What do I do?

[Taw5106]

I soooo love my Venus but I've been questioning if she's truly happy. Since January 2016, she hit her sexual maturity. Since January 2016 she has been a raging hormone! Nonstop, no break. I've applied changes with her, time outs for screaming, earlier bed times hoping to quell her hormonal period but 8 months later, I'm at a loss as to what to do. Food changes, added personal time with her, nothing seems to work.

Today she bit me again, hard. Out of the blue and broke my skin. Right now I'm questioning if Venus would be happy as a hen making babies since that seems to be her drive. I don't want to loose her but I want her to be happy and fulfilled. I'm at a loss here, I want her to be with me but want her to be happy. Advice?


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[Piasa]

Personally I think it's irresponsible to breed parrots whose personalities would be bad as a pet. It's domesticating in the wrong direction.

I imagine it's very hard to figure out what would bring her fulfillment when she is only showing negative responses to you... I would continue to give her the best care that you can, and I know that you are.

Try to manage her day in a way that best mimics what she would be doing if she was a wild parrot: lots of time to forage, good natural foods, season appropriate light cycles, give her some outdoors time for some real vitamin D. Let her interact with her friends if she wants, or if not let her do her own thing. Maybe put on some "music" for her of a rainstorm or birds in nature without human music accompanying it. I'm sure you've done many of these things already. 8 months may not be long enough to see a result. You just have to trust that you are giving her a good life, and keep moving forward.

 

[BruceTheQuail]

I have a 3 year old hen that I got at 2. As soon as I got her she was scared and very agressive. I've had hormonal birds before but my hands were black and blue and my fingers had been bitten so often I was getting callouses (sp?).

This is pretty typical behaviour but with the eckies those beaks really hurt and then it makes you reluctant to handle them. "Soft beaks" my fat arse!

She is likely to become less bitey over time (ours has really improved recently and hasnt bitten me for weeks but that may have coincided with her becoming more interested in our younger male eckie) but still something is going to be missing for her, and if she cant have a "normal" relationship she will just end up with an abnormal substitute, whether that is with you or another species of bird.

Personally, I'd try to find a similar aged or slightly older boy for "companionship with a view to a relationship", but keep up with handling her and try not to let her be rewarded with the bites.

You probably knew all of that anyway but sometimes it helps to hear it from someone else.

 

[wrench13]

Every parrot is his or her own bird. Just like some birds known for talking never say a word. So. When hormones hit, some parrots get a little nutty from this massive flow of chemicals thru their bodies for the first time, and some it takes awhile before it ebbs or they get used to the feeling or they mate. And the term 'awhile' could be weeks or months, perhaps many months. Think about when puberty hits young boys. Some cope with the feelings well, some get really rowdy, etc. They are all homo sapiens, they all go thru the physical changes but the hormones make each feel differently. No 2 brothers goes thru puberty the same.

So. Some good suggestions above and elsewhere on this board to try and help your bird work this period. Try each one, one at a time, and give each change a chance to work. You know nothing happens overnight with parrots. At some point, your little girl is going to come out the other side of this, hopefully having not learned any bad habits from you not being able to put up with what is a natural process.
Good luck!

 

[plumsmum2005]

I soooo love my Venus but I've been questioning if she's truly happy. Since January 2016, she hit her sexual maturity. Since January 2016 she has been a raging hormone! Nonstop, no break. I've applied changes with her, time outs for screaming, earlier bed times hoping to quell her hormonal period but 8 months later, I'm at a loss as to what to do. Food changes, added personal time with her, nothing seems to work.

Today she bit me again, hard. Out of the blue and broke my skin. Right now I'm questioning if Venus would be happy as a hen making babies since that seems to be her drive. I don't want to loose her but I want her to be happy and fulfilled. I'm at a loss here, I want her to be with me but want her to be happy. Advice?

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We have all followed your tales and troubles with Venus since January and hoped things would have settled down by now for you. You certainly are a brilliant mom to her.

I think to achieve a balanced viewpoint you need the full twelve months to really see if this is a blip or an ongoing problem that needs a different course of action.

I am wondering if this is feasible for you to provide, an outside cage/aviary for some of the day? My train of thought is give her some different stimulation to focus on. Cage/aviary with some natural branches/leaves for her to go to town on, watch the natural birds, feel some breeze through her feathers and this will lessen the focus on hormones although obviously they will not just disappear. WDYT?

The other thing is to reach out to a purely Ekkie keeping community for input. People who have just Ekkies may be able to offer you something as they went through the same thing?

 

[Taw5106]

Thanks everyone. I have really been thinking about what to do and I like the suggestion of giving her some outside time. Over the last few weeks I've been bringing her out of her cage several times a day and doing activities. Positive response! Less screaming! When she's out she has to stay with me in the area we are at, not allowed on the floor. If she runs for the floor, she goes back in her cage for a time out. Yesterday she ran to the floor and under Buzz's cage. She got stuck and I put my hand down to step up. She uses her beak to steady herself when stepping and she started that way but changed her mind and clamped down. So I got the stick and forced her to step up on the stick.

I don't like breeding, don't want to breed because I'd never give up the babies but for those new to this issue, Venus laid six eggs between 2/25/16 and 4/19/16. SIX!!! In less than a two month period. Ekkies in the wild average four a year in a 2 egg clutch. We've seen the vet, administered additional calcium, my hands are scarred up from the bites, it's been quite a journey.


