It's official. Percy + Hemp Seeds = Bloodbath!

Please send a CSI team to come over and investigate the blood splatters at my house

You will recall I mentioned Percy's apparent adverse reaction to a few hemp seeds a forthnight ago (extreme aggression and general bitey-ness). Well, before I just tossed the hemp seeds, I decided to wait a while and try again...

Yesterday morning, I gave him TWO hemp seeds and, like before, 8 hours later, it was like a switch flipped in his head! We were cuddling and kissy-kissy and pin removing after I came from work, all like normal, all too lovie dovie for words. In an instant, he turned - like a dang werewolf! I put him on the couch to go get something (within sight, I didn't leave him alone) and when I returned, he was Mr Hyde I held my hand for him to step up and he bit me so quick and so hard that I almost didn't feel it. I didn't even realise that he broke the skin until I noticed blood on my clothes. He got me on the thumb and must have nicked a little vein because it bled like crazy!! I was dripping blood everywhere and couldn't get it to stop until I applied 5 minutes of constant pressure. It took both mom and me an hour to get him into his cage (it was his bedtime anyway) because he was being a mean, green killing machine.

I felt sorry for him because it was almost like he could understand why he was so angry

I may still be wrong about the hemp, but he's not getting it again!

How often are you feeding hemp seeds? They can make them going into mating mood. Also how much each time are you giving the hemp seeds.

Hi Mikey, I've only given him hemp twice, about two weeks apart, 2 to 3 seeds only each time. Perhaps its coincidence but I don't have enough blood in my body to keep experimenting! LOL!

Oh! I bet you're right... I recall I have heard of that before with hemp seeds. I was wondering if it was his hormone time of year, but the seeds makes sense since it happened again when you fed them.

MomtoPercy said:

Perhaps its coincidence but I don't have enough blood in my body to keep experimenting! LOL!

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Ooh you are a brave woman Michelle! :11: if I had a large male Amazon keep biting me hard, I don't think I'd be able to stop yelling YOWWWCH!!! Giving the good drama reward each and every time!

When I read your first post about Percy's rage after a few hemp seed I thought it might be Popeye's problem as well since he was trying a new foraging mix with hemp seed. I read everything I could find and all I learned was that hemp seed is considered a super seed and very beneficial. In Popeye's case I'm pretty sure his contrariness is hormonal. I checked the foraging mix that I am feeding to my quakers and cockatiel and it also contains hemp seed and I haven't seen a change in any of them. If hemp seed is the only change in Percy's daily routine then I guess that could be the cause. I couldn't find anything about the seed causing aggression but maybe I didn't read far enough. I'm sorry Percy gave you such a nasty bite.

Julie's right, you are a VERY brave woman! I too am a firm believer in repeating the results of an experiment before declaring a hypothesis fact, but my scientific curiosity knows definite limits... and mine would most definitely be found at the end of a bloody amazonian beak!

Or an eclectus beak for that matter. No hemp seeds for Bixby!

I don't think it was the hemp seeds that change her personality. I give hemp seeds to my conure all the time without seeing any agression afterward. She loves them. However, if she doesn't want to go to her sleeping cage around 7:45pm, she will get agressive to anyone comes near her. She knows that she will be picked up against her will and force into her sleeping cage upstairs. If she has her way, she'd rather be downstairs with everybody until we all go up at 9:00pm. She always goes upstairs the moment the last person go upstairs; regardless if the downstairs light is still on or off. She prefers to be with her flock. If she accidentally flies out of the house because all of us are outside, all we have to do is all of us to go inside, she will follow us in on her own immediately.

I think it's that season for Percy that's what I think.....cause I give hemp seeds too BUT it can heighten the hormones too!

Thank you, Mike. That makes perfect sense. Popeye's hemp seed will be temporarily removed from his foraging dish.

It seems to me that if the only two times Percy has gone all Death Raptor on Michelle has been when he's eaten hemp seeds, and if said hemp seeds are known to have an effect on hormone levels, then it's a reasonable conclusion that the hemp seeds are indeed the cause. Or at least a contributing factor when combined with an already hormonal bird.

Keep in mind that birds can be just as different and unique as people. Not all women, for instance, are affected the same way by pregnancy hormones. And not all people are allergic to the same things. So why would we assume hemp seeds would affect all parrots in the same way?

Michelle? Go with your instincts on this one. Keep Percy's Death Raptor persona under wraps!

Better safe than sorry. Even if some birds don't react, if you think Percy does, why even go down that road? You can always use the remaining hemp seeds up by sprinkling them on your cereal or oatmeal or salads so you don't waste them

Thanks for all the input everyone

I seriously doubt that it is hormones. Our spring only starts in September and I remember how he was last year in Sept - this is not it.

Also, he is not an aggressive bird - yes, he nips every so often because he's got his own ideas in life LOL but he is not "mean aggressive" and certainly not with me in particular (since we've bonded he is my baby and never bites me except when he's trying to 'protect me by displacement biting' from the dog/other humans/whatever).

This reaction I've noticed has not been seen at ANY other time, really! I took special notice this last time and like I mentioned, it is almost like he doesn't understand why he is so grumpy I believe, based on what I've seen, that he is just not meant to have hemp seeds. So sad, because he really loves them! I would like to test it again but I cannot bear to see him so upset. I don't mind dealing with the aggression but I won't put him through that upset and confusion again just to satisfy my curiousity.

It has been two days since he had the seeds and his Death Raptor-ness has abated and he's back to being my sweet kissy cuddly bird

Due to weird weather we've been having my birds been having a weird hormone cycle.