Odd Behavior in Amazon

MustLoveAnimals · Dec 26, 2014

My recently rescued Amazon has been doing this odd gesture quite a bit;
He will lay low on the perch, slightly flap his wings, quiver, and make soft screeching noises.
He does it very randomly, I could just be sitting quietly next to the cage and he'll start up.

What is this? Breeding behavior? Excitement? Fear? Stress?

MikeyTN · Dec 26, 2014

It sounds like a female mating behavior to me.....But you stated it's a male, how sure are you that it's a male?

Kiwibird · Dec 26, 2014

That sounds like (put bluntly) he's propositioning you. Ignore it. Do watch for signs of aggression right now. If he's feeling hormonal, then he's bound to feel some aggression too. Tis' the season apparently for the zons to be frisky! It's a little early this year, but everyone seems to be experiencing the same thing right now.

One other thought, is he in front of his door when he does it? Maybe he wants to be let out? Though usually the crouching low an grunting is a sexual thing.

MustLoveAnimals · Dec 26, 2014

MikeyTN said:
It sounds like a female mating behavior to me.....But you stated it's a male, how sure are you that it's a male?

I'm really not sure if it's a male...is that a definite sign of being a female?

Birdman666 · Dec 26, 2014

MikeyTN said:
It sounds like a female mating behavior to me.....But you stated it's a male, how sure are you that it's a male?

It certainly does!

MustLoveAnimals · Dec 26, 2014

Kiwibird said:
That sounds like (put bluntly) he's propositioning you. Ignore it. Do watch for signs of aggression right now. If he's feeling hormonal, then he's bound to feel some aggression too. Tis' the season apparently for the zons to be frisky! It's a little early this year, but everyone seems to be experiencing the same thing right now.

One other thought, is he in front of his door when he does it? Maybe he wants to be let out? Though usually the crouching low an grunting is a sexual thing.

Oh my...
I'll just walk away when it happens. And I'm sure it doesn't help that my boyfriend tries to pet it's back and wings...I did tell him to stop, but he may be doing it when I'm not there.
How long does this usually last in 'Zons?

Kiwibird · Dec 26, 2014

MustLoveAnimals said:
Kiwibird said:

That sounds like (put bluntly) he's propositioning you. Ignore it. Do watch for signs of aggression right now. If he's feeling hormonal, then he's bound to feel some aggression too. Tis' the season apparently for the zons to be frisky! It's a little early this year, but everyone seems to be experiencing the same thing right now.

One other thought, is he in front of his door when he does it? Maybe he wants to be let out? Though usually the crouching low an grunting is a sexual thing.

Click to expand...

Oh my...
I'll just walk away when it happens. And I'm sure it doesn't help that my boyfriend tries to pet it's back and wings...I did tell him to stop, but he may be doing it when I'm not there.
How long does this usually last in 'Zons?

It's usually bad for a couple weeks then tapers off. And you shouldn't pet their backs, under the wings, bellies (and obviously) bottoms. Those are all sensual places for a parrot. I wouldn't pet a zon anywhere during breeding season, but the rest of the year, just stick to the head and neck. Whether male or female, they all have hormones and try to get your attention as a 'prospective mate' by sexual displays. Turning your back and ignoring it is the best thing you can do to (over time) lessen the likelihood they'll keep it up. Be sure to continue reinforcing other forms of getting your attention that are not sexual, but whatever you do, you do not want to accidentally reinforce sexual behaviors in pet parrots! Kiwi used to do awful humping displays while making a variety of naughty noises. It took a could breeding seasons of ignoring those displays for him to finally quit doing them. I will be happy to never see an amorous male parrot doing a humping dance again!

MustLoveAnimals · Dec 26, 2014

Kiwibird said:
MustLoveAnimals said:

Kiwibird said:

That sounds like (put bluntly) he's propositioning you. Ignore it. Do watch for signs of aggression right now. If he's feeling hormonal, then he's bound to feel some aggression too. Tis' the season apparently for the zons to be frisky! It's a little early this year, but everyone seems to be experiencing the same thing right now.

One other thought, is he in front of his door when he does it? Maybe he wants to be let out? Though usually the crouching low an grunting is a sexual thing.

Click to expand...

Oh my...
I'll just walk away when it happens. And I'm sure it doesn't help that my boyfriend tries to pet it's back and wings...I did tell him to stop, but he may be doing it when I'm not there.
How long does this usually last in 'Zons?

