Caique hormones?

[Ezekiell]

Maui is coming up to about 1.5 years old and has recently started humping my hand. Only 4 times over the last 3 days, each time I’ve firmly said ‘no’ and removed my hand so he can’t do it again, but importantly I haven’t punished him for it as he’s just being a bird. If he still seems to want to get it on I’ve just got him to do some short flights or some tricks to burn off some of that extra energy, which has seemed to work.

I’ve heard that caiques don’t generally start puberty until around 2-3 years, so I’m wondering if its possible Maui is hitting puberty early?

I’ve been very particular about only petting him on the head, wings are only touched for getting him into his harness or for checking how his new flights are growing in (command for letting me handle wings is “show wing” before I lightly touch/handle his wrist, and I want to check his flights growing back because the breeder heavily clipped him before he came home and I want to know how much I can safely push him during flight training). He also only gets pellets and fresh chop daily, nuts are for treats and foraging only.

Can any caique owners tell me if he’s likely hitting puberty early? If so, any tips for how we can help him when he’s getting ‘jiggy’?

 

[wrench13]

Just the regular ways tominimize puberty or mating behaviour.
12hrs sleep or be on a natural cycle that follows the local sunrise/sunset
No touching except head and neck
Avoid soft warm mushy foods
No dark hidey places like under the couch or in draws, or even dark places in his cage
No access to nesting materials like shredded paper, cloth
Dont allow butt rubbing on you or regurgitation. Just walk away.

these don't stop it, but tend to minimize it.