I have a blue crown conure I found him lost 3 years ago these days he has been regurgitating his food He eats he drinks water and he regurgitates every time I change his food, the stools are normal, his weight is correct he is active I think he is in the mating stage because he has become a bit aggressive and plucked his feathers from the top of one wing. He doesn't have a partner and he doesn't see other birds. He used to talk a lot and since he started doing these things he almost doesn't want to talk. If anyone knows why?, please help!!!
Please help!!!
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Welcome to the forum! Some questions:
How much sleep does he get each night?
What is his diet like?
Do you touch him anywhere other than on the head?
How much sleep does he get each night?
What is his diet like?
Do you touch him anywhere other than on the head?
Yeah beginning to sound like mating behavior, but more details, please.
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She sleeps very well, I think, more than 10 hours a night because I have a baby and her routines are the same, this started some time ago when my husband bought her a new bed because he always destroys them all, it's blue and furry, I think he likes it too much He also started to break it at first but then he stopped, about a month ago he began to get a little aggressive, and he doesn't want to talk much, he also plucked some feathers from the top of one wing, until he was left half bald on That part, a week ago he started to regurgitate, he does it on the perch next to his bed, on his paw and then he eats it again, his diet is mixed normal parrot food seeds and I give him apples and grapes because They are the fruits that he likes the most, we do not touch him much, just a little on his head because we found him an adult and we noticed that he does not like to be touched, nor does he like to leave his cage or children, but he is very talkative, I do not know if he is a boy or girl because we have not made your dna
kme3388
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Eclectus Parrot: Nico (male)
Jenday Conure: Kiwi (female)
Hi there, hope all is well. I’m not sure what you mean by a new bed?!? Anything that resembles a nest, or a dark place will trigger hormones, and mating behaviors. Some parrots will be a little more snippy when they are hormonal. Another thing to look for are pin feathers. Both of my conures can get snippy when they are molting.
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Thanks for all the help and comments, yes, he is fine, his behavior in general is normal, his feathers are not ruffled, he eats his seeds and fruits very well and plays and walks around his cage walking with his head down, when we whistle he dances, It's just that before he spent many hours a day talking about everything and now he doesn't want to talk much, he's beginning to change his plumage, but on other occasions that have happened he hasn't become aggressive or regurgitated, I think I'll remove his bed, Although I don't know why this never happened before, I think he became an adult just now. I will upload some photos so you can meet PACO
Based on all of the information and pictures you’ve given, I’d say a few things need to change in Pacos life so that’ll he’ll be less hormonal.
For one thing, definitely remove that hut, not only does it pose a risk of escalating hormones, but it also is a dangerous item, as, he could eat the fabric and become impacted or get tangled in chewed threads.
I’d also recommend you buy him some natural perches as the dowels are too smooth for a birds feet and can cause bumblefoot/lameness.
Does he have toys to play with? My conure loves soft woods like balsa, yucca, and thin sliced pine.
And for the diet, is it only seeds and fruit? I would feed seed as maybe 10-15% of a conures diet and fruit as 10% at most as well.
Have you offered him veggies or pellets? These are much healthier options to consist of most of the diet.
Sorry for all the information, I just want to point out the things I imagine are causing his hormones to spike.
And, if he’s plucking his feathers, an avian vet visit isn’t a bad idea either. Plucking can be caused by a medical problem just as much as an environmental one.
For one thing, definitely remove that hut, not only does it pose a risk of escalating hormones, but it also is a dangerous item, as, he could eat the fabric and become impacted or get tangled in chewed threads.
I’d also recommend you buy him some natural perches as the dowels are too smooth for a birds feet and can cause bumblefoot/lameness.
Does he have toys to play with? My conure loves soft woods like balsa, yucca, and thin sliced pine.
And for the diet, is it only seeds and fruit? I would feed seed as maybe 10-15% of a conures diet and fruit as 10% at most as well.
Have you offered him veggies or pellets? These are much healthier options to consist of most of the diet.
Sorry for all the information, I just want to point out the things I imagine are causing his hormones to spike.
And, if he’s plucking his feathers, an avian vet visit isn’t a bad idea either. Plucking can be caused by a medical problem just as much as an environmental one.
kme3388
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Eclectus Parrot: Nico (male)
Jenday Conure: Kiwi (female)
Paco is a very adorable conure!
All of my birds regurgitate at times. It’s not consistent with the 2 conures I have. It’s a mating/hormonal thing. It’s what they do in nature. They like to regurgitate food for their mates, and babies. When my birds regurgitate on their perches, or cage I clean it with rubbing alcohol to cut down on bacteria build up (prevents infections). It also makes it so I’m not scrubbing really hard.
All of my birds regurgitate at times. It’s not consistent with the 2 conures I have. It’s a mating/hormonal thing. It’s what they do in nature. They like to regurgitate food for their mates, and babies. When my birds regurgitate on their perches, or cage I clean it with rubbing alcohol to cut down on bacteria build up (prevents infections). It also makes it so I’m not scrubbing really hard.
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Thanks for the advice and reactions, I think PACO's hormones are going down. Yesterday I saw him spend more time playing and touring his cage and he even said some obscene words that he has always known since we found him. He speaks Spanish, the feathers of His wings are growing back, he is also changing his plumage and I think that this has also motivated him to stop regurgitating a bit.
Cleaning
I would like to point out if you use rubbing alcohol make sure your bird is not nearby with the fumes or liquid form of this. It can damage their respiratory system and the alcohol can be absorbed through their feet and kill them. Once it is well ventilated and dry it is fine and yes a good antibacterial cleanser, you can also use things like watered down white vinegar. Again take care to remember their little respiratory system.
Plucking
Plucking to baldness is usually an anxiety or nutritional deficit issue. Try looking at his current supplements and see if he is lacking and also make sure his uvb is updated or he is getting outside in sunlight directly for 30 minutes twice a week.
