Puberty is Official!

[Alembic772]

Basil is 22 and always wants to feed and mount my feet. It’s weird as heck and I can’t even stop it. Even with socks on!

Just have patience and things will be alright.


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[chris-md]

So a day later his skin is fine, thankfully. We were worried!

Good news: I found a trigger,
bad news: it’s devastating, and puts me in a bind: bells. He LOVES bells, it’s practically the only toy he will play with, aside from a good forager. But he loves them too much, constantly regurging for them, and is always ringing them when he’s rubbing himself.

I’ve had to remove ALL bell/metal clanking/stainless steel toys, no rubbing since. And now I have no toys he will really play with. Self entertaining enrichment just became a problem :headwall:

 

[Anansi]

Something was definitely different. Hopefully it's a good sign for Cairo and Parker, but Jolly is finally back to normal. But this time around was over a month, which is far longer than his typical two weeks at a time. And as I'd mentioned, far more intense.

Have Cairo and Parker also calmed a bit? I've got my fingers crossed for y'all!

 

[charmedbyekkie]

Eh, Cairo lately has more good moments than bad. He's switched from foraging to just pure shredding any leaves I put in his cage. And he now likes undoing leather knots, which I am more than happy to keep retying for him. Stationery training is going ok, but he still has his own mind, so he'll take off when he doesn't care about treats and just wants to chill somewhere else by himself (he's quite independent in that way, but I need to supervise him to make sure he doesn't get into trouble).

In terms of HORMONES.....
He still wants to go after my hand as a potential partner. He also views my partner's desk (with a lot of fabric on it) as his - all the fabric on there have become subject to his rubbing affection. So for safety sake, Cairo is only allowed in the living room and kitchen/laundry area.

We also have to be very careful. My partner and I cannot have prolonged physical contact, especially not our hands, with Cairo on the loose. We've tested it - holding hands or even play-whacking each others hands for more than a few seconds brings Cairo over. He starts strutting over, posturing, and then makes a move to attack my partner. I've always intervened and put Cairo away to calm down whenever we've tested it. We can sit next to each other, even lean against each other, but hand contact is not kosher.


A big problem is we're going crazy trying to wear off his energy. He keeps asking for fly-fly, which we can't go do since "kite-flying" and "songbirding" are not listed as 'allowed activities' outside. I assume bird-flying, since it isn't explicitly mentioned, is also not covered. And if we decided to risk it, it would be a $300 fine with potential jail time, no warning issued.

We also have a problem with recall training. He does it just fine, but he starts getting rather amorous with me whenever I recall him. I can send him from perch to perch in the house (we've named the different perches), but he gets bored of that.

So we've taken to running around the house like mad men:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAaFb6tFERH/

Bird-flying isn't likely to be allowed within the next couple of months. So any ideas on how to 'fly-fly' without breaking the law would be great haha

 

[SailBoat]

Indoor flying (home or apartment) is no replacement for free flight, but in these times, it's near the best we can do. Barely winds them, but can tire Humans and its a bit disheartening as they leave late and arrive far before us...

Maybe able to switch the feeding stations, by doing so, add a bit of 'location' foraging to the day's fun.

 

[shinyuankuo]

Joining the party late...Winston is in the same phase. (facepalm) He is 12, so it's not "that" bad. He goes for my husbands hand. We came up with 2 strategies: singing time with me or doll guards.

When Winston is not hostile to me, I pick him up and put him on my shoulder. We find some upbeat K-pop songs, and we just sing and have fun. Unfortunately, the hornier he is, the meaner he is to me. (I'm just a poor slave.) This strategy only works when we catch his actions early.

The second strategy is more passive, but it works. Some ekkies can take it out on their little toy dolls. Winston can't. In fact, he HATES them! So my poor husband will sit there holding a doll in his arm while he works. The doll discourages Winston to go near. Just makes my husband looks like an idiot. LOL

 

[charmedbyekkie]

Aaaaaand it's gotten worse

He's calm inside his sleep cage in our bedroom - there's hardly any outside noise or significant visual stimulation. But in the living room in his big cage, he screeeeams. Repeatedly. Non stop.

You can ignore all you want, and he'll still scream. You can run over with treats for his occasional nice chatter, and he'll still scream. You can close the blinds in case it is something outside that is disturbing him, and he'll still scream. You can turn on the light, turn off the light, cover up part of his cage, uncover everything, give him variety of toys, give him only his favourite toys, give him multiple foraging opportunities.... he'll still scream.

He's sometimes softer inside his big cage when he can't see us or hear any noise from inside or outside the house. He begins his vocab, but of course intersperses it with some shrieks.

When you let him out of his cage, he'll zoom around the house screaming (on good days, he uses the vocab I gave him "wheee!!!!"). He'll sit on his favourite perches where he normally just practices vocab (he often likes to fly away from us into another room to practice), and he'll interject with shrieks again.

The only time he's quiet is when he humping near me / on me. Working from home, I'm typically on the sofa, so the sofa cushions, the throw blankets, the souvenir plushies, even his Squeekmouse twin plushie - all are fair game. His ultimate goal is my arms or my legs.

