Help with Hormones

[FoxersArtist]

Ah, yes, it is getting to be that time of year...spring, and with it come all the dreaded hormones.

For those who don't know, we have been having quite a few problems with Peggy Sue since mid summer last year. We took her on vacation with us to MN in July and when we got back home, Peggy exploded with hormones. I don't know if the time change or all of the activity set her hormones off or if the trip even had anything to do with her being hormonal, but she had never before shown signs of being hormonal in the past. A few years ago we got Peggy DNA sexed and learned that she is really a male. We decided not to change her name or start calling her a boy as she was used to being refered to as a girl, but we were thankful that we would never have to deal with egg issues.

Lately Peggy's hormones are out of control and she is very edgy. She has been screaming frequently, threatening to bite when we come near and rubbing her vent on her toys and this is driving me crazy. When we have put her in a cage to sleep she goes bonkers trying to nest, even though she has no access to shredables. Someone here had suggested giving one of our other birds chamomile tea to soothe them and I think I'll try that with Peggy also. We are following all of the rules as far as not petting her in places that will stimulate her and have avoided allowing her to regurgitate for us. I have also been bathing her daily and making more of an effort to limit her daylight hours but to no avail. Does anyone else have any suggestions that may help? :confused:I sure hate to see my baby so wound up.
-Anna

[Dot]

http://members.authorsguild.net/goodbird/work2.htm
What? I Can’t Hear You Over My Parrot
Bird Vocalizations And How To Deal With Them



I skimmed this article and didn't see anything on hormones, but I really didn't look closely. I heard Barbara Heidenreich at The Parrot Festival. She is totally awesome. Maybe there will be something in there to help you.

[Patty, Linus and Co.]

Anna, It's enough to make you crazy isn't it?? Linus gets like this alot, but sometimes worse than others. I haven't found anything to get him to stop, um, venting about his vent. I always resort to my oldest and most usefull tool - diversion. If he's lost his mind, I take him out for a walk. Or we extensively tour the apartment and discuss all of it's contents, but where I live, this is a short trip. With two small children, you don't always have the luxury of time. So that leaves you with sedatives (for you). Sorry.

[EasySpirit]

http://members.authorsguild.net/goodbird/work2.htm
What? I Can’t Hear You Over My Parrot
Bird Vocalizations And How To Deal With Them



I skimmed this article and didn't see anything on hormones, but I really didn't look closely. I heard Barbara Heidenreich at The Parrot Festival. She is totally awesome. Maybe there will be something in there to help you.


Glad you got to see Barbara. I am jealous...couldnt find you to meet you. I didn't get your phone number to be able to call. I was in the lobby with 3 of my birds late afternoon on Sat. Then on Sun I came back for some major shopping.

Tell us what you learned!

Peggy

[Dot]

Glad you got to see Barbara. I am jealous...couldnt find you to meet you. I didn't get your phone number to be able to call. I was in the lobby with 3 of my birds late afternoon on Sat. Then on Sun I came back for some major shopping.

Tell us what you learned!

Peggy

I'm trying to rest up before I type.

I did post a link to the coolest foraging toy ever.

http://www.happybirdy.com/mainforum_happybirdy_com/showthread.php?t=463

[Larry, Baby and Me]

Anna - sedatives work very well in your situation.

Just take 2 in the morning, 2 at noon, and 2 before going to bed and you wont care what that bird does. :rofl:

[Larry, Baby and Me]

On the serious side... ya just gotta ride it out. You are doing everything that can be done. It's the nature of the beast. Can't do much about changing nature.

Give her plenty of things to do... toys and such for distractions.

Give her space... let her work things out the best she can.

Avoid situations or circumstances that promote nesting behavior.

Back off on feeding too much protien.

Please keep us updated.

[too&me]

I wonder if there is a little birdie pheromone struggle between the two big boys-Peggy & Uriel that is kind of fanning that venting about the vents. Just a curious thought.

[FoxersArtist]

I wonder if there is a little birdie pheromone struggle between the two big boys-Peggy & Uriel that is kind of fanning that venting about the vents. Just a curious thought.

