Humping Parrots

[Robyn]

Hello,
I have noticed somebody has just written a very similar post to this one.
We have 2 male ecckies.
We have had Jack since a baby at 14 weeks, we weaned him and taught him to fly. We got our 2nd ecckie Marlie about 7 or 8 months ago. They are roughly 2 1/2 yrs old, Jack is 2 months older.
When we got Marlie all he wanted to do was hump my husband non stop. The previous owner of Marlie was a male roughly the same age as my hubby and probably similar build. We do not know fully what went on in his previous home but we were told they couldnt keep him anymore , an excessive screamer, this has toned quite considerably, but still does it, which isnt a major problem to us.
Its the humping, this was non stop, told my hubby to stop handling him and we would place him on his perch, he was happy with that. He cannot fly.
Jack has now only in the last 3 months or so decided he now wants to hump my hubby. If he doesnt get his way , will bite and gets angry , beak banging and does boomerangs back to my hubby to get on his head ( Jack is a flyer ).
Now after many many months, there are times when Marlie will try to take a piece out of me, but I am now able to read his moods and also Jacks and most of the time we can prevent the biting but not always.
I do believe there is now jealousy with Jack and tries to claim my hubby from who he believes belongs to Marlie.
Yet , these birds are mine, Im their carer. During the day I take them out , can have both on one arm , talk to them, they chat back. They babble lots whilst sitting at the front door. They play together for 5 minutes hopping around each other then they try to bite each other, they seem to listen to me to stop ( most of the time ).
I seem to be able to handle them both even together more than anybody in our house. My birds can be ( but not always ) quite gentle with me and affectionate during the day when hubby isnt home.
When he is here , they after a while get restless and both at times try to hump my husband. I have told my husband he has to handle the birds as little as possible. But its unfair, as he loves them too.
They can be quite happy, chatty and quite cute one minute then absolute green monsters the next and before you know it, they have bitten you.
We have been putting them in the cage when they have got out of hand. My hubby is not entirely happy with this and believes we should have a smaller cage in another room for time out , that is separate from their own cage. AS he doesnt want their cage associated with being "bad" , which we have done in the past but just resorted to putting them in their cages.
Our birds can share from the same food bowl if we are playing with both on the bench, we might put a snack or some food that is out in a bowl , but it has to be quite a big bowl and they will share it. They have hopped around each other, but it seems they are competing with each other for my hubby.
Hubby is building a big aviary outside and he said fingers crossed they dont kill each other , he is putting them both in ,for outside time.
I do sometimes takem them out individually and have 1 on 1 time with each , in a separate room away from the other and they seem to really like this.
But this humping this is driving me nuts and they get quite aggressive. I read in a post that they are sexually active for 9 months of the year. Is this how its going to be for most of the year ??? Please say no !
Im really not wanting to compete with my birds when Im 60, Im 48. I know that might be exaggerating, is this something that will always be or they will grow out of it ?

PS... Im going on a 14 night cruise in November so my husband will be looking after them for 2 weeks. I have told him the best way for him to deal with them is to take them out individually but not together.

 

[caliopi]

This is what we are currently dealing with too. Puffin is really bonded with me and I am his favourite human but he cannot be around my daughter as no sooner does she hold him than the humping starts! He also does it with one of her friends who looked after him ( in our home) when we had to go interstate for my sister in laws funeral. She said one day he was so bad she jokingly said he had violated her! If my daughter has him he will get very aggressive with anyone myself included who tries to take him away. He will not go to her first, it is always me he wants to come to but if Hayley goes to pick him up it starts. Very confusing as I would have thought it would be me who had this problem but he is pretty good with me and only does it occasionally and I put him back in his cage and tell him not to do it.

 

[Pedro]

Sorry guys this is what happens with eclectus when they are possibily human inprinted.
Also when we feed them an over abundance of food, foods high in fat & calories. Too many food choices can turn on your parrots reproductive desires. A companion parrot only needs a good balanced maintinance diet.

Also we must be careful how we pet these birds. Once eclectus males start this behaviour it is very hard to stop. It can be controlled but that is up to the owner. It is a behaviour that is not to be encouraged.

Hormonal Behavior in Companion Parrots

 

[caliopi]

Pedro we have been careful from day one about how we handle Puffin, I did a lot of research before we got him and ensured he only eats the right foods aside from the occasional treats. I have him checked by the avian vet three times a year and we have tried to minimize sexual behaviour but at the end of the day he is just following his natural instincts and the only thing that confuses me is why I am his bonded person yet it is my daughter he plays up with!

 

[roxynoodle]

He wants a one night stand?

