Puberty? Hormonal? What does all this mean?

[NewQuakerMom]

So we've had our rescue Quaker for a few years now with no sign of any hormonal behaviors. This week, however, he's (we still haven't had DNA done, are just calling him a boy bc we don't know any better, haha) been rubbing his little hinderparts on the end of a perch a few times through the day, and has opened his beak at me a few times like he was going to bite, which he never does. He's very gentle and polite, no cage aggression at all. We have no idea how old he is, he has no band or markings or anything. Since he's never behaved like this before, and he's generally so sweet and well-behaved, I wondered - could he be going through puberty?
And then I realized I don't know WHEN Quakers go through puberty.
So I thought maybe he's just feeling hormonal. He doesn't get sugary stuff, just pellets and foragey stuff like kale, lettuce, slices ofjalpeno peppers (I string them like beads for him to play with) etc. And we never pet him anywhere but his fluffy li'l head or beak....
Answers greatly appreciated!!!!!

 

[foxgloveparrot]

Well you don’t know how old he is so you won’t know which one it is. My advice either way is to always be patient and ignore any negative behavior. Never punish him.
Give him toys and things to do. It won’t last forever.

 

[wrench13]

At a few years old, he likely has gone thru puberty already, however its different for every parrot. My own Amazon had a relatively light mild puberty, but WHAM his first few mating seasons were very Jekyl/Hyde. And mating season severity varies from year to year (have no idea why though). THe butt rubbing is a key telling point. The boy is horney!

 

[NewQuakerMom]

Well you don’t know how old he is so you won’t know which one it is. My advice either way is to always be patient and ignore any negative behavior. Never punish him.
Give him toys and things to do. It won’t last forever.

Sounds good, thanks. Lol! Note: he has been yelling a lot more than usual, which can be annoying, but I discovered that if he starts yelling, if I look at him and smile and sing to him, he stops yelling and whistles or talks back to me, so now I figure - if I want him to stop yelling, I need to pay him more attention, lol!

 

[NewQuakerMom]

At a few years old, he likely has gone thru puberty already, however its different for every parrot. My own Amazon had a relatively light mild puberty, but WHAM his first few mating seasons were very Jekyl/Hyde. And mating season severity varies from year to year (have no idea why though). THe butt rubbing is a key telling point. The boy is horney!

Oh, that's good news.. I know he was a full adult when we got him a few years ago, he was examined by an exotic vet who said there's no way to tell age, he's an adult and could be any age...
Maybe he's just feeling a little more spicy than usual this year, hah.

 

[HeatherG]

Oh, that's good news.. I know he was a full adult when we got him a few years ago, he was examined by an exotic vet who said there's no way to tell age, he's an adult and could be any age...
Maybe he's just feeling a little more spicy than usual this year, hah.

Hi- I’ve had a few Quakers. I would bet, if he’s “rubbing his little hinderparts” on his perch, that he’s a boy. My boy Quaker and boy conure both did this tail swivel thing on their perch when excited. My two female Quakers would get excited and fluff up and cluck or make kissy noises.

It sounds like he really likes you and if you’re able to talk him out of his screeching, he’s wanting attention and you’re giving it to him in a manageable way.

 

[NewQuakerMom]

Hi- I’ve had a few Quakers. I would bet, if he’s “rubbing his little hinderparts” on his perch, that he’s a boy. My boy Quaker and boy conure both did this tail swivel thing on their perch when excited. My two female Quakers would get excited and fluff up and cluck or make kissy noises.

It sounds like he really likes you and if you’re able to talk him out of his screeching, he’s wanting attention and you’re giving it to him in a manageable way.

Thank you! I appreciate that! We'll just go on calling him a boy then, haha!
He is a super sweet little guy - he will sit and whistle back and forth with me for hours, lol. It's like a little game kind of - I start whistling a tune, any tune, and stop after a few notes. He whistles a note, then I whistle some more and then stop, and he whistles a note, etc. and then turns his head and looks at me expectantly until I whistle a few more notes so he can whistle back. He particularly likes Fur Elise for some reason, haha!
Such a cutie pie.

 

[NewQuakerMom]

Just an update- this literally only lasted 1 day after my last post. For anyone who's wondering about their bird, lol. It was a very VERY brief interlude.