Sexual Maturity ?

Tami2 · Feb 15, 2018

Lately I've been reading a lot about behavioral problems and sexual maturity.
However, I haven't read complaints coming from Grey owners. Unless of course I missed them?
Are hormones an issue across the board for all birds?
Can Grey's also be problematic during hormonal periods? Or are some bird species worse than others?

Levi will be 2 in April.

Thanks so much!

GaleriaGila · Feb 15, 2018

Welllllllllllllllllllll... I think Greys often don't reach maturity unti 4-6 years?
Let me check my sources!

GaleriaGila · Feb 15, 2018

I see reputable sources saying...
*3-6
*4-6
*5-7
Let's see what Grey Parronts say!

Tami2 · Feb 15, 2018

Sounds Good!

Thank You Gail :heart:

chris-md · Feb 15, 2018

Every bird reacts differently. Some have barely a blip of a reaction, others will become nightmares.

If I’m to be honest - something I’ve noticed with ekkies in a couple forums I participate in - most active posters are those with young birds. You take a poll and everyone’s birds click on at 1-4 years old. They always come looking for advice on their new bird, and stick around for a couple years before moving on.

So my assumption here is you don’t generally hear the complaints because I’ve found he people doing doing the posting don’t have parrots old enough to be experiencing maturity.

Tami2 · Feb 15, 2018

chris-md said:
Every bird reacts differently. Some have barely a blip of aba reaction, others will become nightmares.

If I’m to be honest - something I’ve noticed with ekkies in a couple forums I participate in - most active posters are those with young birds. You take a poll and everyone’s birds click on at 1-4 years old. They always come looking for advice on their new bird, and stick around for a couple years before moving on.

So my assumption here is you don’t generally hear the complaints because I’ve found he people doing doing the posting don’t have parrots old enough to be experiencing maturity.

That makes sense and you could be right about that.
Thank you Chris-MD

Terry57 · Feb 15, 2018

Justice is the only Grey I have ever had, so have limited experience. He was 17 when we got him 3.5 years ago, and I have never noticed anything really different in his behaviour at any time. I'm not sure if he just hasn't been hormonal, or if the changes are so slight I missed them. Wish I could be more help

bigfellasdad · Feb 16, 2018

I've only known non-hormonal CAG ownership for a few months, the rest of the time i've spent my time with an over protective, egg laying, nest building, moody and extremely cuddly little bundle of fun. Enzo is such a diva! The girl friend is not too different...

I cant wait for the summer months!
'
For reference Enzo is 13yrs old, we think, she has only laid eggs recently but she has in the past tried to nest an inanimate object, i've been led to believe. She has also ignored advances from another CAG in her previous home, she's no 'floozy'

Tami2 · Feb 16, 2018

Terry57 said:
Justice is the only Grey I have ever had, so have limited experience. He was 17 when we got him 3.5 years ago, and I have never noticed anything really different in his behaviour at any time. I'm not sure if he just hasn't been hormonal, or if the changes are so slight I missed them. Wish I could be more help

Thank You Terry, that is very helpful :heart:

Tami2 · Feb 16, 2018

bigfellasdad said:
I've only known non-hormonal CAG ownership for a few months, the rest of the time i've spent my time with an over protective, egg laying, nest building, moody and extremely cuddly little bundle of fun. Enzo is such a diva! The girl friend is not too different...

I cant wait for the summer months!
'
For reference Enzo is 13yrs old, we think, she has only laid eggs recently but she has in the past tried to nest an inanimate object, i've been led to believe. She has also ignored advances from another CAG in her previous home, she's no 'floozy'

Ha! That's right she ain't no floozy!

Okay, so for Enzo & Justice clearly being into adulthood you haven't noticed any undesirable behavior! :smile049:
Let's hope my sweet pea follows suit!! Wishful thinking I know.

Thank you all for your responses :heart:

bigfellasdad · Feb 16, 2018

Tami2 said:
Okay, so for Enzo & Justice clearly being into adulthood you haven't noticed any undesirable behavior! :smile049:
Let's hope my sweet pea follows suit!! Wishful thinking I know.

Thank you all for your responses :heart:

As for undesirable behaviour,
Enzo does the 'mating dance' at least once a week.
Sshe regurgitates every time I try to get her to sleep in her cage or if im being stern with her after her doing something wrong (and she knows she is doing things wrong as she will say 'no' before I do!)
If im close enough to her she will turn around with tail in the air, if i was a male CAG id take this as a clear sign.
As i mentioned earlier, when she is hormonal like this she can and will bite others or nip me in a defensive way

Not exactly desirable behaviour for a human to deal with, I just feel a little sad for her, she must be confused.

Tami2 · Feb 16, 2018

bigfellasdad said:
Tami2 said:

Okay, so for Enzo & Justice clearly being into adulthood you haven't noticed any undesirable behavior! :smile049:
Let's hope my sweet pea follows suit!! Wishful thinking I know.

Thank you all for your responses :heart:

Click to expand...