He doesn't care to listen to us anymore unless he is in the mood to do so. Training sessions are on his schedule.


I've talked to local folks and they say it seems to be the season of 'love' and season of molting right now. We will just have to push through.

I've been having to lean on my partner (who loves Cairo, but it's a love-hate relationship on Cairo's side - so I'm primary caregiver) to help with Cairo more, largely because I'm just emotionally exhausted with family matters (deluge of health issues as expected for folks their age) and other stressful things going on in life. The poor guy is doing his best to help out, but even he's asking how long this is going to last.


That being said, we're just very glad that he's not been aggressive, just amorous instead. He is territorial and will flail his open beak around, but he's not fly-attacking or lunging with intent to bite.

 

[Elysianblight]

Thank you for making this thread. Man, I am sorry for what you're dealing with ..

I think Ekkie's are so cool, and a big part of me has wanted one.. but I kept reading about them being "extra hormonal" and honestly wasn't even sure what that meant - just that it sounds bad.
This definitely puts it in context.

 

[chris-md]

Jebus, charmed!! I’ve been wondering how it’s been going and not what I wanted to hear, but I’m not surprised. Hold strong my friend!

Elysianblight - don’t confuse puberty with hormonal. Every bird goes through puberty and becomes a hormonal monster....almost every bird.

When people say ekkies are extra hormonal, they mean all year. What that LOOKS LIKE will vary from one bird to another, and between the genders. Pick any combination of:

Aggressive (females moreso, less common for males)
Needy/attention hungry (both)
Nesty/seeking out dark places (females)
Mastrubation (males, moreso)
Regurgitation (both, though I think edge to males here)
Egg laying (females, duh)
Screaming (both)
Disobedient (my boy refuses commands sometimes)

You won’t experience all. Depends on the bird. My boy gets needy/clingy, can be aggressive, and more vocal. Others may experience light masturbation only.

But much is culturally induced, so is under your control maybe 60% of the time.

 

[cneuhauser]

All parrots are different... but maybe there's a lesson buried somewhere beneath.

I made some mistakes with my Conure when I first got her, and though it's a different breed I think much of the parrot family has similar personalities, certain aspects are just accentuated, and some lie dormant.

My mistake with my Dusky Conure was that I coddled her, snuggled her, etc. when she was a baby so she came to look at me as a mate rather than her parront or caretaker/educator. This caused a lot of problems with her attitude as she got older, she is far too attached to me and screams bloody murder if I leave the room.

This is one mistake I will NOT make again as soon as I get my male Ekkie. Of course I'll pet him and comfort him if he's frightened or unsure of his surroundings... but I will draw a line. That line will most likely be due to me working at an office as well, and I've already invested in hundreds of dollars worth of foraging toys, destruction toys, play gyms, and all sorts of activities to keep his little birdie mind occupied.

Furthermore, I already have it in my head, and writing down ideas for traveling with him regularly on weekends. Whether it be a trip to go visit with my parents or my "extended human flock" or going to parks for a short time to get some fresh air and read a book while he's in his carrier cage and checking out the surroundings.... to a birdie backpack that I plan on taking him in when I go for a walk for some exercise.

From everything I've read, and those things I've experienced with my conure, the more engagement in other activities, the less they scream or throw a tantrum. Of note is that I'm also an avid novice body builder, so most of my food when it comes to veggies, is the same as the Ekkie... so he'll have that "flock eating" experience with me both in the morning and evening. I also have purchased 5 different foraging toys that I plan on throwing into a weekday rotation with food inserted (nuts, nothing perishable). Weekends I usually go for a jog, and then do push-ups, sit ups, curl weights outside or at the park; which a parrot can sit in a carrier cave and partake in even if they're not actively involved. Free flight will also be on my agenda for my upcoming Ekkie... a few years off, but I already have the "lesson plans" drafted (yup I'm an educator) etc.

The only reason I don't take my Conure outside is because she's always been an indoor parrot, and completely bonded to me. I'm hoping that over the course of the next few months as I slowly break her into a new routine... that will change. My Conure sometimes gets hormonal, but I quickly turn that into "play fighting" and she seems to come right along for play time. I think a lot of what you're experiencing has to do with learning how to redirect that energy. The last item in my bag of tricks is cooked and cooled PASTA... if she every gets obnoxious, the pasta comes out, and she KNOWS she doesn't get any until she calms down, returns to her cage and starts to behave.

Why not develop lesson plans for a couple weeks for your Ekkie, 5 - 10min of training, followed by a half hour to an hour of playing with toys; personally I don't watch TV or do much other than read or browse the web in the evenings, so my conure has me toss toys around my living room, and/or she loves to pull the keyboard keys off my spare desktop computer... she even helps me take my shoes off by pulling on my laces when I come home from a jog. Just trying to give you all sorts of ideas.

 

[charmedbyekkie]

From everything I've read, and those things I've experienced with my conure, the more engagement in other activities, the less they scream or throw a tantrum.

....

