Making US,...a nest ? (sexual nature)

I have two very curious behavior question's.

1st- Our cockatoo Shelby will get her body down low, point to me and shiver. Also, when she steps up on my hand after this, she'll do the same, sometimes turning her back to me and lifting her wings.

Is it that she just wants to be with me, gets excited, then wants her back scratched/rubbed ?

Or, it's a sexual behavior, thinking I'm a bird ?

2nd- When we sit at night watching TV and I have Shelby next to me, she'll shuffle her feet like a chicken, like she's digging a hole, then use her beak, like she's moving debris away. (dirt, leaves or what ever etc.)

What is she thinking on both accounts ?

I do not know much about their nesting or hormonal behaviours , BUT, it sounds to me like "nesting" ?
I'm very interested in what the more experienced people say about this....I am taking notes and soaking up all this information like a sponge..I wish I had a avian vet in the hospital I worked for .
That is one thing that I never had the pleasure of learning about.
How completely interesting the avian world is !

Never a dull moment , huh Kev ?

Never a dull moment , huh Kev ?
lol, yep !

We really enjoy watching her. Today, she finally accepted a grape, and what was interesting was she peeled the skin off before eating the good stuff !

It's amazing,....how articulate her feet, beak & tongue works together !

It's funny when she's scratching the back of her neck, or even more funny on how she'll scratch under chin, like she thinking/pondering what her next move is, or,...WHAT THE HELL IS THAT ??? lol !

FASCINATING !

427HISS said:

Never a dull moment , huh Kev ?
lol, yep !

We really enjoy watching her. Today, she finally accepted a grape, and what was interesting was she peeled the skin off before eating the good stuff !

It's amazing,....how articulate her feet, beak & tongue works together !

It's funny when she's scratching the back of her neck, or even more funny on how she'll scratch under chin, like she thinking/pondering what her next move is, or,...WHAT THE HELL IS THAT ??? lol !

FASCINATING !

Click to expand...

Oh I know ! lol. My Goffin does that too , its side splitting , lolol.
I crack up everytime he does that ! How the heck they reach back and then twist their foot to do that is just crazy. And to peel a grape ! lolol. My guy wont take a grape yet , but Rosie will , she eats a little bit of it , then flings the rest. I have dogs , so I really dont give too many grapes because of the toxicity to dogs.

But I do give them a string of spagetti once in a while , that is relly funny to watch ! lolol.

But then chin scratch is too much , isnt it ? Then the top of the head scratch , almost like Laurel and Hardy !

There is just something about cockatoos , they have a tight grasp on my heartstrings I absolutely love them to pieces

lol,...Laurel and Hardy.

That's why we decided on a Too, THEIR CLOWNS !

Like you said about spaghetti, it's cool to see her bite of so little piece.

Can you post pics of your kids ?

God must have been drunk and in a funny mood,.... when he created Too's !

We did our first trick yesterday. While she's on my fingers, I grasp her feet and flip her upside down. She got so excited, well,. I of course did Too !

I'm not sure on the second behavior. It may even be ground foraging, which 'Toos do. She might like some toys or food to play with when she is doing that.

The first one is her showing you how pretty and symmetrical she is. She is showing you that she would make very pretty babies. I think it's a bit hormonal, but when Pete does it, I do tell him, "Yes, Petey, you are a very pretty boy! You are so symmetrical and would make a good husband for a pretty girl birdie." However, I ignore his mating dance, and rubbing himself on his perch.

We thought so too. I have some ss bolts & washers her on my desk, and she likes picking them up, throwing them to the floor and pushing them around. I may get creative and put some food or toys on a plate or cookie sheet with some newspaper or some other substrate, and let her have fun finding it.

Any other ideas ?

What's his mating dance ?
Shelby pops up & down, is that what she's doing ?

You might have to look for a youtube video to see what a 'Too mating dance looks like.

Amazons start shifting from foot to foot and kicking out their legs. They also bob, and make regurgitating motions and cluck like chickens. The first time he did it I thought something was wrong with him, lol! Then the next day I saw the regurgitating motions and figured out it was a mating dance. So I looked at videos of other amazons doing it and said yep, that's what he's doing.

I've never seen my conures do any kind of mating dance, and I haven't seen Merlin do one either.

427HISS said:

We thought so too. I have some ss bolts & washers her on my desk, and she likes picking them up, throwing them to the floor and pushing them around. I may get creative and put some food or toys on a plate or cookie sheet with some newspaper or some other substrate, and let her have fun finding it.

Any other ideas ?

What's his mating dance ?
Shelby pops up & down, is that what she's doing ?