As for undesirable behaviour,
Enzo does the 'mating dance' at least once a week.
Sshe regurgitates every time I try to get her to sleep in her cage or if im being stern with her after her doing something wrong (and she knows she is doing things wrong as she will say 'no' before I do!)
If im close enough to her she will turn around with tail in the air, if i was a male CAG id take this as a clear sign.
As i mentioned earlier, when she is hormonal like this she can and will bite others or nip me in a defensive way

Not exactly desirable behaviour for a human to deal with, I just feel a little sad for her, she must be confused.

Okay, I get that. That makes perfect sense.

But as least she's not aggressively attacking ppl. I have read such behavior

bigfellasdad · Feb 16, 2018

Tami2 said:
But as least she's not aggressively attacking ppl. I have read such behavior

No not at all, we know when she is hormonal as she fluffs her neck feathers and walks very slowly towards people, we know what to look out for. Ill either distract her or go and ask her to step up. She isnt always like this for sure, just occationaly. This is the mating time of year remember, with the short days etc. Im hoping she snaps out of it soon but until that day we are dealing with 'that diva hen' as my GF calls her.

texsize · Feb 16, 2018

This is all great info for a newcomer to CAG like me.

DRB · Feb 21, 2018

My avian vet says CAGS can reach maturity at age 2 and typically are physically mature before that (meaning they will not get any bigger if all things are kept equal). Perjo is now 27mos and I have not noticed any changes I could attribute to sexual maturity. She's grown more affectionate but I think that is just the normal long term process of building trust. She's only known me her whole life really.

Tami2 · Apr 2, 2018

DRB said:
My avian vet says CAGS can reach maturity at age 2 and typically are physically mature before that (meaning they will not get any bigger if all things are kept equal). Perjo is now 27mos and I have not noticed any changes I could attribute to sexual maturity. She's grown more affectionate but I think that is just the normal long term process of building trust. She's only known me her whole life really.

I apologize DRB, I am just seeing this. Thank You!

Okay, Levi is 2 today, good to know!

TiredOldMan · Apr 24, 2018

I am living with a VERY hormonal 8yo hen at the present. If I'm close she is doing her "mating dance" complete with snuffling/clucking sound. If allowed to get close to my face she will try and feed me. She will bite the wife and son if I am close and they ask her to step up. If I'm not close then no problems. She also flies to the floor and goes around the house searching for nesting spots.

This will pass but in the mean time if she becomes too obnoxious I cage her for a while. If she isn't trying to feed me or masturbate against me I just ignore her. It takes awhile but she will calm down when ignored. If she goes in search of nesting sites I just return her to her cage or stand.

Tami2 · Apr 24, 2018

Thank you TiredOldMan.

bigfellasdad · Apr 26, 2018

TiredOldMan said:
I am living with a VERY hormonal 8yo hen at the present. If I'm close she is doing her "mating dance" complete with snuffling/clucking sound. If allowed to get close to my face she will try and feed me. She will bite the wife and son if I am close and they ask her to step up. If I'm not close then no problems. She also flies to the floor and goes around the house searching for nesting spots.

This will pass but in the mean time if she becomes too obnoxious I cage her for a while. If she isn't trying to feed me or masturbate against me I just ignore her. It takes awhile but she will calm down when ignored. If she goes in search of nesting sites I just return her to her cage or stand.

This sounds very familiar to me as well. Good luck with her and try and make sure whe gets as much time outside in the sun for vitamin D so she can build her calcium levels up. Suppliment her food as well with calcium enrichment. What you are describing occured prior to Enzo's 4 eggs. (alternate days). Just be thoughtful for her please, its just nature i suppose.

For interest, Enzo still will try and regurgitate for me every day, especially when I return from work. Its probably the greatest compliment they can pay you and the most obvious sign of affection they can give.

TiredOldMan · Apr 26, 2018

bigfellasdad said:
TiredOldMan said:

I am living with a VERY hormonal 8yo hen at the present. If I'm close she is doing her "mating dance" complete with snuffling/clucking sound. If allowed to get close to my face she will try and feed me. She will bite the wife and son if I am close and they ask her to step up. If I'm not close then no problems. She also flies to the floor and goes around the house searching for nesting spots.

This will pass but in the mean time if she becomes too obnoxious I cage her for a while. If she isn't trying to feed me or masturbate against me I just ignore her. It takes awhile but she will calm down when ignored. If she goes in search of nesting sites I just return her to her cage or stand.

Click to expand...

This sounds very familiar to me as well. Good luck with her and try and make sure whe gets as much time outside in the sun for vitamin D so she can build her calcium levels up. Suppliment her food as well with calcium enrichment. What you are describing occured prior to Enzo's 4 eggs. (alternate days). Just be thoughtful for her please, its just nature i suppose.

For interest, Enzo still will try and regurgitate for me every day, especially when I return from work. Its probably the greatest compliment they can pay you and the most obvious sign of affection they can give.

Thanks for the advice. She gets at least 4-6 hours a day outside weather permitting. I won't let her out until it's near 70 deg. and bring her in when it gets close to 90. I also have lengthened her "daylight" hours.

The biggest issue I have with it is the loss (temporarily) of close companionship and the fact that I don't care for having her caged that much.

Sexual Maturity ?

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My 13 month old Congo went from whistles and weird popping sounds too motor mouth.

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