Weird Scarlet behavior. Hormonal??

[Loro]

Hello, I have a had a rescued Scarlet named Loro for about a year now. For the most part he has settled in well. He had a lot of anxiety for awhile but we for the most part have worked through that. Poor guy has been in the rescue twice in his life. We are very routine with our birds and that seemed to really help him. He for the most part is a pretty easy going for a scarlet.

Recently his behavior has changed a bit. He seems discontent even when he is sitting on my arm which is usually his favorite time to be goofy and doing the things macaws do. Around the same time he has started to do this weird behavior in his cage. He’ll hang from his cage by his beak with his foot pressed firm against his vent. He’ll twitch his wings and quietly squak. One instance he wouldn’t even come out of the cage to me. Which was a first. He is always excited to come out. I even reached in the cage and was kind of nugging him and he simply ignored me and moved down the cage out of my reach. Droppings are normal and appetite is normal. I’ve posted a picture of the behavior. I feel like he is not feeling well or in pain.

Any insight would greatly be appreciated.

Edit: I do not that he is a he. Not dna tested.

 

[chris-md]

Can you get some video to share?

 

[Loro]

I will get a video when I can and post.

 

[wrench13]

hmmmm, without sounding too forward, possibly masturbating? Have you noticed a mating season behavior with him in the past?

 

[SailBoat]

Kind of sounds Hormonal in nature. But, the connection with the vent could imply a possible medical issue.

Recommend a visit to your Avian Professional to eliminate a medical link.

Normally, here in the Great White North, we are a bit out of the normal mating season for New World Parrots, trapped here in the North. But, far more than just time of year can effect the when...

 

[Loro]

Wrench, I thought maybe the same thing. I have noticed that all the sudden he will stop, climb out to perch on his door. But even then he is still very needy and wants to be with me.. Typically if I am in the same room he is mostly content with just hanging out on his own. Lately he just wants to perch on my arm but even then he is tense. We are relatively new to birds so I don’t have a lot of experience with hormonal birds. Loro will likes to chew on the sleeve of my shirt when he is perched on my arm, not hard so I have always allowed it to some degree. I figured it was his way to relax. Kind of like a “binky”. But I have recently stopped letting him as maybe that is a hormonal trigger. Our Conure we had the longest and he isn’t sexually mature yet. Our macaws are rescues within the last year, so we are very much still in the learning stages.

 

[Birdman666]

That picture looks like macaw play to me. If the bird were masturbating... and trust me I have extensive experience with this... there would be the "love rub" on a favorite toy and the unmistakable noise of birdie porn in the background.

This bird is actually self-entertaining... which is a wonderful thing!

 

[Rosieroo]

Sorry to divert to subject slightly, but you mentioned he’s a rescue with some anxiety issues. I’ve got an 18year old macaw From a rescue who has been with me for a month she’s got some major trust issues due to some neglect in her past life.
can I ask what you did to earn his trust? I need all the help I can get!