NeverBroken
New member
So Miss Lola's been home with us 3 weeks now, and was an absolute doll the first two weeks. She and I got along great, but she adored my husband right from the start- even though she spent most of her time with me, as I work from home and he leaves for work each day. The last owners said she was like this with the husband there too- she just loves men. Which is totally fine 
But for the last week she has been acting hormonal, and guarding my husband from me. She has attacked me several times, only when he is home. When we're along all day she is still pretty good with me. Once he gets home she starts clicking her tongue on her upper beak making it very clear she wants nothing to do with me, and she will attack me if I push it, or even just sit on the couch near her. She has even chased me on the floor, leading to me jumping on furniture to keep her from attacking me (this was just the first night, I stand my ground now while keeping her from biting me, but calmly get my husband to put her in her cage, or I just hold up the towel and sometimes she will go back in on her own just from seeing it)
No worries, I get it- she's 5 years old, it's breeding season and she's chosen hubby as her mate. Her last family didn't mention any issues in this area, but they rarely do, do they? I spent all week reading online and here trying to get all info possible on how to deal with her during this time, but I'm having an incredibly hard time finding info on females during breeding season. 99% of what I find is about males, or about actually breeding- which is the opposite of what I'm looking for, lol.
We are limiting her time with him, I am the only one giving her treats, toys, feeding her, etc. We are making very sure to only pet her properly, (her family pet her all over so she is used to that and begs for that kind of attention but we have learned better) and have taken steps to give her more pitch dark sleep time. When she does attack me or even just start with the tongue clicking, she goes right back into the cage. We have had to towel her at times to get her in the cage unfortunately, but when she's chasing me trying to bite me, it has had to be done. I've also started putting less food in her bowls so she doesn't have that 'abundance' issue. Took away her one shredding toy, she has been 'shredding' her wood toys, but not any differently then she has the last few weeks we've had her, and she hasn't tried to make any type of next in her cage. She does try to go under pillows or blankets though when she is really worked up and in attack Mommy mode, so we make sure she doesn't have access to that type of thing.
I am keeping a very positive but firm attitude with her, and treating the whole thing with love and compassion. She seems so very confused sometimes, as I have tried to win her over when she was tongue clicking next to her 'mate' and I talked silly to her and pet her head anyway- she will let me pet her, and tries to snuggle with me, then goes back to her
'back off!' behavior, like she doesn't even know what she wants. So I more feel bad for her then being irritated or negative. And her bites hurt but have yet to break the skin, so at this point I am not showing any fear of her biting, but I am certainly respectful that she could do major damage and take the appropriate safety precautions.
So any advice, or even links to advice on female breeding behavior in captivity would be awesome. Particularly I am wondering the following:
Should she be allowed limited attention with my husband, say until she acts hormonal then put in cage- or should she have no physical contact from him at all? We are limiting contact at this time.
Is putting her back in her cage everytime she acts that way the right thing to do? Or should we just put her on her playstand to distract her?
Is it common for the bouts of hormonal aggression to be sporadic during this time, or is it usually more an all day thing?
Is there anything else I can do for her to make her less hormonal then I'm already doing, and/or to re-enforce our bond? Or should I just let it play out as it has been?
If she's been hormonal and had to be caged, if she is being nice again awhile later, I will take her out again. She is good for awhile, then back at it and back in the cage she goes. Should I keep responding to her when she's good in her cage by giving her out of cage time, or should I just leave her in her cage most of the time because it will not end well when she's out? I have kept up the taking her out as we were giving her a lot of out of cage time previously, and didn't want to make her more upset by keeping her locked up so much now... but I'm not sure if this is right for her hormonal situation?
Also, are there any other signs besides nesting that I need to look out for in case she decides to lay eggs?
This came on rather suddenly, and I am pretty sure it had to do with something I did the night it started- there were a few ways I could have freaked her out, from using a new conditioner with a strong fragrance, styling my hair in a different way, using a towel in front of her since she is scared of them, etc. But it hasn't gone away, and her actions def seem hormonal, which lead me to believe it is breeding season and I've either somehow startled her into it, or it just coincidentally started at the same time (which I doubt) or perhaps even... that it's my own hormonal time? I read up on that too and it seems that can occur with males, but rarely with females. If it is related to that, it is not due to my being irritable or acting any different, I don't have classic pms like that. I was actually quite calm and content that night as I usually am with her.