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[SailBoat]

I guess having always had to deal with Adult Amazons has had its advantages. The flood of Hormones on a young Parrot has such profound effects from mild to OMG!

Just wondering if you have check with your Avian Vet to see if there is a medical link? If its been several months, it may be worth a revisit.

 

[chris-md]

Aw Tracey, your frustration really comes through in your post. My heart goes out to you.

I know I e mentioned his before but it bares repeating. I would ask your vet about a deslorelin implant. It was designed specifically for hormonal females and female ekkies respond very well.

My only hesitation is that you need to bare in mind that maturity can last a couple years before they calm down, if I'm not mistaken. I've heard it described on the interwebs (take that for what it's worth, never owned one and never will) that when amazons hit maturity they can be unhandleable by anyone other than the most experienced for a few years. This may be something you just have to ride out.

 

[Taw5106]

Aw Tracey, your frustration really comes through in your post. My heart goes out to you.

I know I e mentioned his before but it bares repeating. I would ask your vet about a deslorelin implant. It was designed specifically for hormonal females and female ekkies respond very well.

My only hesitation is that you need to bare in mind that maturity can last a couple years before they calm down, if I'm not mistaken. I've heard it described on the interwebs (take that for what it's worth, never owned one and never will) that when amazons hit maturity they can be unhandleable by anyone other than the most experienced for a few years. This may be something you just have to ride out.

Come on Chris, no female Ekkie? I don't blame you. Right now I have Venus on my shoulder, the sweet Venus that is. She's sitting but keeps testing her ability to get down heading for the floor. That's with a snack for her, she's not interested in the snack.

Plumsmum2005 sent me a link regarding the deslorelin implant and I've been reading up on it collecting data. I also called my vet and asked to set up an appointment with the vet that has been treating her. He was very sick last year and doesn't see many patients now and his staff are very protective of him. So when I called and asked for an appt with him, they took a message and a tech will call me back. Last year the vet gave me his cell number and I'm looking for it in Venus' reports. But again, a block so we'll see what happens with the vet. I have another avian vet lined up as a backup and I'm ready to get her records and go see them it things do not pan out.


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[Scott]

My only experience with Ekkies is limited to one female and one male, neither of whom exhibited prolonged hormonal activity. Since my sample size is small, you are definitely on the right track of polling other companions.

My female "Angel" is almost strictly a one-person bird; have you noticed this with Venus? I would agree that if her behavior has been prolonged, a vet consult may be helpful.

Don't know enough about mood-altering pharmaceuticals to have an informed opinion, but would do much research before committing to such.

Good luck, it is so frustrating when their behavior alters in negative manner.

 

[Dopey]

I am so sorry that you are going through this. I hope that you get things figured out because I can feel how much you love your girl.

 

[Terry57]

Tracy, did you happen to see this thread?

http://www.parrotforums.com/new-members-welcome/63686-re-introducing-myself.html

I'm not sure if Lupron injections would help Venus, but it may be worth looking into.
I am sorry Venus is still dealing with her hormones.

 

[Taw5106]

Piasa, I just rolled Venus on our back patio. We've had lots of rain so it is very mild. Our patio is inset of our house so it has two walls and a roof, one open side so she has shade. I've talked to Husband about getting or making an aviary so we are going to talk more about it tonight. She was immediately wide eyed, checking out the yard. None of the wild birds are around, usually they are chatting on the back fence.

Later my nephew has football practice so I'm going to take her with me but stay by the car. Sometimes balls and players come off the field but it will get her out doing something different.

Here she is checking out the yard.

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[chris-md]

Lol Tracey! That comment was referring to amazons. In all likelihood if Parker lives out his full 50 years he'll be the only bird I ever have. He's low maintenance and still takes up a lot of time. Much as I would love maybe a red front macaw, second bird ain't gonna happen

 

[Teddscau]

Taw, have you considered taking her for flights outside on a leash? I'm sure it would help use up all that pent up breeding energy. If I had larger birds, I'd take them out to fly around in a harness (and leash) all the time, or that's what I tell myself.

Have you tried giving her a bunch of foraging toys? Doing extra training and playing games together might help, too. I've never really had to deal with hormonal birds, since the majority of my birds had either gone through the terrible twos before I got them or were never intended to be handled.

 

[Anansi]

Every parrot is his or her own bird. Just like some birds known for talking never say a word. So. When hormones hit, some parrots get a little nutty from this massive flow of chemicals thru their bodies for the first time, and some it takes awhile before it ebbs or they get used to the feeling or they mate. And the term 'awhile' could be weeks or months, perhaps many months. Think about when puberty hits young boys. Some cope with the feelings well, some get really rowdy, etc. They are all homo sapiens, they all go thru the physical changes but the hormones make each feel differently. No 2 brothers goes thru puberty the same.

So. Some good suggestions above and elsewhere on this board to try and help your bird work this period. Try each one, one at a time, and give each change a chance to work. You know nothing happens overnight with parrots. At some point, your little girl is going to come out the other side of this, hopefully having not learned any bad habits from you not being able to put up with what is a natural process.
Good luck!

Al makes an excellent point, Trace. This is a relatively new experience for Venus. Might take her more months yet to sort through it all.

I also like Plumsmum's idea of getting her outside and Teddscau's point about exercising her and giving release to her pent up energy.

Stay strong, Trace. I know this has all been so tough on you. I wish we could be there for you in person, but quite a few of us are taking this journey with you in spirit.