Maggie's Nest

Maggie, my greenwing, built a nest in my bedroom closet when I was home sick one week, and now she pretty much spends more time in my bedroom closet than anywhere else.

She isn't aggressive. I do go in the closet, and lay down next to her sometimes, and she snuggles up next to me, and feeds me.

No egg laying. No other "mating" issues.

And, she's basically fed me several times a day since about the fourth or fifth day I've had her. So, that's been going on for well over half a decade, and I see no real reason to discourage it. (She also feeds my daughter, Sarah. So, it's not a "mating" thing. My red front feeds both of us as well.)

It's a natural behavior, and if this gets it out of her system... and makes her happy, and doesn't cause a problem otherwise... (i.e. territorial/defend the nest/egg laying type behaviors) I personally don't see anything wrong with it.

I know there are "experts" who feel you shouldn't allow them to do this, but if it's an instinctive behavior, aren't they going to keep trying to do it anyway?!

Am I off base, or missing something here?!

What are the arguments against, because I'm not sure I understand them.

Jeez - if it was anyone else asking I would tell them to wait and pretty soon the Birdman would be along to help. I have no advice. Sorry.

Questions though. I'm sure I could find it but you can answer it faster. How old is Maggie?

I think the whole thing is cute.

I would have to agree with Dopey. Anyone else asking I would have said "just wait for birdman to see your post, he will know"

Well, since "wait for birdman" isn't going to work here....how about we ask Mark? doh....

Loki tried to feed me daily as well. This biggest problem I have with it is if I let him go too long at it, he actually spits up food, so I try to let him bob his little head for a bit then try to distract him so I don't get hour old sweet potato on me...

Unless I'm missing something I do not see it as purely a mating behaviour but as a bonding behaviour. Birds feed their mates all year round as part of reinforcing their bond with each other.

Surely that's what Maggie is doing with you and your daughter. If you refuse what are you telling her? Equals one confused parrot!

I'd feel chuffed that she feels that strong a bond with you and yours.

Any chance of any pics, please.

LMAO Mark! You have the most big mac experience here, and you're asking for 'expert' advice?

Anyway, you asked, and I shall give you my 2 cents on it. Remember, I don't have any female big macs though. Only a VERY ripe Amazon hen. :21:

I personally would discourage it. Remember the member who 'encouraged' his BF Amazon to lay eggs? http://www.parrotforums.com/amazons/55926-i-decided-let-my-female-amazon-nest.html

As normal and as instinctive as it may be, why chance her getting so comfy in her nook that she 'may' want to lay eggs? Still natural, right? Unless, of course, she becomes egg-bound, then all the au' natural goes out the window, and you probably wish you would have TRIED to discourage her. Know what I mean? Is my blabber making any sense? :54: Again, this is my personal take on it, and my personal opinion. I don't ever encourage my hen Nape to cluck away non stop. And she would, if I gave her the opportunity.

I'm not trying to encourage egg laying behaviors...

She isn't sitting on the nest, per se, she's shredding towels, and old tee shirts, and organizing clothes that were on the floor. This seems to be as much birdie entertainment as anything...

I've heard the "never let them make nests" arguments so many times, but when I ask why, I usually get "because it may lead to bad behaviors..."

Like what, for example...

This is where I start getting the "porky pig" treatment...

ba-dea-ba-dea-ba-dea... JUST DON'T!

Tusk and Lila have been making nests for years, and never once shown any mating inclinations... Lila's 43 and never laid an egg to my knowledge.

She's more interested in the contents of her food bowls than that stuff, frankly.

I'm just trying to better understand the issue.

Dopey said:

Questions though. I'm sure I could find it but you can answer it faster. How old is Maggie?

I think the whole thing is cute.

Click to expand...

Maggie is around 17 years old.

So we are "on schedule" for mating issues...

plumsmum2005 said:

Unless I'm missing something I do not see it as purely a mating behaviour but as a bonding behaviour. Birds feed their mates all year round as part of reinforcing their bond with each other.

Surely that's what Maggie is doing with you and your daughter. If you refuse what are you telling her? Equals one confused parrot!

I'd feel chuffed that she feels that strong a bond with you and yours.

Any chance of any pics, please.

Click to expand...

Not the feeding stuff, it's the "nest building" stuff that concerns me...

She is so friggin' happy playing in my closet, that I am hesitant to take that away from her if I don't have to.

She will literally go in there for 8-9 hours at a time, and content herself with chewing up towels and tee shirt material, and organizing it into piles.

Birdman666 said:

plumsmum2005 said:

Unless I'm missing something I do not see it as purely a mating behaviour but as a bonding behaviour. Birds feed their mates all year round as part of reinforcing their bond with each other.

Surely that's what Maggie is doing with you and your daughter. If you refuse what are you telling her? Equals one confused parrot!

I'd feel chuffed that she feels that strong a bond with you and yours.

