Pionus hormone question.

Fonzie (dna sexed male) is 18 months old. Got him at 4 months.

Last spring he was a bit of a handful and I got bit often. This lasted like 2 months. I am also a new parront and a lot of these bites were my fault by not reading his body language which now I have a pretty good handle on. I am not getting bit anymore, he is very sweet most of the time, and can usually avoid getting bit the times he is in a bad mood. I occasionally get bit, but it is usually because he is too excited and I still pick him up (so my fault). When I am not being dumb, I just give him a minute and he then steps up nicely. Occasionally he will put his foot out like he wants to step up, but he has a weird look on his face, I now know this is a trap. Little booger. My question is...With him being 18 months old now...Is he gonna be a hormonal maniac this spring? If so, this should be the worst year right?

He has a pretty good vocabulary too: Pretty bird, good birdie, pretty good bird, good morning, what are you doing?, its yummy, is it yummy?, peek-a-boo, peek-a-bird, pretty good morning, how are you? I love you, he even flew by and said what are you doing? He is still learning to fly and I had no idea he could talk and fly at the same time. He has several other sound effects down too. Considering Pionus are not known for their talking ability I am thrilled and excited that he is talking so much. Before I got him, I did a lot of research and wasn't expecting him to talk.

Hello, and thank you for sharing. Sounds like he is a great little guy! I would like to know how he acts this spring towards you. It would be interesting to know if his behaviour changes considerably or not. Just like my Suki who is a year old, I am enjoying the time we spend together until she starts showing signs of hormonal change. She is still to young though. It is a big question mark for me right now because I can't find much info on this subject.

Keep us posted concerning Fonzie. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Some birds get the effects of hormones worse than others. If you haven't already, NOW is the time to really reinforce boundaries. What he can do and what he can't get away with. I believe if he is aware of the boundaries and what is not acceptable behavior, while it won't stop hormonal aggression when he's mature, but it might curb how obnoxious he becomes with it.

Pi's seem to start exhibiting hormonal behavior long before they're sexually mature. I made sure from the start that Raven knows bad from good (he even says it himself lol). I think setting boundaries and consequences early goes a long way in staying on top of hormonal aggression. Also stick training. Essential for step ups at times!

Raven is also a good talker. He can answer certain questions, and repeat words directly after me for example. Although Pionus aren't known as the top talkers, it doesn't mean they're no good at it lol. More males are better talkers.

Thanks for the replies. I will have to see how he acts this spring. He is stick trained, and it generally well behaved. He is out most of the day (on my 4 days off a week). He usually stays on his gym, cage, atom ball or climbing rope. He has a lot to do. Occasionally he will fly to me and hang out with me for hours. As far a boundaries, I'm not sure. He hasn't really tested them too much so I haven't had to do anything in that department. The hardest thing is trying to get him to step off my hand and go back to his cage or gym. I usually bribe him with a piece of almond. That works, but it would be nice if he just did it. Not sure how to go about that.