I'm not sure how to advise here other than I just don't let my bird do this to me. My amazon tries, but I just plain make him step up and find other things to distract him with. If he isn't capable at that moment of thinking of anything else I put him on his stand for awhile. If I approach my Grey and she immediately starts regurgitating or making me a nest, I walk away and don't interact with her until she's calm again.

 

[Nakiska]

Hahahahahaha!! I know it's not funny, but in the same way, it IS funny!

Our Conure loves, and I mean LOVES my husbands feet! Hubby and I didn't catch on soon enough as to what was actually going on...but Franklin would walk down and climb up on my husbands toes (when he was laying in bed) and my husband would wiggle his toes and Frankie just LOVED it...it wasn't long, before we realized this "game" had purpose! Frankie had made up his own game of "Humper Toe" ROFLOLOL!!!!

Thankfully for us, it was easy enough to discourage and has never progressed beyond my husbands toes.

Birds, no matter how big or small, can be awfully scary when they're not getting their way so I feel for you.

I have no advice, but good luck to you and your husband.

Toni

 

[Robyn]

I agree with distraction. We are able to handle this situation from both our parrots just want it to stop. Marlie it seems though has toned down a little. I told my husband that as soon as Marlie starts up he must put him on his perch. Marlie is pretty obedient but when angry can be quite scarey, so we try to avoid making him mad. But there is no way will we show fear, think thats a no no or they think they are in charge.
One time I tried to get Marlie in his cage for bed , hubby had just left for a call out at work , I had both birds with me. Hubby said " will you be right ?" , said yes , because at that moment they were little angels. Hubby left, took Marlie over to his cage and he proceeded to take a bit into my hand and he just had this wild look as if to say " Im not going in there !".... I was absolutely terrified, Marlie cant fly, so I couldnt just drop him and I didnt unbalance him for fear of him falling off. I attempted a 2nd time and again , another big bite into my hand, I was absolutely panicking and then a 3rd bite. By the 3rd bite I was close enough to the door of his cage to flick him in, he fell to the bottom but came up. I was sooooo distressed I had to run to the other room, trying not to cry. He has only did this once. But I try to avoid placing him in his cage at night, hubby does it. If I have to do that , I distract him with new food or something else, but I have to be careful of Marlie, he LOVES my hubby. But Hubby knows not to handle him too much and any sign of humping , he removes him. He seems to be going back to his beautiful lovable self when we first got him. Just wish this humping from both would stop.
Marlie tends to love the floor as he is more mobile but Jack is a disaster on the floor and all family know that if Jack is on the floor to beware, he will attack feet. Marlie tends to want to hop on feet and go for a ride , they both say weeee , which is sooo gorgeous.
Jack is currently trying to eat my new hanging plants in the kitchen and has taken half of each. So as much as I want to kill at times, they say little things like " Weeee" as you whisk them through the air , makes you love them SOOOOOOO much.
My parrots also get a proper diet and is seen by their avian vet. I do believe they are just doing what comes natural to them, just a matter of redirecting and distraction. I hope it does tone right down, it has a little with Marlie.

 

[Remy]

Puck is the opposite. When he's all hormonal, he humps my boyfriend AND me. He likes hands.

The first time he tried to do it to me I felt very uncomfortable with him for the rest of the night. Did I hurt his feelings? Is he going to have rejection issues? Is he going to get possessive of my hands?

When he does it, we put him down and stop playing with him for a little bit. He doesn't care though. It doesn't phase him. If he's in the mood, he's in the mood. D:

 

[caliopi]

I know what you mean Robyn about how you just can't stay mad when they are naughty because they ALAWAYS come out with something that just melts your heart! I had a hard time getting puffin back in his cage a few weeks ago and he started putting his foot in the compartment where his food tray sits which meant I couldn't close the hatch. I asked nicely for him to move, then I tried to distract him but he would not budge. I was running late for work and this was not a good time to play and I growled at him and told him to move and he turned his head to one said and said " what did you say, I can't hear you" ( something I constantly say to my family when I am in the family room with the tv on and they call out from another room) So I repeated that I wanted him to move and he said " I really love you mum"........guess who was very late for work that day!

 

[Dmkdaphne]

This is so interesting. I've had Tiko since October. He was 2 yes old when I got him. He sits with me every night and likes his skull scrubs. Last night for the first time he help my finger with one talon and his other was on my shoulder. He was making jumping movements! I was shocked! I'd never seen this behaviour before. I changed our him on his play structure and used distraction and he didn't do it again but wow! I'll be more diligent in limiting my skull scrubs!