Any chance of any pics, please.

Click to expand...

Not the feeding stuff, it's the "nest building" stuff that concerns me...

She is so friggin' happy playing in my closet, that I am hesitant to take that away from her if I don't have to.

She will literally go in there for 8-9 hours at a time, and content herself with chewing up towels and tee shirt material, and organizing it into piles.

Click to expand...

Hi, I assume this is whilst you are at work? Do you encourage her to do something else when you come home?

You know Maggie and can recognise if it's becoming obsessive and needs to be curtailed IMO.

I'm not much of a expert but will throw my 2 cents worth in.

I see nothing wrong with it. BB feeds me ever evening when I get home. AFTER i give him a treat. He will feed me then eat his dinner. Nope i get none of that just the treat. He seems to understand its not FEEDING me it is a act of affection because if it gets on me he removes it. <-- They would NEVER take from there young

SO with that in mind my feeling is . You were sick and she started building a place so she can stay close to you. I see nothing wrong with it BUT if you do not agree stick around and ask Mark

Last night she played on my lap for about an hour, and then wanted to be set down. She trotted off to my bedroom closet, where she remained on her own, until bedtime. (She spent about three hours in the closet by herself.)

Mark, this is an interesting conversation, thanks for starting the discussion. I don't have a macaw but since hormones effect all species, I'll offer my two cents.

Cockatiels seem to be prone to chronic egg laying. When my female shows signs of nesting behavior, I rearrange the interior of her cage, move her cage, give her plenty of time outside her cage, make sure she has lots of flight time, give her longer uninterrupted sleep hours, I also remove warm, soft food from her diet.

My female quaker's plucking issues escalate right along with her hormone levels. I take the same precautions when she shows signs of nesting behavior.

My male quaker uses sticks and twigs and builds constantly, this could be considered nesting behavior and many would probably discourage it. He will obviously never lay eggs so I provide him with a constant supply of sticks and let him have his fun. If he shows signs of mental instability, I may have to rethink everything.

Poppy is an eleven year old female Too, she absolutely loves shredding paper and her eyes light up at the sight of an empty box. She can't wait to rush into her cage every evening to dive into the fresh paper in the floor of her cage. Like Maggie and my male quaker, I think this is instinctive nesting behavior but I also think the biggest reason they enjoy it so much is because it's pure fun. If Poppy lays an egg, I'll immediately take away every scrap of paper but until then I see no reason to.

I think this is yet another example of the individual bird and situation.

Allee said:

Poppy is an eleven year old female Too, she absolutely loves shredding paper and her eyes light up at the sight of an empty box. She can't wait to rush into her cage every evening to dive into the fresh paper in the floor of her cage. Like Maggie and my male quaker, I think this is instinctive nesting behavior but I also think the biggest reason they enjoy it so much is because it's pure fun. If Poppy lays an egg, I'll immediately take away every scrap of paper but until then I see no reason to.

I think this is yet another example of the individual bird and situation.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's Tusk and Lila in my household. Same deal as Poppy... and the nest building just seems to be a fun activity for them as well. They've done it for years with no egg laying/breeding issues.

Lila's funny because her instincts are to protect the nests, but she's as passive as they come, so if you come close to her nest, she comes charging out at you, and then literally just stands there and looks at you...

Like, what do I do now?

Tusk pops his head out, grabs toes, and then hides back in the nest. It's like an ambush game.

Maggie, thus far, is just acting like it's her new favorite spot.

And I think I happen to agree with you on this one.

Hey, Mark.

My take? The "...because it may lead to bad behaviors" answer really is the best general reason that can be given for discouraging any nesting behavior. Why? Because so much depends on the individual bird. Maggie may never develop an issue stemming from her nest building activities. Yet, another gw, given a similar set of circumstances, might become an aggressive, face-chomping uber beast. Or a chronic egg layer. And a consistent theme with parrots is that it's easier to prevent an issue with them than it is to reverse one. After all, they do tend to be creatures of habit.

So when someone relatively new to birds asks whether or not they should discourage nesting behaviors, the "best" answer, or perhaps "safest" is more apropos, is no. Because it could potentially cause huge issues. Doesn't mean it will. But it could.

In a situation like yours, however, where you've had your birds for years and they've proven stable enough when allowed to indulge their nest building instincts, I'd be more inclined to look at it much in the way you are. You know her very well. So I trust that you'd pick up on any issues as soon as they start to manifest.

Just so long as you are fully aware that there is an element of risk, however diminished given the proven stability of your flock, in allowing her to continue her nesting behaviors.

But hey, the same could be said for free flight, right? There's always risk, there. But it's weighed against the joy it brings to the bird and your confidence in said bird's training. So it really comes down to judgement and knowing your bird.

Very long story short? I don't see anything wrong, in your particular situation and given the extent of your experience, with the way you're handling Maggie's situation.

Thanks, that's very helpful.