Sex and the Psittacine

08-30-2007, 04:22 PM

Now that it's molting season in the Northern Hemisphere it's going to be time for a winter rest. There's alot of good articles about hormonal behaviors.

Some birds have special circumstances. But IMO, generally speaking we can keep thse behaviors to a minimum (meaning in the spring where they belong)....by following the daylight schedule the best we can meaning sleep the hours from dusk to dawn, watch physical stimulation, watch excessive protein and vitamin e. provide plenty of exercise especially flying, enrichment, good diet, baths etc, and rotating cages and changing out the insides so they don't think they have a "secure nest".

Here's one link to an article to start the thread:

SEX AND THE PSITTACINE

Are we Keeping Our ~ Companion Parrots ~ Sexually Over-stimulated?

By Shari Beaudoin
Parrot Island, Burnsville, Minnesota

Sexual behavior

Whoops sorry I was going to post in parts so the thread says part one but there is no part two lol.

08-30-2007, 05:00 PM

i love that website! i think i may have read this article a while back, i am not sure. but it's a wonderful read, thank you for posting.

08-30-2007, 05:02 PM

That is an excellent article. I've read it a couple of times before, and will read it again. It's so easy for us to forget that our parrot's perception of the world is very different from ours, and it's our job to learn to see things through their eyes, since they can't see things through ours.

08-30-2007, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quito's Qage

That is an excellent article. I've read it a couple of times before, and will read it again. It's so easy for us to forget that our parrot's perception of the world is very different from ours, and it's our job to learn to see things through their eyes, since they can't see things through ours.

I was thinking that too when I posted it. Every time I read it there's a bunch of reminders. And expressions I forgot. Ambient attention LOL That's my favorite. I have a few more on my computer, hopefully I can dig them out the next coupla days.

08-30-2007, 07:56 PM

Taken from the article:

Quote:

“He loves to play on top of his cage and patrol the area. He gets so intense that if we try to take him down from the top of the cage he will bite us.”

Isn’t this parrot doing a fantastic job protecting his perceived nest site? There he is on top of his cage, defending his perceived nest for all he is worth. In the wild the defense of the nest is essential in warding off intruders and successfully producing and raising offspring. Take a moment to think of a parrot in the wild. Picture him out on a branch a few feet from the nest opening carefully watching the area around him. Is this behavior really any different than what your bird perceives he is doing in your home on top of his cage? Probably not! A play tree or gym away from the cage rather than on top with many interesting things to do is essential to a parrot’s emotional stimulation.

Having only ever dealt with sexually mature birds this is one of the reasons I use a normal sized cage for sleep only. I use very large play cages and play stands away from their sleep cages for daytime.

When I first got Kady (male) I allowed him to play in and on top of his cage. He was in a constant state of alert and defense, almost to the point of being agitated.

Then came Kita (female) she didn't get agitated or defensive, she got so comfy being in and on her nest in the daytime, she started laying eggs at the wrong time of year.

I have seen totally different birds since stopping the playtime in and on their cages during the daytime. My birds leave the roost, so to speak, as soon as they wake and only return when it’s time to go to sleep again.

08-30-2007, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FeathersNFur8

Taken from the article:

Having only ever dealt with sexually mature birds this is one of the reasons I use a normal sized cage for sleep only. I use very large play cages and play stands away from their sleep cages for daytime.

When I first got Kady (male) I allowed him to play in and on top of his cage. He was in a constant state of alert and defense, almost to the point of being agitated.

Then came Kita (female) she didn't get agitated or defensive, she got so comfy being in and on her nest in the daytime, she started laying eggs at the wrong time of year.

I have seen totally different birds since stopping the playtime in and on their cages during the daytime. My birds leave the roost, so to speak, as soon as they wake and only return when it’s time to go to sleep again.

Karen that's a really good point. Rather than rearranging their poor cages all the time and wheeling them all over the place it sounds like you found a really natural way to reinforce what's what. I think you're the first person that I've read who discovered that "trick". Thanks! I think I'll need it next year for sure.

08-30-2007, 08:33 PM

Great Idea! I have just recently started placing my BG, Midori in a sleep cage. I will be anxious to see if changing cages daily helps her. I do have everyone trade cages every so often, maybe I should do this more regularly?

08-31-2007, 05:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onyxena

Great Idea! I have just recently started placing my BG, Midori in a sleep cage. I will be anxious to see if changing cages daily helps her. I do have everyone trade cages every so often, maybe I should do this more regularly?

Well they say that rearranging the interior and moving the cages around alot to different areas will be a subliminal message that it's not a secure nest. My birds love their cages so much that I'd probably only do that if I had a hormonal imbalance in somebody. Usually though after a year or so of doing the "other stuff" right you won't have that problem off season, ime. Except in the certain birds who are tough cases and need special care.

08-31-2007, 08:00 AM

That is a great article to review.

I am a big fan of the following, having play areas away from the cages:

"Give them the best play area away from their cage that you can. Avoid using the top of the cage as a play area from the beginning and the chances of your bird showing aggression and protectiveness of the cage and surrounding area will be greatly lessened. This also gives your bird a chance to play in different areas of the home and be more connected with the human flock."

09-01-2007, 06:52 AM

Quote:

“She is so cute she loves to snuggle. She lays there for hours while I pet her.”

Understanding that this can be the cause of many problems for companion parrots and their caregivers is very difficult for many people to accept. We have spent a lifetime hugging our children and others that we hold dear. We have always stroked and petted our companion animals, primarily dogs and cats. So how could it possibly be a problem to interact this way with our companion parrots? We want them to know that we care for them and even love them! Shouldn’t they receive the same care and attentions as the others we cherish? Again, we need to take a look from our parrot’s point of view. Take another moment to observe the birds outside. What do you see? Most often, unless mating or raising young , you won’t see birds, even a mated pair, in direct contact or stroking each other. Touch on the back generally implies courtship, leading to mating and rearing young.

This is something that has been very hard for me to remember. Like the author of the quote says, it's such a natural thing for us to do.

I have to remind myself to 'stay in the moment' with the birds. I enjoy the close time and often forget to be very careful of where I'm petting. If I forget the resulting sexual behavior will get my attention quick. I try to limit any petting to head and neck only.