Weird "dance"

[LoriBabies]

Hi there.

Sorry to bombard this forum with questions but everyone seems so helpful.

My oldest lorikeets (18months old approx) has started doing a weird dance type behaviour. He gets on our hands (either mine or my housemates) the arches his back, drops his head, fluffs his feathers and bobs around in a circle, nipping the hand gently.

Is this a mating/breeding type behaviour?? Or something else? I'm at a loss!

Eta - not sure if this bird is male or female, we just assumed its a male, could be wrong though

 

[MonicaMc]

It could be courtship, or it might be something else... find some courtship videos on youtube.



[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26QDsSI9vWU]Lorikeet mating dance - YouTube[/ame]



[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ctUVGq0Nh0]LORIKEETS AFFECTIONATE PRE-MATING DISPLAY - YouTube[/ame]

 

[LoriBabies]

Hi MonicaMc - I've looked up the courtship stuff on youtube, none of it is quite the same. I did manage to capture a video of him doing it, so I will upload it later tonight

 

[Betrisher]

The behaviour you describe is exactly what my Beaks do when they want a bath. (The Beaks are Alexandrines, though).

 

[MonicaMc]

It does sound like an odd behavior! I'm not sure I'd be able to guess what exactly it is, myself!

 

[Jamie_95]

Sounds like he's trying to show off or impress you!

 

[LoryLover]

That's the charm of lories, they are silly. Mine does crazy dances/movements all the time.

 

[LoriBabies]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm0c_N_tKOo]Pistachios crazy - YouTube[/ame] - the video (skip to about 30 seconds, I had to hide the phone originally cause Pistachio LOVES phones) also please excuse my talking throughout (SORRY IF I SWORE!! I can't remember but I know I have an atrocious vocab haha)... I need to learn to remove jewellery before playing with birdies.

Jamie_95, perhaps you're right, he has only started doing it since we've had Zazu, so maybe he's trying to show off and say "Don't forget me - LOVE ME" cause he's a jealous little fluff-butt.

Betrisher, Pistachio doesn't like water, at all, except for his drinking bowl (which is more often than not turned into a swimming pool). No shower, no sink, no bowl, nothing. Just his drinking bowl.

LoryLover and MonicaMc, certainly is odd...the joy of crazy loris haha.

Thanks for all your responses,

 

[LoryLover]

Loribabies,

I just watched your video... bad news! That is male mating behavior. Our first lory was a male and did that exact movement on my husband's feet. Hubby thought "no big deal" and let Woody do it as much as he wanted... well, Woody decided hubby's feet were his mate and he punished his mate often... which eventually included hubby's face, with lightning fast, blood drawing bites! I never let Woody do that particular behavior with me, and so I never had a problem with Woody. There was no un-doing it either! How do you tell a bird "uh, this person is no longer your mate"... lol

So ... not a good idea to let Pistachio do that behavior with your hands, or any other part of your body - bad news is down the road if you do....

 

[MonicaMc]

It may not be the full display but I agree with LoryLover. He's already on your hand, why would he need to fully display?

You may need to teach him new behaviors to distract him from what he's doing.

 

[LoriBabies]

Wow thanks guys! I'll definitely work on putting a stop to that quick smart!

Any suggestions best way to distract him??

 

[LoryLover]

Wow thanks guys! I'll definitely work on putting a stop to that quick smart!

Any suggestions best way to distract him??

When Woody tried doing that to me, I just distracted him with a toy and got him playing with the toy. Or I would turn him over on his back and play with him. It's pretty easy to distract him, unless he's already gotten into this habit... and if so, just say "nooooo"... and then play with a toy, or set him down on a perch or surface.

He will still try to do this behavior and may switch to a stuffed animal or other object... but like I said, you don't want him to mate with you, because it will just result in a love/hate relationship later...

 

[LoriBabies]

Thanks LoryLover! Pistachio LOVES 'wresting' - laying on his back and being 'attacked', scratched, wriggled around etc. so we'll give that a go.

Is it normal for them to display this behaviour to more than one person? He's done it to me twice and once or twice to my housemate...

 

[MikeyTN]

It is possible for them to do it to more then one person! My Malachai did that to me and I quickly distracted him from doing so. He got mad one day and flew out and attacked me first then flew to my parter and started attacking. It is a bad habit for them to have if you allow them to keep on. Their bite hurts!!!

 

[LoriBabies]

Eeep! Yup I will DEFINITELY be stopping this behaviour quick smart.

 

[LoryLover]

Thanks LoryLover! Pistachio LOVES 'wresting' - laying on his back and being 'attacked', scratched, wriggled around etc. so we'll give that a go.

Is it normal for them to display this behaviour to more than one person? He's done it to me twice and once or twice to my housemate...

Yeah, that's the thing with lories, it's easy to distract them... they're so playful!

And yes, it's normal for them to display this behavior to more than one... however, once they get a definite fix on someone and that person lets them, then they usually just go for "that" person... or object. For example, when my hubby made no objections to Woody doing the behavior on his feet... then Woody "claimed" the feet, and I don't think he ever did it to me after that. Hubby says though, that he say Woody doing it with a stuffed animal on occasion... probably when the feet weren't available, lol

 

[MonicaMc]

You can teach him some tricks as well, so when he appears to start the behavior you can cue a trick instead.

 

[LoriBabies]

Fantastic - thanks all! I actually bought a clicker the other day and a book to try clicker training Zazu seeing as he has been a bit shy, thinking I might try trick training Pistachio as well...hmm have I bitten off more than I can chew? haha!

 

[LoryLover]

It is possible for them to do it to more then one person! My Malachai did that to me and I quickly distracted him from doing so. He got mad one day and flew out and attacked me first then flew to my parter and started attacking. It is a bad habit for them to have if you allow them to keep on. Their bite hurts!!!

Yeah, especially their bite to someone they deem as their "mate"... and it comes out of nowhere... quite a nasty surprise.... my hubby would be laying on his back on our bed watching tv... Woody would be playing happily on another section of the bed with his toys... then swift as lightning, Woody would race over to hubby, bite him hard on the face, drawing blood, then while laughing, go back to playing happily with his toys. Also, if hubby put on socks or shoes... oh man, the attack was on fiercely... there would be loud yelling by both hubby and Woody.

 

[LoriBabies]

Wow! I never realised Lorikeets could be so damn vicious Hopefully, after taking all the advice from here, I won't have to discover just how vicious they can be....

I just pictured Pistachio attacking then walking away laughing (he mimics my laugh almost perfectly) and it cracked me up...I know it'd be bad but in imagination land, its hilarious