BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Birds Hormones

Hi everyone,
These ragging hormones, anyone tell me the ages of birds when they they start going through this. Are the breed of birds all different. I have been reading up on this trying to find some good info.
Thanks Dawn <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Well Dawn, if you can find an answer to this, please let us all know. As far as I know every bird is different but Amazons are especially noted for their springtime ups & downs. It seems to start when they become mature & then happens every year after that. My CAG doesn't seem to react any differently during different seasons & she will be 6 years old this summer. My cockatiels, parakeets & lovebird aren't showing any signs of it, but my doves (both males) are certainly displaying to each other more now than a couple of months ago.

Well at least that kind of explains why I can't find anything specific. Maggie is 9mths, she has been fluttering her wings more when she is on me. Being more beaky and nuzzling around my neck a lot more and preening me all the time, so I wondered if it was that time. Thanks Mavis
Dawn <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I wonder if that explains this weird little thing my male Senegal, Pete, about 6 yrs old, does when he's on me...he does this strange little "gagging" thing, kind of like I see the wild birds do when they're feeding their babies. I have a friend, also weird, who will chew up a pretzel and let Pete eat it out of her mouth. Boy, does he love that...flutters his wings and gets all excited. There aren't very many people he likes that well, and my family knows who can and cannot stick their hand in his cage....

Yes, it sounds like Pete is trying to feed you - obviously a mating ritual. At 6 he is definitely mature & you are his choice in mates.

As far as your friend letting Pete out of her mouth, please try to get that stopped as soon as possible. Human saliva carries germs that can make your bird ill. It took me less than a minute to find an article explaining the health risks at Don't Kiss Your Bird

Mavis..thank you sooo much for that link. Its a great website, and now I have a good reason to stop my friend from doing something I never found especially "cute" anyway.

I did find with each of my female parakeets that as they got over a year to a year and a half they became a bit grumpy <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> They used to be extremely cuddly and wanting their head rubbed and so on, but once they became 'teeangers' they would have none of that. Then another year or so goes by and they're back to being snuggly again. They all like my boyfriend better than me though <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />