It's spring! Help for hormonal male cockatoo

[mycheleb]

Hello, everyone. I have an 11 year old male LS2. I have had him since he was a baby and he overall was well socialized and behaved. For the last couple years he has become a terror in the spring. I have had several major bites and it is to the point where I can not spend time with him without some type of sexual excitement on his part.

I do not want to resort to Lupron, as it killed a female cockatiel that I had several years ago. Does anyone know of any herbal remedies that may help tone down the aggressive behavior? My bird means the world to me and I can tell that he is uncomfortable too.

Thanks.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Do you trick train him? Trick training hormonal bird helps to quickly change their mentality.

 

[Kiwibird]

First, I have to commend you for not giving up on your boy and trying to be understanding his discomfort. Many a parrot gets rehomed after the onset of puberty, so you are being a very good carer! Unfortunately, hormones are difficult to deal with since they are totally natural and don't stem from anything "wrong" on the owners part. Your boy is also in the "prime" of his reproductive years, so they have probably been peaking at their absolute worse these past few years (and will continue to do so the next few years). I'm unsure if you've tried any of the well known methods to help curb hormonal behaviors, or have you just tried medication/supplements? If you haven't, there are a few things that can help ease them. First, don't touch your bird (except stepping up). Petting him right now is sending the wrong message (that you want to mate) as well as stimulating him in the wrong way (they are more sensitive to touch in the spring). Second, cut high-sugar fruit from his diet temporarily (substitute more veggies). Even natural sugar exacerbates the hormonal behavior. Finally, an adult bird needs a consistent sleep/wake cycle year round. Extended daylight hours is what triggers them to start producing hormones. Make sure his cage covers are dark, or he still may be able to tell it's daylight longer. The good news is, the worst of the hormal behaviors start to taper off when they are in the 15-20 age range. It never fully goes away, but it does get better, especially the more you discourage it in their younger years. Best of luck and hope I helped!

 

[MonicaMc]

Posted this for someone else.... may have some good information in it that may help you.

Here's some articles that might be informative in regards to petting and the 'oversexed' psittacine.

Site Name - Articles - Behavioral - Sex And The Psittacine
RP - Mating
Hormonal Parrot
The Laughing Parrot - Tips for dealing with hormonal birds

A change of how you pet, the foods you feed and even how you feed (dry food vs soft food, warm food vs cold food), lighting, and even cage placement/arrangement can all help discourage mating behaviors. It is not healthy for parrots to be sexually stimulated by humans because it can lead to enlarged sexual organs, unhealthy relationships (there is no way that a human can physically please a birds natural desire to mate - at least, not without making things worse!) and possibly hernias (most common in cockatoos).