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What about using bedding like the stuff they put on the bottom of the cages for baby birds , I think its "carefresh" , not sure what the heck its callled, but i always would see the baby macaws lying around in it , it looks so soft and I would see them pick it up and toss it around. Its like shredded paper , but clean stuff , no ink.
Believe me, I'm dying to post pictures and videos of my kids
But my computer is on its last leg , it only works in safe mode , and doesnt allow me to pull anything off my camera. I dont have one of those cool camera phones that do everything but park the car either , lolol.
I will have to bring my camera over my friends house and let her pull the pictures off and then send them to my email , that is the only way it will work. My Dell is a piece of **** , I hate it. but since it allows me to get email , and look up things on the internet , i deal with it. I dont even have sound anymore !!! Watching videos without sound really bites
Before i found the forum , I was never on the computer that much , lolol.
Now i cant step away from it and get chores done !! My Border Collies are gong to chew the plugs to keep me off it
But I promised many people pictures , so I intend to deliver
I will overflow this forum with them shortly and dont forget Kev , you asked for them !

For the scratching around...I've posted about my "foraging box" before. But, I do not have a camera to show you. It is just a plastic storage container. About 6" high, and 18" by 24". Yiou can get it at Walmart, Kmart, wherever. They come in bigger sizes also. It comes with a snap on lid which I do not use. In it I put food, toys, paper shreds, anything the birds like. It keeps the area clean because they can scratch around all they want, and it all stays inside. If you want, you can put in some timothy hay, sold for little critters. Or alfalfa pellets, or shredded paper. It keeps everything from flying all over, and is easy to clean by dumping out in the garbage. My cockatiels love it, and hardly want to go anywhere else. My other birds also use it regularly. It is big enough that a bigger bird would be comfortable there too.

Those are some great ideas. We're going shopping for 'Shelby Stuff" tonight so we'll look at the bedding products.

Patty called Petco and PetSmart and they only carry the small bags of "Nut Blend and "Fruit Blend". They will not,.....order the large bags !

WHAT THE **** ?????

Yesterday, I ordered the weight scale from Kings Cages.

And from Kathie of My Safe Bird Store-

Discovering The World Of Parrots Australia DVD's.
Aviclean- spray bottle and 1 gal. of the cleaner.
Plastic Foraging Sphere (This is an entry level)
And "Poop-Off"

WHAT ELSE DOES THIS BIRD NEED !!! lol

427HISS said:

Those are some great ideas. We're going shopping for 'Shelby Stuff" tonight so we'll look at the bedding products.

Patty called Petco and PetSmart and they only carry the small bags of "Nut Blend and "Fruit Blend". They will not,.....order the large bags !

WHAT THE **** ?????

Yesterday, I ordered the weight scale from Kings Cages.

And from Kathie of My Safe Bird Store-

Discovering The World Of Parrots Australia DVD's.
Aviclean- spray bottle and 1 gal. of the cleaner.
Plastic Foraging Sphere (This is an entry level)
And "Poop-Off"

WHAT ELSE DOES THIS BIRD NEED !!! lol

Click to expand...

If you have a Pet Supplies Plus near you , they will order whatever you want. Have you looked internet places ? Like Bird Paradise in New Jersey ? They have tons of foods and toys , cages , etc...
Or maybe even Drs. Fosters&Smith may have the size you want.
Your bird will need ALL the newest toys and playthings you can find. lolol. You will find you spend more on your birds than anyone else ! Even at Xmas time

The first behavior: When Toos shiver like that, whether on you or on toys, they are breeding with what ever they are shivering with. Try not to pet them on their backs, that can stimulate them and encourage them to continue the behavior (if female this usually results in egg laying). Im not 100% sure about the exact breeding season for Toos in the Us, but I was told it was from nov-mar.

The second: Could be nesting and/or foraging behavior. One of Rome's favorite things to do is to shred magazines on my computer desk and then clear the entire desk by kicking it all off with her feet (getting tiny shreds of paper everywhere).

Oh boy , Kev , Shelby "really" likes you , lolol.
Patty should get a kick out of that

Feathered Family Inc. | Parrot Rescue and Adoption, Erie CO

Reading Your Parrot's Body Language - For Dummies

Some useful info above.

My SC2 is a 10 year old male. I don't have any trouble with him at all. He will usually do his figure of 8 head movement or strut along the perch. Also does a lot of dancing but i never encourage him to much. He absolutely love his head scratched & will also help. That's kind of cute.

His most fav toys are junk mail & little cardboard yogurt containers he will sit there for a solid hour or 2 ripping it into tiny pieces & dropping it to the floor.

Personally I wouldn't offer any type of box big enough for a hen to get into it could really trigger egg laying. Petting & stroking down the back is also a no no. I only advise to never encourage sexual behaviour & try to take the attention elseware. I shower my boy almost every day & if it's raining i put him outside for awhile he enjoys the rain so much.

I do a lot,.....of researching the web. and there's all kinds of company's with bird supply's, some with great prices other, not. We have Pet Smart and Petco, but they don't carry the large bags of food. Both only have about tow rows of big bird stuff. The other products we have bought from Kings Cages and My Safe Bird Store and like them a lot. The local pet stores used to have at least one parrot and a lot of products, now theres only one, even in Omaha. I guess the birds ain't as popular as they used to be.

I have a,... not so good feeling,....that Shelby thinks of me as a mate, because of the signs she's displaying. Is this a problem ???

She does a lot of the shivering etc. that Pedro's link says.

Yep, she's my baby ! Patty thinks she's really funny as we watch her at night.

Thanks Pedro. We'll be sure to read that book !

Kev