Click to expand...

It's usually bad for a couple weeks then tapers off. And you shouldn't pet their backs, under the wings, bellies (and obviously) bottoms. Those are all sensual places for a parrot. I wouldn't pet a zon anywhere during breeding season, but the rest of the year, just stick to the head and neck. Whether male or female, they all have hormones and try to get your attention as a 'prospective mate' by sexual displays. Turning your back and ignoring it is the best thing you can do to (over time) lessen the likelihood they'll keep it up. Be sure to continue reinforcing other forms of getting your attention that are not sexual, but whatever you do, you do not want to accidentally reinforce sexual behaviors in pet parrots! Kiwi used to do awful humping displays while making a variety of naughty noises. It took a could breeding seasons of ignoring those displays for him to finally quit doing them. I will be happy to never see an amorous male parrot doing a humping dance again!

That sounds terrifying!

I haven't noticed anything extreme yet...hopefully this will be the only form of display. But I will just walk away or turn away when this happens.
Thanks!

Taw5106 · Dec 27, 2014

ROTFL at Kiwi! I'm experiencing the same lovey dovey, "wana be my girlfriend" props from Buddy. Over the last few days it's been VERY strong. He comes out in the mornings, makes coffee with me, sits with me while I drink coffee but if he gurgles and jumps on the opportunity to start getting goofy, I tell him "sorry you're not my type." If he persists, then I have been putting him in his cage earlier than usual with breakfast. Surprisingly, he won over with food for the moment but I've been doing that because he has put his foot up on my face close to my mouth. I don't know what he's trying to do and I don't want to find out so when the gurgling starts, I've been moving his attention to something else, or at least I think I am, lol.

Kiwibird · Dec 27, 2014

MustLoveAnimals said:
That sounds terrifying!
I haven't noticed anything extreme yet...hopefully this will be the only form of display. But I will just walk away or turn away when this happens.
Thanks!

Hopefully he doesn't get it *that* bad. Some birds don't have bad hormonal seasons, others go feral for a few weeks a year. And if yours is a female, they can be just as 'naughty' as the boys with their displays, sometimes even worse

Just keep your fingers crossed he gets mild hormones. My mom's GCA might shred a little paper, but thats about the extent of his hormonal issues. The female DYH becomes something of a exhibitionist:52:

Your best bet is to turn around and walk away every time it starts up. Be sure to praise other, non-sexual behaviors though so he knows you still want to be his friend, but not *that* kind of friend

Kiwibird · Dec 27, 2014

Taw5106 said:
ROTFL at Kiwi! I'm experiencing the same lovey dovey, "wana be my girlfriend" props from Buddy. Over the last few days it's been VERY strong. He comes out in the mornings, makes coffee with me, sits with me while I drink coffee but if he gurgles and jumps on the opportunity to start getting goofy, I tell him "sorry you're not my type." If he persists, then I have been putting him in his cage earlier than usual with breakfast. Surprisingly, he won over with food for the moment but I've been doing that because he has put his foot up on my face close to my mouth. I don't know what he's trying to do and I don't want to find out so when the gurgling starts, I've been moving his attention to something else, or at least I think I am, lol.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Good call to keep Buddy distracted with more appropriate things (like food!)

henpecked · Dec 27, 2014

MustLoveAnimals said:
Kiwibird said:

That sounds like (put bluntly) he's propositioning you. Ignore it. Do watch for signs of aggression right now. If he's feeling hormonal, then he's bound to feel some aggression too. Tis' the season apparently for the zons to be frisky! It's a little early this year, but everyone seems to be experiencing the same thing right now.

One other thought, is he in front of his door when he does it? Maybe he wants to be let out? Though usually the crouching low an grunting is a sexual thing.

Click to expand...

Oh my...
I'll just walk away when it happens. And I'm sure it doesn't help that my boyfriend tries to pet it's back and wings...I did tell him to stop, but he may be doing it when I'm not there.
How long does this usually last in 'Zons?

It won't stop any time soon if he continues stimulating her. it will also be more often and for longer periods of time. No matter how "cute" he thinks it is ,it needs to stop,NOW. Ask him how "cute" it'll be when she's dying from being egg bond. Please show him this thread and our responses. Yes ,that's female behavior.

Odd Behavior in Amazon

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