sexual behavior

[squawk squawk]

My 7 month old hahns macaw masturbates twice a day. Is this normal?

 

[TexDot33]

I find it unusual that a 7 month old bird would be doing that so often, even at all. Let me do some more research into this and see what I can come up with.

:50:

 

[Auggie's Dad]

As taboo of a subject as it is in most modern societies there really is no "normal" frequency of it... I suspect it is the same with birds. I have often wondered about Auggie (my dusky conure,) as he will do it MANY times each day... and I do mean MANY. Auggie seems to be the Ron Jeremy of the bird world.

I don't know if Auggie's virility is "normal" per se, but he has been going strong for some time and he is otherwise quite happy and healthy. I, however, don't know anything about the normal reproductive ages and development of different species of parrots. Perhaps Tex will find something on the age issue.

Parrot masturbation (much like human) can be a sign of any one of several things: sexual maturity and raging hormones, happiness/"over"-excitedness and closeness to the object of affection, or boredom. The first is virtually inevitable and healthy. The second is fine as long as the "object of affection" is appropriate. Boredom however can be a concern in pet parrots and should be addressed if you think this is causing the behavior.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

An afterthought:

If there really seems to be a correlation between getting the bird and the start of the problems you could look at other lifestyle changes that came with the bird: did he wake you up early changing sleeping patterns, did you give up foods or habits that may not be good to have around him (caffeine or nicotine for example), did you start using any new cleaning agents for the bird cage etc...