Gender differences in aggression and/or noise

[GaleriaGila]

I have Googled this quite a bit, reading professional and hobbyist opinions. Seems to me that most people think males are more territorial, more aggressive, and louder. That fits with our mammalian stereotypes, but...

Some people say that Amazons are an exception. Some say Cockatoos may be exceptional as well, but others say NO!

There is widespread general agreement on cockatiels (that the males are louder, more aggressive, more territorial). Most seem to say the same of parakeets.

Conures are so varied in habitat, size, and breeding habits that it seems hard to make a general statement. Patagonians aren't widely kept, but the breeder who brought about the Rickeybird long ago told me that the males are much, much more territorial/loud/aggressive than females, to the extent that it's "diagnostic" for sexing birds by the time they're 2-3 years old (sexually mature).

The Rbird is loud and nippy year 'round, but July-September he is a horror! Well, an adorable horror, of course.

I'm interested in your thoughts or experiences.

 

[Terry57]

Great topic, Gail!
My male Amazons are much more aggressive than my female, but since I only have 1 female it may not be a good comparison. The 3 males are also louder.
My WCP is a female, and is much more aggressive than my BHP, who is male. Talli, the BHP, is much more loud.

The female budgies I have had have been way more aggressive than the males.

My male Parrotlet is also more aggressive than his mate.

With my finches, it varies with the bird..some females are super aggressive, some males are.

My Conures are varied in their level of aggressiveness. Out of 6, we know the sex of 4 of them, and the male BTC is more aggressive, while the Sun and Jenday seem to be pretty passive.

 

[RavensGryf]

With my current birds:

Robin, male Red Bellied Parrot (Poicephalus) less tolerant and more unpredictable during the winter (Pois natural breeding season) when the days are shorter. Opposite of most species. Used to get very aggressive when he was a younger bird.

Griffin, male Ruppell's Parrot (Poicephalus) he's crazy. Very assertive, extroverted, and bold. Without training would probably be very aggressive.

Raven, male Bronze Winged Pionus - very moody, particular, and crotchety a lot of the time. Also has sense of humor. I once had a female BWP, and she was much easier going and more gentle than Raven.

Mink female and Chip male - Budgies . Although generally speaking females are more aggressive, Mink really isn't too bad. Chip does stand his ground and doesn't take any crap. They're pretty equal in temperament.

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

With my Ekkies, my female is definitely more moody. Whereas the male, he always is eager to come out an interact, she picks and chooses when she wants to come out and is quick to let you know when she doesn't.

I think that if he wasn't blind, she would definitely be the first to bite. He seems much more active than she is, but still more laid back, if that makes sense.

When I had my budgies, the females always seemed much more bossy and nippy. They definitely seem to "rule the roost" and had no problems telling the boys how things were going to work.

 

[riddick07]

At the shelter it's pretty split between the two. A lot of our more dangerous ones are males but the females can be just as bad. I have seen psycho females just as often as psycho males when it comes to amazons. The female amazon I like at the shelter is really psycho and is right up there with the male amazon Crazy Bird that is at the shelter. The only difference is she likes me so it makes her safer for me at least

I do think the males have a tendency for being a little more psycho in general when it comes to the amazons and cockatoos.

My personal birds...

All 3 cockatiels are about the same level. They don't really show any aggression ever. My old male that I put in the shelter flight had a lot of aggression and frustration. He is happier at the shelter in a huge flock and comes over for scratches through the cage bars now.

Green Cheeks - My male is psycho about his cage. The female used to be bad about it too but I think she is leaving it to the male to be crazy anymore. She's very low key these days.

Sun Conure - She doesn't know the meaning of aggression lol

Folger - He is bad about other people being near him. But its a defensive thing and he won't go after you anymore as long as you don't get your fingers too close:46:

Kelly - Is aggressive with everyone but me. He isn't horrible but he will bite to maim:46: He has bitten to the point where they had to knock him off since he wouldn't let go. Kelly as nice as he is with me is dangerous with other people. Usually he won't start it unless you are my stepfather and then its an automatic kill mode lol. The good news is he doesn't fly to attack and generally listens when I tell him to knock it off.

Red - The macaw I'm adopting at some point. He can be just as bad if not worse than Kelly. Kelly is predictable in his aggression but Red will be good sometimes but then lose it and go for blood. Red looks a lot like an amazon in the middle of a hormonal fit when it happens and you have to snap him out of it. He has been very good for people at the shelter since I started taking him out all the time. But over the last weekend he went after the person that tried to get him out. When I showed up Tuesday he went after me when I went to get him out too. I had to restrain him in order to get him out without losing a finger. He hasn't acted like that since the first few weeks I started working with him. When I got him in the house on a stand it took me about 5-10 minutes to get him to calm down like usual and snap out of wherever his mind goes when he loses it. Thursday when I saw him again he was back to usual.

I think both male and female don't really matter. They can both be just as bad. There are female birds at the shelter I watch out for just as much as the males.

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

My thoughts on this: With regards to Amazons specifically, males are almost impossible to rehabilitate to a pet for the purpose of rehoming (at least in my experience). Hens tend to stay nicer a lot longer overall. With regards to Cockatoos and cockatiels... I have noticed over the years that the amount of aggression a male 'too or 'tiel displays is directly related to the amount and type of protein in their primary diet. Not joking on this, certain proteins have consistently brought out the most aggressive nature in these birds. Now with regards to hens as a whole: It is my experience that crazy hormonal hens all have one major thing in common... they have been petted down their backs with slightly more pressure than is considered socially acceptable for them. If you press on a hens back regularly during a petting session you are telling her to acknowledge you as a potential mate causing a serious amount of confusion and behavioral troubles. With African greys and macaws I'll admit that I see little difference between genders aside from talking abilities.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Terry, RavensGryf, Spirit, Riddick, ShreddedOak...

Thank you, each. I learned that I was wayyyyyy oversimplifying keets and tiels! As for the other birds... I guess they're's just not much generalizing: they're still individuals. Fascinating about that protein thing...

 

[snowflake311]

I do think there are differences between the sexes of birds. Us simple humans don't pick up on them.