Do your birds regurgitate for each other?

[RavensGryf]

Prior to having Raven and Griffin, most of my birds had not been close with one another. The only other time I had 2 birds who were friends, they were both females, and they never regurgitated for each other.

So this with Raven and Griffin, 2 young males, is the first time I've had birds who were so closely bonded. So close in fact, that Raven gets mildly upset every night when I have to take Griffin home to his own cage.

Anyway, just lately for the first time I noticed Raven "feeding" Griffin :26:. It doesn't help that Raven is trying out his hormones for the first time (although he's not quite mature). So Raven is more than happy to do this! Griffin eggs him on by begging. I do my best to stop it from happening, but sometimes I don't notice until it's too late, and they're both smacking their slimy lips lol :02:

Just wondering what others do... If you have 2 birds who do this behavior with each other, do you let it happen? I would rather that Raven kept his nutrition to himself, especially since he normally isn't as hearty of an eater as Griffin in the first place. I suppose if he's not giving ALL his food to Griffin it shouldn't be a big deal. I'm just curious what others do.

 

[Hawk]

Hmmm, Mine won't do that for each other....they are like " Mine mine mine"....
however they do for me, and my wife just goes " ewwww"...and I just tell her " grab us a plate, couple spoons and some salt and pepper, we're going to have lunch, the birds are Hoarking one up""""........Ha haaaaaaa.

 

[RavensGryf]

Hmmm, Mine won't do that for each other....they are like " Mine mine mine"....
however they do for me, and my wife just goes " ewwww"...and I just tell her " grab us a plate, couple spoons and some salt and pepper, we're going to have lunch, the birds are Hoarking one up""""........Ha haaaaaaa.

Gross. :26: lol

 

[Kiwibird]

Awww, Raven and Griffin sitting in a tree r-i-g-u.... wait a second here:20: Lol. At least they're good buddies! Look at the bright side- They could be trying to eat each other, so the fact they are bonding is a much better thing

My moms amazons regurgitate for each other. She doesn't stop it, they are very bonded and it's a natural thing for birds to do (though that particular display of affection is absolutely disgusting). Kiwi, on the other hand, likes to run behind things or climb in our bed to regurgitate. It is NOT appreciated (especially the bed:52:!).

 

[RavensGryf]

Yes it IS disgusting let alone the bed lol! They don't do it to me (although Griffin is pretty closely bonded to me also)... Maybe Raven is just his #1 favorite between the 2 of us !

 

[Hawk]

Awww, Raven and Griffin sitting in a tree r-i-g-u.... wait a second here:20: Lol. At least they're good buddies! Look at the bright side- They could be trying to eat each other, so the fact they are bonding is a much better thing

My moms amazons regurgitate for each other. She doesn't stop it, they are very bonded and it's a natural thing for birds to do (though that particular display of affection is absolutely disgusting). Kiwi, on the other hand, likes to run behind things or climb in our bed to regurgitate. It is NOT appreciated (especially the bed:52:!).

Wish my birds would bond a little better to each other....I can have the Zons on me and they won't fight, I can have the Grey and Zons on me and they tolerate each other, but add the Senni to the mix and we have a war with me in the middle! They grey and senni stay away from each other, they are jealous of each other as they want or fight over me. if they can't lunge at each other, which all I have to say is "Be Nice"...and they stop and stare at each other...growling at each other. Then take it out on me. lol....

The Senegal is a terrorist !!!....A terrifying terrorist !!! Ha ha ha...

 

[Birdman666]

My CAG and my LCA feed each other all the time.

The other three feed me...

 

[JerseyWendy]

I've seen both Ripley and Niko go through the entire 'gurging' motion with each other, but I didn't see either of them 'bring anything up'. :32: (Thank God!!)

So far the Amazons haven't - and I won't let them as I don't want them to become 'that' affectionate towards each other, especially since I have male and female. :54:

Niko's been wanting to feed me quite a lot lately, and even though I feel honored, I can do without the extra calories.

Here is a super short clip of Niko a few evenings ago. He's growling at the dog (who's laying by the couch) and you can see he's starting his 'gurge' motion briefly. :32:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_CzO98SbWU&feature=youtu.be"]Sumter Trip and Various 017 - YouTube[/ame]

 

[RavensGryf]

Wendy, Niko's feathers are beautiful! The extra calories LOL! :32:

Come to think about it, the Poi's do it to me occasionally, but I stop and distract them before they bring anything up.

