The return of Dr Jekyll: One owners observations of behavioral changes.

Part of this entry is question, most of it is an account of my recent experiences with Auggie as it may provide information and/or hope for anyone else facing similar circumstances.

First, the question: Does anyone know how long mating behavior would/should/could last? By this don't mean how old before they stop, but rather how long might an individual season last.

The reason I ask is I believe Auggie has recently gone through a "seasonal" phase; this would now be his first (and I'm not looking forward to the second.) I know this generally happens in spring but I cant come up with another explanation for recent events (described below). I've seen him molting before, and thats not what this was - no change in feather condition, no change in grooming, no lost feathers etc.

About two to three weeks ago everything changed. Its an often repeated story of the sweetest bird ever becoming satan incarnate. He was attacking at random, I was getting my hands chewed up, tantrums of all sorts, etc etc. Now the good news, several days ago he just seemed to snap out of it. No more biting, no more aggression, everything is back to normal.

I was surprised how quick this "phase" passed. In retrospect there were some signs that I should have noticed. It stood out tonight when we were sitting watching TV, he was grinding his beak - which supposedly is a sign of being content and comfortable where they are. It stood out as I realized that he had not been making this sound for the past few weeks. Whether it was mating season related or not there was a sign that he was not as comfortable with me. Hopefully next time I will notice this sign prior to getting my hands chewed up.

Anyhow, if this was a mating season related behavioral change, and if anyone else is dealing with the first such "season" then just stick it out. It was a VERY frustrating time, there were even moments when I was doubting whether I could continue to provide Auggie a good home... That was an extremely depressing thought for me as he is my life. I've lost a lot of things in my life, but being in a position to consider giving up Auggie was one of the hardest things for me to deal with.

In the end whatever precipitated this behavioral change, it did pass. I have my happy little bird back, and I trust him again to be near my hands.

P.S.

Another hindsight observation: Auggie had stopped "grooming" me for those couple of weeks. Another sign to keep my eye out for, and for you all to keep your eyes out for if your birds are like mine.

He's now grooming me again. This is interesting in that if it was a mating season related behavioral change I'm not sure why he'd be uncomfortable with me - I wont get into why, but it's obvious that he's chosen me as his mate.

Well I guess it could be part of a mating season thing, but normally mating season behaviors last a few months. Of course your conure could be different I guess.

If he goes through this 'phase' again, make sure he gets plenty of sleep at night (10+ hours). I've also found it helpful to remove any mirrors from my birds cage, as it tends to make them more cage possessive.

Thanks, good to know. Perhaps it wasn't mating season behavior. Guess the cause will remain a mystery for now. I just hope whatever it was doesn't happen too often.

I suppose I also have my moods. Cant blame a single green bird with no job, no education, and no relationship prospects (other than me) for getting a little moody. Heck I've got two out of the three and I get crazy from time to time. )

My Dusky is my most Satanic and "mood-swingy" of all my birds. We are the FIFTH home for this little guy. (Both are spoiled bird syndrome birds. Pampered and held too much until the novelty wore off, then caged and left essentially ignored and abandoned until they hated everyone but each other.) He and his mate have bitten, tantrumed, screamed, and chewed their way out of all the others...

I sympathize, but this doesn't sound like a breeding issue.

It sounds like a strong willed dusky conure, being a strong willed dusky conure.

Mine does the exact same thing. Without rhyme or reason.

Well good to hear I'm not the only one. He's continuing to do great now. I know everyone thinks their bird is the sweetest there is, and I think the same of Auggie. His vet has commented on how well social and friendly he is. It really was just a Mr Hyde week when he was out of sorts.

I would never give him up, especially now that I know that even when he's goes into satan mode he'll snap out of it soon enough. I spent a little more time in that week working on basics of laddering/step up training, and he stayed low, mostly on the floor, sometimes on my knee.

I am happy to read about conure's behavior. I have a male parrotlet, Tango, for approx. 2 years. He "all of a sudden" became possessive of his cage - biting and aggressive - biting me when I approach him even out of his cage, BUT...when I let him out, he follows me everywhere. I'm assuming he is in mating season and this has been for about 1-2 mos. now. I am trying to be patient and wrapping him with a small towel or blanket and trying to calm him and pet him, but as soon as he is loose, he bites again. Any suggestions?