Sorry for such a long post, but I believe giving as much relevant info as possible gets the most helpful answers in return
But for the last week she has been acting hormonal, and guarding my husband from me. She has attacked me several times, only when he is home. When we're along all day she is still pretty good with me. Once he gets home she starts clicking her tongue on her upper beak making it very clear she wants nothing to do with me, and she will attack me if I push it, or even just sit on the couch near her. She has even chased me on the floor, leading to me jumping on furniture to keep her from attacking me (this was just the first night, I stand my ground now while keeping her from biting me, but calmly get my husband to put her in her cage, or I just hold up the towel and sometimes she will go back in on her own just from seeing it)No worries, I get it- she's 5 years old, it's breeding season and she's chosen hubby as her mate. Her last family didn't mention any issues in this area, but they rarely do, do they? I spent all week reading online and here trying to get all info possible on how to deal with her during this time, but I'm having an incredibly hard time finding info on females during breeding season. 99% of what I find is about males, or about actually breeding- which is the opposite of what I'm looking for, lol.
We are limiting her time with him, I am the only one giving her treats, toys, feeding her, etc. We are making very sure to only pet her properly, (her family pet her all over so she is used to that and begs for that kind of attention but we have learned better) and have taken steps to give her more pitch dark sleep time. When she does attack me or even just start with the tongue clicking, she goes right back into the cage. We have had to towel her at times to get her in the cage unfortunately, but when she's chasing me trying to bite me, it has had to be done. I've also started putting less food in her bowls so she doesn't have that 'abundance' issue. Took away her one shredding toy, she has been 'shredding' her wood toys, but not any differently then she has the last few weeks we've had her, and she hasn't tried to make any type of next in her cage. She does try to go under pillows or blankets though when she is really worked up and in attack Mommy mode, so we make sure she doesn't have access to that type of thing.
I am keeping a very positive but firm attitude with her, and treating the whole thing with love and compassion. She seems so very confused sometimes, as I have tried to win her over when she was tongue clicking next to her 'mate' and I talked silly to her and pet her head anyway- she will let me pet her, and tries to snuggle with me, then goes back to her
'back off!' behavior, like she doesn't even know what she wants. So I more feel bad for her then being irritated or negative. And her bites hurt but have yet to break the skin, so at this point I am not showing any fear of her biting, but I am certainly respectful that she could do major damage and take the appropriate safety precautions.
So any advice, or even links to advice on female breeding behavior in captivity would be awesome. Particularly I am wondering the following:
Should she be allowed limited attention with my husband, say until she acts hormonal then put in cage- or should she have no physical contact from him at all? We are limiting contact at this time.
Is putting her back in her cage everytime she acts that way the right thing to do? Or should we just put her on her playstand to distract her?
Is it common for the bouts of hormonal aggression to be sporadic during this time, or is it usually more an all day thing?
Is there anything else I can do for her to make her less hormonal then I'm already doing, and/or to re-enforce our bond? Or should I just let it play out as it has been?
If she's been hormonal and had to be caged, if she is being nice again awhile later, I will take her out again. She is good for awhile, then back at it and back in the cage she goes. Should I keep responding to her when she's good in her cage by giving her out of cage time, or should I just leave her in her cage most of the time because it will not end well when she's out? I have kept up the taking her out as we were giving her a lot of out of cage time previously, and didn't want to make her more upset by keeping her locked up so much now... but I'm not sure if this is right for her hormonal situation?
Also, are there any other signs besides nesting that I need to look out for in case she decides to lay eggs?
This came on rather suddenly, and I am pretty sure it had to do with something I did the night it started- there were a few ways I could have freaked her out, from using a new conditioner with a strong fragrance, styling my hair in a different way, using a towel in front of her since she is scared of them, etc. But it hasn't gone away, and her actions def seem hormonal, which lead me to believe it is breeding season and I've either somehow startled her into it, or it just coincidentally started at the same time (which I doubt) or perhaps even... that it's my own hormonal time? I read up on that too and it seems that can occur with males, but rarely with females. If it is related to that, it is not due to my being irritable or acting any different, I don't have classic pms like that. I was actually quite calm and content that night as I usually am with her.
Sorry for such a long post, but I believe giving as much relevant info as possible gets the most helpful answers in return