Why not develop lesson plans for a couple weeks for your Ekkie, 5 - 10min of training, followed by a half hour to an hour of playing with toys; personally I don't watch TV or do much other than read or browse the web in the evenings, so my conure has me toss toys around my living room, and/or she loves to pull the keyboard keys off my spare desktop computer... she even helps me take my shoes off by pulling on my laces when I come home from a jog. Just trying to give you all sorts of ideas.

We already do all/most of this.

We go through all his tricks:

• shake
• wave
• turn
• flip
• dance
• take
• put
• stack
• give
• fetch
• "name"
• "love you"
• "chicken"
• "motorcycle"
• "kiss"
• recall
• tag
• perch
• balcony
• peek-a-boo/hide-and-seek
• harness
• along with foraging toys (parrot and dog toys)

I also do a mix and match. I might ask him to 'flip' to 'take' a cup, then have him fly to his 'perch' to 'stack' the cup. Then I might 'recall' him back to me for a 'dance' before a "kiss" and "I love you". Then I might send him to 'fetch' a coin and have him to 'give' the coin to me before asking if he's a "chicken" who rides a "motorcycle". Then I might send him to his 'balcony' to 'wave' and introduce his 'name' with a 'shake'. I might even check if he needs to go 'potty'. Then we might go into a game of 'tag' followed by a game of 'peek-a-boo/hide-and-seek'. Then maybe we put on a harness and go outside for a walk or for a flight session.

It's not like I don't try to entertain him. He loves training normally. But when he's hormonal, there's no reasoning with him. Even a 'step up' request gets you a verbal scolding from him when he's hormonal.

And no, I can't touch him at all or else it's guaranteed regurgitation and humping.

And toys wise, I've a huge seagrass mat with a wide variety of toys, even makeshift things like velcro wraps. Foraging toys, both the supervised and unsupervised kinds as well as the official birds ones and the dog-intended ones, he's figured out too quickly and knows the fastest way around them, diying his own 'hacks'.

He also gets a nonstop supply of fresh foraging veggies in his cage. (Not to mention I tailor his chop to try to avoid anything that triggers hormones).

And no, he doesn't spend all day in his cage (which is a gigantic Avian Adventures Hacienda, btw). Majority of his waking hours, he actually spends outside of his cage, roaming around the house. He is mischievous beyond belief, so sometimes I have to literally follow him around the house, holding my laptop as I work and keep an eye on him.

Almost every night, he goes for a 1-3 hour walk/cycle. Every single time one of us showers, he comes into the bathroom with us so we can have singing/vocab sessions. Every single weekend, he gets at least 2 hours of flight time outside.


So....
We do engage him. He's still hormonal. He's still screaming.

We're just thankful his hormones aren't surfacing as aggression right now (if you check my past posts, last year he would fly-attack my partner and latch onto his face, tearing an open wound) - his brothers are known to be aggressive, so we're hyper-conscious about this.


If I come off as aggressive that's because I'm tired of people who haven't been through this accusing me of not doing right by Cairo (esp in Facebook groups, but the forum here at least has all of my post history).
If anyone has taken the measures I have taken, then they can tell me that I'm not doing enough.

 

[charmedbyekkie]

Thank you for making this thread. Man, I am sorry for what you're dealing with ..

I think Ekkie's are so cool, and a big part of me has wanted one.. but I kept reading about them being "extra hormonal" and honestly wasn't even sure what that meant - just that it sounds bad.
This definitely puts it in context.

Tbh, I suspect our boy is a bit different than the ekkies you might find in the US or in Australia - both countries that have tried to domestic them for a few generations. An ekkie in either country might be several generations removed from the wild eclectuses.

Our boy likely is still quite close to his wild ancestors since there are wild caught birds brought into this country. It might even be as close as one of his parents being a wild caught bird.

In addition, the aviculture in the US and Australia often looks at personality/behavioural traits of their birds, whereas locally many breeders aren't as considerate of such things.

Our boy has older siblings that are known to be aggressive, regardless of hormonal season. I'm not sure if his breeder is still breeding ekkies (I assume so), but as far as I know from my breeder friends in the community, the breeder has not addressed this nor changed the parental pairing.


As Chris said, it does vary for each individual bird. Most of the ekkies I hear about in the US and Australia just respond to hormones with some moderate screaming and mostly regurgitating and humping, toss in some occasional aggression. Then after a few months with no environmental factors, it'll subside.

Do keep in mind also that I've been working with Lisa (and Laurella) and another experienced local ekkie breeder on potential issues that might stem from him unintentionally being improperly weaned by his previous owner. Cairo does incessant baby cries for food for about a week every 2 months or so, even after eating his chop. So we suspect he might have longer lasting psychological issues from his improper weaning.

 

[SailBoat]

As so very often seen, your Thread(s) are filled with truly well defined Parrot interaction knowledge and understandings. This and other Threads and Posts of your's near demand that they are reread multiple times during any year. The bits of information are extensive! A special thank you for your clarity.

Your insight regarding behavioral issues based around weaning is right-on point. Starvation Fear resulting from poor adherence to feeding schedule is one of the most common foundations in behavioral issues.

Again Thank You!