Raven will never do it to me, as he's not bonded to me.

Then there's Twigs who will do it for his toys or anyone who will pay attention! Budgies....

 

[Birdman666]

I get fed several times a day. I'm just used to it now.

I have trained my birds to eat what they bring up themselves. So, I just play along and do the shake the beak thing. I get a palmful, and then they eat it again.

Ahhh, the joys of parronthood!

What's funny is that Maggie will usually start the feeding sessions by telling me "Good!" and "Want some?" Just like when I feed her a treat!

Both the macaws get "rather insistant" about feeding behaviors. So, I indulge them on this one. You pick your battles, this is one I wasn't going to fight them on. And oddly enough, both latch onto fingers when doing the head shake thing... as if it were a bird beak.

 

[Dinosrawr]

Oh gosh. Shiko regurgitates for Avery every day, he's that obsessed. But I never have to worry about stopping it, because Avery herself does it. She'll actually strike at him if he tries to feed her, and just to rub dirt in his wound she'll turn around and regurgitate for me, LOL! I used to try and stop it, but I realized it wasn't working and just didn't bother. He's obviously not going to get anywhere with her and they both still love to be with me, so I'll let him make his nasty crop soup as long as he doesn't actually spread it around. Once he really brings it up, I do put him back in his cage because... well, ew.

 

[jasper19]

And oddly enough, both latch onto fingers when doing the head shake thing... as if it were a bird beak.

Angel will do this exact thing when she is acting like she is going to bring some up. She will hold onto my finger with only one of her legs, and not want to let it go and start doing the head motion.

So birdman, you dont see anything wrong with letting them do this behavior at you? I have seen mixed things online about letting/not letting them do this and what effects it has. Just curious on your thoughts on it. Only argument i really saw was that it makes them too attached and then they see you as a mate? And thats not the relationship they want them to see you as? Do you find this to be the case?

 

[Birdman666]

My CAG and my amazon don't mate, and they feed each other all the time...

It's an affection thing. Parents feed them. Siblings feed each other later in life. (No expectation of mating there.) Buddy birds feed each other, even when they are same sex pairs. (Unless they are gay birds, there's no expectation of mating there.) So, no. I don't buy into that.

Regurging is a natural way of expressing love...

And I've honestly never had success in not having them regurg, especially if that bird is a big mac...

That can be like unrequited love. (Woody would get mad when you tried to interrupt a feeding session. He was likely to nip if you pulled away, and then go right back to puking on you.)

I see "overbonding/bird mate" issues as more a socialization problem than anything else. Regurging doesn't trigger that. Not having anyone else handling the bird until it forms an "unhealthy attachment" causes that...

Mine are socialized. They go to just about anyone. My macs regurg for my daughter as well, if they've just had a happy play session... (she hates it.) Since macs don't take more than one partner, we can only assume there's no mating intention going on here...

 

[jasper19]

Thanks for the reply birdman, I pretty much came to that conclusion that you cant really stop them from doing it.

I have a fear that angel will be come unsocialized with anyone but me. My gf i live with is afraid of being bit, and has been bit. Angel doesn't like woman. And i have no male friends with any interest in birds, and we don't ever have company over at the house.

So is there any solution to this? Or do i just submit to the fact she will in time become unhandleable to other people? I don't see many options in my position for being handled by strangers often at all.

 

[Birdman666]

Well, CAGS aren't pair bond birds, so there is less of a worry in terms of "birdmate" issues.

Most birds that only get handled by one person, tend to become one person birds. (Until they are handled by others.)

And they are pretty particular about who handles them.

We were lucky in that we raised Tusk from a young age, and he was handled by everyone. If he finds you interesting, he will waddle over to you and lift his foot up...

If he doesn't then he'll push your finger away, and tell you "ooowww" or something similar.

As long as there is no displacement biting/bird mate issues, since you're the only one interested in handling this bird, there really isn't any harm, is there?

 

[Christinenc2000]

SO glad to see this thread. BB started doing this to me a few weeks ago. Not on a reg daily thing until this past week. He insist on holding my finger and feeding me . If any gets on my had he eats it. Kinda nasty but the way I see it. Its natural to them .