GCC is walking around on floor. Is this ok?

[Aphios]

My green cheek conure, Kiwi, has been behaving differently lately. She does not seem sick, just what she is doing is out of the ordinary. She started by walking around on the bottom of her cage and seemingly talking to the tray in the bottom where waste is caught. I wondered if she wanted more food but when given more she ate some and then went back to talking to the tray.

Then she began harassing our dog. When out of the cage she would fly to the floor for no reason, walk to our dog, Shadow, and stare at him for a moment. Then she would walk over to his paw and bite it hard. Shadow is a German Shepherd so all it would take is one swat but he is very gentle and he merely pulled away. But she was not to be deterred, she took a couple more steps and bit again. It would be a bit comical if it were not so out of the ordinary. I mean, she has done this before, but only when Shadow has some food and she wants him to clear the way so she can see too. She has quite the ego.

She continued to do this till Shadow got up and moved away. She hobbled over to his new location and did it again! I went over to pick her up but then she snapped at me! I finally got her to step up but as soon as I stood up she flew back down to Shadow. I scooped her up quickly this time and she resigned herself to stepping onto her perch.

Less than a minute later she is back on the floor, this time talking to the dust balls behind the sofa. She continued to evade me and after several attempts and her returning to the floor every time I put her in her cage. Once in her cage she went down to the bottom again and began pacing the bottom of her cage and talking to the tray.

If anyone knows if this is ok or normal please let me know. She seems healthy just her behavior is so strange. Let me know if you know what is going on.

Thanks!

 

[Kiwibird]

How old is your Kiwi? This sounds like hormonal related behavior. The "ground" thing sounds like nesting behavior, and being unusually aggressive is a birds inability to cope with massive hormonal surges.

 

[Aphios]

She is only one. Isn't that to young?

 

[Kiwibird]

I am not a conure expert, but if I'm not mistaken conures hit sexual maturity around a year- 2years old and some mature faster than others. I know for a fact they don't take 4/5/6+ years like some of their bigger cousins.

 

[Sterling1113]

Sounds hormonal to me. It's not unusual for conures(especially green cheeks) to mature closer to 1 year, some as early as 6 months!!(though rare.)
It's probably a good idea to keep Kiwi away from the dog, even though she thinks she's a big bird the dog might snap next time she bites! Especially if she catches him by surprise.
My Kiwi is being hormonal and she's only 1 1/2, tops. Make sure she has plenty of things in her cage to keep her busy. New toys, new treats , just nothing nesty( huts , tents , etc. Stuffed cardboard boxes are ok for shredding but should be removed if she behinds to nest in it.)

 

[hacatta]

Two off my gcc already became hormonal around half a year.
These where both female while 1 male became that around,1,5 year and the other is still figuring out why the female is bumping tails with him ,and is pretty much running away in confusion.
From what i have read females become sooner sexually mature then males.

 

[RavensGryf]

Also just a reminder, and in case you have other people walking around in your home... Birds are so small down on the floor. My birds are bigger than a GCC, but still I'm afraid they'll accidentally get stepped on if they go onto the floor when we don't see it happen, and we are rushing around not looking at the ground.

My moms Aussie grass parakeet species are very adept at running fast on the floor, so no worries there, but most "parrot" type species are considerably slower on the floor.

 

[Birdbrain91]

Yep it's hormonal. I have a GCC and he went crazy at 1. My vet said it was normal for GCC to hit maturity any time between 1-2 years old. She is going thru a tough time right now so just be patient. It sounds like she has some hormonal surges and is taking it out on the dog. You may want to separate them until Kiwi calms down. Even if your dog is patient and gentle with her there may come a time when enough is enough and Shadow could hurt Kiwi.

 

[Aphios]

I have been making sure not to let her be on the floor or by the dog. I know that is a danger spot.

The thing is, she is not doing any thing nesty like, for one, she has not layed any eggs yet and while she talks to the paper and dust, she doesn't mess with it. She just talks to it. And she will just walk around on the floor just as an alternative to flying. Are you sure it is hormonal?

Thanks for all your quick responses

 

[TessieB]

My Sun Conure, Sassy Ann did the same thing when going broody. She'd get on the floor of the cage, and when she saw me, she'd start chatting in the corner-she was calling me to help her make her nest. In a couple of weeks she'd lay four eggs on the floor but chose her rope toy as a 'nest'. She was very artistic in weaving things together. She'd actually brood her invisible eggs (I threw the eggs out) for two weeks. She did this every summer.

And it never hurts to have a veterinary exam just to be sure....

 

[Aphios]

Thanks so much! If you think that is what it is I will keep a look out for eggs.