Amazon hormones going crazy?

Hi, recently for the past two days my Red lored Amazon male has started to act very weird. He is now really unpredictable, aggressive and will bite super hard with little to no warning signs, and he draws blood every time, and if he's lucky.. He'll get a chunk out of me. I'm thinking it's the breeding season? If so how long does it last? Because he tries to mount my hand to mate with it, and makes monkey sounds, and always wants to be on my shoulder, or next to me. He is soon to be 11 years old. Does this behaviour not ease/pass with time, considering his age? Because I'm honestly afraid/unsure of handling him right now, because I really need my hands to not bleed or I wont be able to work. Any suggestions on what I should do from now on?

Yes, I suspect those are indeed his hormones. It's 'that' time of year for them. And going on 11, he's certainly in his prime. :54: Chances are he'll get like this for many years to come. Our Captain's (henpecked) YN Amazon is over 40 and still gets hormonal.

I wouldn't allow him on the shoulders during this time, just to spare your face if he should ever feel so inclined. They are set off particularly easily during these hormonal bouts, unfortunately. But this, too, shall pass. Proceed with caution, and I suspect in a month or so he'll be back to normal.

JerseyWendy said:

Yes, I suspect those are indeed his hormones. It's 'that' time of year for them. And going on 11, he's certainly in his prime. :54: Chances are he'll get like this for many years to come. Our Captain's (henpecked) YN Amazon is over 40 and still gets hormonal.

I wouldn't allow him on the shoulders during this time, just to spare your face if he should ever feel so inclined. They are set off particularly easily during these hormonal bouts, unfortunately. But this, too, shall pass. Proceed with caution, and I suspect in a month or so he'll be back to normal.

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Thanks! It must be his hormones, becuase it's getting warmer here in Sweden now, and the days are getting longer with more sunny days a.s.o. And it seems to trigger this behaviour. But it makes him really unpredictable and I'm really never sure when or if to handle him like I used to atm, but I'm hoping this will pass in a month or two. But what do I do until then? I can't just keep him in his cage. He needs to be out and do his thing as well. This is the first time I'm experiencing a hormonal amazon, so any information is appreciated.

How is he reacting/acting around Kiki? She's a female, right? Is she sexually mature yet?

I don't know who you take out first when you let them out, but perhaps switch it up, and see if that will ease his tension/bloodlust a bit.

With my own (not quite yet mature) male DYH, I avoid most direct eye contact when I notice he's in one of his 'moods', as I've learnt looking at him will almost certainly guarantee him to try and fly into my face. :54: (He can be a handful)

I'm also quite stern with him during those episodes. He snaps out of it fairly quickly when I tell him to pop his eyes back in his sockets, or to knock it off, while I'm moving him from point A to point B.

If they sense hesitation or fear, they will take advantage, unfortunately.

JerseyWendy said:

How is he reacting/acting around Kiki? She's a female, right? Is she sexually mature yet?

I don't know who you take out first when you let them out, but perhaps switch it up, and see if that will ease his tension/bloodlust a bit.

With my own (not quite yet mature) male DYH, I avoid most direct eye contact when I notice he's in one of his 'moods', as I've learnt looking at him will almost certainly guarantee him to try and fly into my face. :54: (He can be a handful)

I'm also quite stern with him during those episodes. He snaps out of it fairly quickly when I tell him to pop his eyes back in his sockets, or to knock it off, while I'm moving him from point A to point B.

If they sense hesitation or fear, they will take advantage, unfortunately.

Click to expand...

I'm keeping Kiki and Taco away from him since he is a handfed amazon parrot and has mostly been kept around humans for all his life. He is a special type. He could care less about other parrots, birds or people as long as i'm nearby. He chose me as his partner apparently and he loves me, and he also protects me from others including my other parrots lol. Kiki does not find him interesting at all (thank god).

I Keep them in different aviaries in two different rooms so they have no contact with each other. Emil would just chase kiki and taco away from me if he got the chance. I can handle him, I noticed, but he is a little tricky and I have to watch out for his head/body movements because he tries to trick me into making me believe that he wants to step up. So he lifts his foot up when I tell him to step up, only to grab my finger with it and bite hard. But I know that trick, and I wont fall for that!

It's breeding season.

My female red lored is courting me, and acting very jealous at the moment.

Give it a few months, and the bird will be back to normal.