Is showing his vent bad?

[Jaqui]

We have a blue fronted Amazon named Skipper. He is around 28ish. We have had him 1 year. He is fairly aggressive to most people, including myself but loves my husband. We are working on it, but its a process.

Yesterday my husband mentioned 'Skipper' was making cooing sounds and showing his 'butthole'. He thought it was possible mating behavior. Today, he showed the same behavior to me. Stretching his legs out by grasping sides of the cage and showing his vent while making a cooing sound. He certainly was not showing affection to me and it does not look like the mating dance I have seen online. My only other thought was GI/poop issues, but there was fresh poop in the cage. Is this behavior anything someone might be familiar with?

I have an avian vet that I do not like and our first and only visit to them for a checkup was very traumatizing for Skipper. I would prefer not to put him through that if this is any kind of normal hormone behavior. Otherwise I will be taking him into the vet tomorrow.

Any input will help.

 

[Kiwibird]

How certain are you that "he" is in fact male? Sounds more like female mating behavior to me, but then again, with captive parrots who have no clue what they're doing sometimes signals do get crossed

In any case, it's pretty typical this time of year for sexually mature parrots to exhibit mating behaviors and there is nothing a vet can do to stop it. Ignoring it is the best course of action. Literally stop and turn your back, leave the room etc... Make it abundantly clear (without reprimanding/punishing) that you aren't interested in being their mate, only their friend. Make sure 'he' is covered 12 hours a day and awake 12 hours a day year round. Feed less fruit this time of year and more veggies (the sugar can exacerbate hormonal behaviors, but fruit is fine the rest of the year). Brush up on body language and avoid when he's in a bad mood. Take a big, deep breath and have patience. This is natural and in a 28 y/o bird should pass within 6 weeks or less then he'll be back to 'normal' again

 

[SailBoat]

Truly great advise above!!!

Not sure what happened at the Avian Vet's office, but it is worth checking if your Vet is truly a Certified Avian Vet, an Avian Qualified Vet, or a Vet that sees Avian Clients as each can provide very different levels of care and understanding of the needs of Parrots! This can be done quickly by checking the Clinic's Website.

Based on the above information: a DNA Sex test is recommended.

Question: Did the Vet perform a Blood Test? If yes, any results provided.

NOTE: Avian Vet visits can be 'traumatizing.' The common term is 'Stressing.' This can occur for any number of reasons and in the case of our Amazon, it depends of the number of procedures and length of time! In addition, larger Amazons like: Yellow-Napes, Double-Yellow Headed and Blue-Fronted Amazons can require 'two,' the CAV and Avian Tech, and in the case of our DYH Amazon with me providing additional help from time to time!

Understanding Amazon Body Language: It is critical that individuals with Amazons spend the time to learn the Body Language of their Amazon!!! The first Thread in the Amazon Forum (highlighted in Light Blue) goes into detail regarding Amazon Body Language. Both you and your Husband 'both' need to know the basic Amazon Body Language as if it is your First Language. Also, please know that this is the Base Language and that each Amazon will add to it with their specific language signals. Failure to be watchful of your Amazon's Body Language will assure a bite to a very serious bite.

Also: Amazon's link into our emotions and if we are upset, they commonly will also show signs of being upset!

FYI: Working with Amazons require a change in Vantage Point(s)! It is NEVER the fault of the Amazon! It is ALWAYS the fault of the Human(s)! Viewing interaction issues with your Amazon from this Vantage Point will more quickly allow you to determine what you are doing wrong and correct it!

Much more available in the Amazon Forum! If you do not find what you are looking for, come back with questions.

 

[texsize]

yes it does sound more like female mating behavior.
If the bird is male it's not such a big deal but a female is/could be prone to egg bind or other issues.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Great, great advice. As you can see, we have a stash of fabulous Amazonians here.

About your vet. If you don't like him or his "perchside manner', I would suggest trying to find another. It's so important for YOU to feel comfort, trust, and confidence in this critical part of your bird's life I LOVE my vet, and it's such a great thing to know he's available when I need him!

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Amy,my Blue Front of nearly thirty years,in a dna'd male. He has never displayed the practice that you have described that Skipper is doing. HOWEVER he does do the Amazonia Jig from time to time with full blown pinned eyeballs the poofed up face/body and fanned rudder (stay away from me if you know whats good!)
I also suggest that you locate a CAV that you are comfortable with and Skipper.

I feel extremely lucky,that I have been taking my kids to the same group of CAV's for over thirty years,and they are only about twenty minutes away.




Jim

 

[Jaqui]

Thank you for all the replies. It is very helpful. I do have a wonderful dog vet in town but avian vets are in short supply, I may have one other option though that I am looking into.
In the meantime, does anyone have a resource with photos/videos of parrot hormonal reactions? I have not been able to find much besides the male 'mating dance'.
I am including a (sideways?) sultry picture of my Skipper in case anyone has further input.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Skipper is basically telling you to "kiss this!"




Jim

 

[moon1964]

Looks like my dyh. She is doing that mating thing all the time

 

[Anita1250]

My BFA does this as well. We think he is a male, but one never knows! Usually only lasts about 6-8 weeks in the late spring, early summer. Right about now actually!

 

[EllenD]

I'm going to totally agree that Skipper is most likely a female, unless you have already had Skipper DNA tested, or have the certificate from the prior owner...I don't know Skipper's history, but a 28 year old Amazon may have had one owner, or may have had several owners, and it's typical that none of them ever DNA tested the bird, they just passed that "Skipper is a boy" down the line...So I would absolutely get online and find one of the many places you can order a DNA Test-Kit from for between $20-$30. You don't have to have a vet to find out Skipper's gender, and it's extremely important that you know for sure due to the possibility of egg-binding. But if I had to bet, I would absolutely put my money on Skipper being a female, as I've seen many female parrots of different species do exactly what Skipper is doing in one way or another...Females generally don't have a "mating dance", but they do show their vents, show heart-wings, coo, etc.

***Also, very important, is that you find a Certified Avian Vet asap. This is priceless to have, and if you have to drive a couple of hours one-way to get to the nearest Certified Avian Vet then it's well worth it, it often means the difference between a living bird and a dead bird, no exaggeration at all...And you're in Gainsville, FL, and Florida is the parrot breeding capital of the US, lol...I'm sure there is a good Certified Avian Vet within 2 hours of less of Gainsville, and it's so important that you find them for future emergencies, and also for regular health exams. "Exotics" vets are no better than a General vet that sees dogs and cats..."Exotics" vets are just General dog/cat vets who are willing-to-see reptiles, rodents, birds, etc., but have no additional education or training in birds, reptiles, etc.

 

[Mamastephjerome]

My mom gave away Our blue fronted amazon we had name skipper thought it was a boy Never forgot a d n a test done But whenever my mama was around he would get really mad and bite my mom when my dad was there.
Skipper used to say hi skipper and help let me out Skip it up as born in 1990 If this is him.
I think about him everyday