that condition, but my 7 year-old Ekkie died last spring after an extremely high cholesterol count (which we got down eventually), and heart disease (a very enlarged heart). He was forever in heat, humping every day, all day."

I thought it was interesting about the study. AND sad about the lady's deceased bird with the link between the humping and his heart disease. From the food and lack of exercise of course ...he didnt get heart disease from humping and being hormonal. Although it's sad to picture the poor guy being so uncomfortable for such a long period of time.