Hormonal green cheeks?

[Flapjack]

Hi all! Kure, my 1 year old green cheek has been displaying some curious behavior for a bit now and I was wondering if it was a hormonal behavior. I started a similar thread in another part of the forums a while ago but unfortunately didn’t get too many replies, so I figured I’d ask here as well.

What is happening is that when being pet/scratched (only above neck) Kure will sometimes get very excited about it. If I am stroking the top of her head in the same direction that her feathers lay she will start to push back with her head against my finger and make little noises that sound like they are coming from her nose… Very recently she had started just rubbing her head (and shoulder inevitably) on my head while on my shoulder and against my hands when not being pet.

I tried my best to describe it because I cannot manage to get a video of her doing it! The little bugger is camera shy.

Also, could you guys could point me in the direction of some videos or pictures of hormonal female green cheek posture and behavior? I have been trying to find some so that I could compare this behavior and I couldn’t find any good ones so I will know what to look out for.

 

[Flapjack]

Just after I posted this she stared doing it to my bed for some reason! Here is a video

 

[zERo]

Hm, to me, it looks like she’s just asking for pets in a non-hormonal way. My green cheek Tom will do something very similar when he wants to be pet.

It’s good you’re only petting her on the head and neck.
A hormonal response will be pretty pronounced, if my green cheek is hormonal and wants me to pet him, he full body puffs up, when he’s that way, the best thing I’ve learned is to distract him or withdraw until he returns to normal.

And btw, your green cheek is a cutie! 🤩

 

[Flapjack]

Hm, to me, it looks like she’s just asking for pets in a non-hormonal way. My green cheek Tom will do something very similar when he wants to be pet.

It’s good you’re only petting her on the head and neck.
A hormonal response will be pretty pronounced, if my green cheek is hormonal and wants me to pet him, he full body puffs up, when he’s that way, the best thing I’ve learned is to distract him or withdraw until he returns to normal.

And btw, your green cheek is a cutie! 🤩

Thanks! That’s good to know. Do you know how you would differentiate between a normal content puff and a hormonal puff?

 

[zERo]

Thanks! That’s good to know. Do you know how you would differentiate between a normal content puff and a hormonal puff?

Well, from what I’ve seen in my GCC, if it’s a hormonal puff, he’ll sometimes grab my hand and try to mate with it, though, that’s a more extreme response.
A content puff would probably include a foot being tucked, beak grinding, preening, and yawning.

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

My experience with conures is that a hormonal puff comes with aggression and biting. A fluff puff is like you see with your cutie.

 

[Flapjack]

Well, from what I’ve seen in my GCC, if it’s a hormonal puff, he’ll sometimes grab my hand and try to mate with it, though, that’s a more extreme response.
A content puff would probably include a foot being tucked, beak grinding, preening, and yawning.

Thanks!

 

[Flapjack]

My experience with conures is that a hormonal puff comes with aggression and biting. A fluff puff is like you see with your cutie.

Oki! Thank you, she’s a happy little bird and fluffs quite a bit, so it’s nice to know the difference.

 

[LoveMyFids]

Conures reach sexual maturity from 1-2yrs. old. This doesn't sound totally hormonal, but could be the beginning of hormonal behavior. You will know w/a female bird if she is hormonal by actions such as "presenting" her backside/butt up for mating, regurgitating a lot, making odd babylike sounds that you haven't heard before, wings out w/presenting & kind of a trembling of the body/wings, shredding stuff up a lot (preparing for nesting), & possibly getting nippy & or very overly affectionate (more than usual). Just stay vigilant of these kind of behaviors & cut back on the petting & cuddling if you start seeing them. Also increase sleeping time (12min., 13hrs. is better) to help turn off hormones by less exposure to light.

 

[Flapjack]

Conures reach sexual maturity from 1-2yrs. old. This doesn't sound totally hormonal, but could be the beginning of hormonal behavior. You will know w/a female bird if she is hormonal by actions such as "presenting" her backside/butt up for mating, regurgitating a lot, making odd babylike sounds that you haven't heard before, wings out w/presenting & kind of a trembling of the body/wings, shredding stuff up a lot (preparing for nesting), & possibly getting nippy & or very overly affectionate (more than usual). Just stay vigilant of these kind of behaviors & cut back on the petting & cuddling if you start seeing them. Also increase sleeping time (12min., 13hrs. is better) to help turn off hormones by less exposure to light.

Thank you for those descriptions! She does make sort of quiet sounds when she starts to run her head on my hand. I will discourage it. I will definitely be on the lookout for everything else too! Thanks a ton!

 

[LoveMyFids]

Thank you for those descriptions! She does make sort of quiet sounds when she starts to run her head on my hand. I will discourage it. I will definitely be on the lookout for everything else too! Thanks a ton!

You're welcome. Yes, just discourage the behavior if it seems overly amorous. I guess on a good note, sounds like she loves you THAT much! Haha.