Do you think it would still matter the same if Uriel was away from Peggy? We moved Uriel to one of the back rooms because he had been climbing down off his perch and I was afraid he would bite one of the kids. So now he's in the room we use for quarantine. Peggy has seemed to get worse in his absence. Hmmmm...A very interesting thought, nonetheless.
-Anna

[Evelyn]

I think it is so sad when birds' (and other animals') instinct and desire to mate is thwarted. I understand that we can't allow them to reproduce willy-nilly, but we are denying them a very basic behavior. I don't mean we shouldn't alter animals when it can be done safely. But we can't do that for birds--at least not safely. It must be very frustrating for them.

I think the ones who choose one of his/her humans as a mate is lucky. At least they have a substitute. But what about the others? Is it so bad to let a bird build a nest? I can't see that it would harm a male. I know there is concern about females being depleted of calcium, but doesn't this occur only once or twice a year? And if we let them keep the eggs, that will keep them from laying any more--at least for a while.

I'm lucky because two of mine are too young, and the one who is old enough doesn't seem to have much of a problem. She does get broody about once a year and wants to build a nest, but she isn't persistent about it.

How can we help the poor dears who are only trying to do what comes naturally?

Evelyn

[FoxersArtist]

Evelyn,
I agree that it is a sad thing to see our very sexually frustrated parrots do whatever they can to get a little relief but what I don't agree with is that it is healthy and natural for them to be doing it. Many parrots who are kept in captivity struggle with hormones and if they do not have a mate they seem to only make those hormones worse by using a substitute. The bird may feel better in the short term but what he or she is doing will cause higher hormone levels which will only lead to more frustration (Like a drug addict hoping for one more fix). While many birds simply get hormonal or nippy while on their territory, some birds get so sexually frustrated that they begin to pluck or worse. With the research that I have done on this subject, I have learned that an overly hormonal parrot is literally TOXIC with hormones and in some cases parrots have died from such high levels in their systems. I read a fantastic article on Sexuality and our companion parrots a few years ago that sums a lot of this up. I'll dig around and see if I can find it. Anyway, this is all MHO, but I have seen first hand the results of very frustrated parrots who have simply been allowed to do their thing. Most of them came naked, aggressive, and miserable.
-Anna

[too&me]

Not all parrots in the wild get to mate & breed either. They just have to deal with it as they would anything else that happens.

[FoxersArtist]

Below are pictures of Chester and Chelsey, a couple of older M2's that were surrendered to us last year. Their previous owner had housed them together just long enough for them to bond and become a pair but then put them in seperate cages side by side. This may not have been so bad, but in an effort to relieve some of their hormones she gave the female a nesting box and each of them as much nesting material is they wanted. The catch was simply that they could not be out together. Both birds ripped out their feathers and were using them as nesting material. When there were no feathers left to pluck, Chelsey began tearing small bits of flesh from her chest. Chester did o.k. being out of his cage as long as he was away from his female but was extreemly edgy in his cage(nest). Chelsey was so toxic with hormones that she would sit and shake regularly. When she was allowed anywhere near her male she would go banana's, shaking and hyperventilating so much that she couldn't breathe and we thought she might harm herself! As far as I understand it, she had been chroniclly laying eggs. My theory is that her hormone levels were so high that she was experiencing a neverending cycle. It's seeing things like this that really worries me when I watch Peggy Sue get nesty in hr cage or take out her frustration on her toys.
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/FemaleM2.jpg
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/Chester.jpg
-Anna

[Evelyn]

Well, I'll certainly have to rethink that!

I'll just appreciate my luck unless or until it gets to be a problem.

Anna - I would like to read the article you mentioned!

I know they can neuter chickens. Isn't that what a capon is--a neutered chicken?

Evelyn

[FoxersArtist]

Enjoy them while they are young...but I know you Eveyln, you'll love them even if they do end up getting hormonal and that's what really matters. :)
-Anna

[bonnie]

Anna - sedatives work very well in your situation.

Just take 2 in the morning, 2 at noon, and 2 before going to bed and you wont care what that bird does. :rofl:

LOL
Good advice Larry! I'm gonna have to try that. It's not that bad here... yet.:haha: