7 month old in heat??

Hi every one

we have recently got home a baby caique (2 months ago). Dexter He is the most adorable thing ever, :10: we also have a pair of budgies and a cockatiel , but they don't get out of their cage even though they are friendly. they dont like hands, but our cockatiel comes for a kiss on his head through the cage. anyway ....

We noticed that this little guy seems to be humping the rope around his cage. Could it be possible? I read they reach their sexual maturity at around 2-3 years so I find it very strange ... This is happening frequently lately even more than once a day sometimes.

did anyone's baby do this too?

LOL @ the title of your thread. I'm sure you were just joking, right? In case you weren't, parrots don't go into 'heat' per say. They can get broody and hormonal, yes, but not at 7 months. Your bird is most likely just realizing it ...ahem...'feels good' what he's doing. (<-- for lack of better words :32

Prob just as Wendy said..
Wow, might be a bad pic, but never seen wings so severely clipped!! He must drop like a stone!

actually ... I posted that pic for a reason ...I was hoping some one would comment on his clipped wing (its only the right one)

we thought so too after the breeder clipped his wing for us. It looks awful when he opens it all to clean himself, like a claw or something .. I think he could have clipped just one or two right? I will ask him to clip less feathers the next time.

nope he does not fly ( he still tries) .... in fact I try not to leave him alone for a long time if he is out of the cage ... I dont want him landing on his belly or beak ..

re the humping: no harm no foul, fine with me

thank you both for your replies In Malta I can't really get a second opinion as there is only one good avian vet on the island ... but this forum is very helpful, I m glad I came across it,

thanks x x x x x x x

here's another pic of the king of the world and his beloved rope!
(he does not have a lot feathers on his little belly ... im hoping he fluffs up a little more because winters are very humid here )

Nothing of real substance to add here (JerseyWendy has it right), but I just wanted to say I love the photos!

Interestingly enough, Henry hasn't done the...um..."hey, this feels good" (using Wendy's terminology!) thing as of yet. But Eliza does (she's a little over four years old) using the rope in her cage the way your baby does. I usually just say "Oh, gosh, excuse me," and walk on by. She HAS tried to do it on me occasionally: that's out of bounds. I'll stop her by either giving her something else to do, or just put her down, on a perch, etc.

dskidd said:

...... I'll stop her by either giving her something else to do, or just put her down, on a perch, etc.

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Does that stop her??? I'm 'just' asking cause my Hunter (I know..I know..NOT a Caique) will simply 'finish off' on her perch. :54:

well I try to distract him ... doesn't work thou .. super concentration on the rope I'm afraid!

I haven't gotten used to his little panting noises lol ....

JerseyWendy said:

Does that stop her??? I'm 'just' asking cause my Hunter (I know..I know..NOT a Caique) will simply 'finish off' on her perch. :54:

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Interestingly enough, it does with Eliza. I don't scold her or act like she's done anything wrong; I'll just say something along the lines of "Hey, let's go over here!" in my annoyingly high-pitched "bird voice." (No, you don't want a recording of it.)

Once I put her down, she just goes on to something else. (I've observed that caiques often have the same attention span as your average gnat.) One thing I don't do is put her back in her cage because of the rope-ladder. I did that once, and she did indeed "finish up" on it.

I have extra help though. Henry doesn't like to get left out of bird-cuddling, playtime, etc. So if Eliza's on my hand and starts doing it, Henry will immediately come over and pretty much make a nuisance of himself. Eliza will immediately stop. Play time usually follows. It's actually kind of amusing to watch, because Eliza is initially irritated when Henry comes over and interrupts her.

Henry is clearly the keeper of puritanical family values in my house. Of course, that may change in a few months!

dskidd said:

Interestingly enough, it does with Eliza. I don't scold her or act like she's done anything wrong; I'll just say something along the lines of "Hey, let's go over here!" in my annoyingly high-pitched "bird voice." (No, you don't want a recording of it.)

Click to expand...

I always wonder what other people's bird voices sound like. My wife says, I sound like yoda, "Feel good, the rope does."