If nutrition and sun/uvb is not an issue I would look for other anxiety stimuli or cues through his vocalizations.
If you have an avian vet, they can run bloodwork and compare to previous bloodwork to see if there is anything wrong and to see if there is any imbalances. From there you can rule out/in anxiety or hormones.
If it is mild plucking, not to baldness, and you see pin feathers growing in, it is likely hormones/nesting behavior.
If he is molting constantly this is a stress indicator. If he has black marks on new feathers, this is a sign of stress and/or nutrient deficiencies.
Companionship
Also he may not want you to touch him but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want company(not saying you don’t do this or haven’t tried but if you don’t, maybe try?). So try sitting next to him/her quietly to watch tv, read, be on your phone, what or practice give him seed everyday. All of my birds except one were not hand raised or human socialized, a few were actually caged outside birds terrified of humans. I can tell you from sheer patience and determination they can find a friend in you. It can take two weeks or it can take a year, but you have to be consistently willing to take the time to give them companionship. With a bird that needs to be socialized, I would literally spend 2-3 hours a day breaking it up into smaller chunks of time throughout the day. With a parrot you have to be more delicate because they can hurt you so pushing their comfort is more along the lines of “is he okay if I put my hand there does he react, if so, how? Should I stay still, backtrack or can I move a cm closer? If I leave my hand here will he attempt to come over in curiosity? The next time will he eat seed as a treat? Take it slow and easy, patience but don’t allow him to be alone. Your his flock now, I literally have a pigeon that wouldn’t interact with humans politely without his mate. She went to the big sky recently and that bond we worked on while his mate was here is so important to him now. He literally calls for me to just hang out in the office with him. He just wants to fly about and hangout, and peck at my clothes which he never did before even with his mate. But it is important and they do recognize the effort you put in even if they don’t show it immediately.
Exiting the cage
One of the things I have done for my conure is to make like a rope porch and I will include a picture. He was never wanting to come out before and I have been work on him with step up, etc. I literally have had him for two weeks today. I saw him at the pet store and he has discolored wings so I knew they weren’t treating him right and I have a softspot for mistreated animals. Anyway I did this for him because his wings are also clipped because again from where I purchased them, so he could walk around and before I knew it he was on top of the cage. I wouldn’t recommend doing this though unless yours will step up on a rod or your hand once they are out. Outside of the cage mine, I found out won’t step up on my hand but will on a rod if I lay it on top of the cage so I can put him back in without grabbing him.
Once he does choose to come out have a playground on top of the cage for him to play or perch on, it’ll make his day. (Oh and move any wires)
Best of luck and I hope at least a little of this was helpful sorry for the long wind!
I hope it is a simple hormonal behavior brought on by the bedding choice which I didn’t go over because others have, but bringing in nesting material can almost always result to hormonal triggers for birds.
I would like to point out if you use rubbing alcohol make sure your bird is not nearby with the fumes or liquid form of this. It can damage their respiratory system and the alcohol can be absorbed through their feet and kill them. Once it is well ventilated and dry it is fine and yes a good antibacterial cleanser, you can also use things like watered down white vinegar. Again take care to remember their little respiratory system.
Plucking
Plucking to baldness is usually an anxiety or nutritional deficit issue. Try looking at his current supplements and see if he is lacking and also make sure his uvb is updated or he is getting outside in sunlight directly for 30 minutes twice a week.
If nutrition and sun/uvb is not an issue I would look for other anxiety stimuli or cues through his vocalizations.
If you have an avian vet, they can run bloodwork and compare to previous bloodwork to see if there is anything wrong and to see if there is any imbalances. From there you can rule out/in anxiety or hormones.
If it is mild plucking, not to baldness, and you see pin feathers growing in, it is likely hormones/nesting behavior.
If he is molting constantly this is a stress indicator. If he has black marks on new feathers, this is a sign of stress and/or nutrient deficiencies.
Companionship
Also he may not want you to touch him but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want company(not saying you don’t do this or haven’t tried but if you don’t, maybe try?). So try sitting next to him/her quietly to watch tv, read, be on your phone, what or practice give him seed everyday. All of my birds except one were not hand raised or human socialized, a few were actually caged outside birds terrified of humans. I can tell you from sheer patience and determination they can find a friend in you. It can take two weeks or it can take a year, but you have to be consistently willing to take the time to give them companionship. With a bird that needs to be socialized, I would literally spend 2-3 hours a day breaking it up into smaller chunks of time throughout the day. With a parrot you have to be more delicate because they can hurt you so pushing their comfort is more along the lines of “is he okay if I put my hand there does he react, if so, how? Should I stay still, backtrack or can I move a cm closer? If I leave my hand here will he attempt to come over in curiosity? The next time will he eat seed as a treat? Take it slow and easy, patience but don’t allow him to be alone. Your his flock now, I literally have a pigeon that wouldn’t interact with humans politely without his mate. She went to the big sky recently and that bond we worked on while his mate was here is so important to him now. He literally calls for me to just hang out in the office with him. He just wants to fly about and hangout, and peck at my clothes which he never did before even with his mate. But it is important and they do recognize the effort you put in even if they don’t show it immediately.
Exiting the cage
One of the things I have done for my conure is to make like a rope porch and I will include a picture. He was never wanting to come out before and I have been work on him with step up, etc. I literally have had him for two weeks today. I saw him at the pet store and he has discolored wings so I knew they weren’t treating him right and I have a softspot for mistreated animals. Anyway I did this for him because his wings are also clipped because again from where I purchased them, so he could walk around and before I knew it he was on top of the cage. I wouldn’t recommend doing this though unless yours will step up on a rod or your hand once they are out. Outside of the cage mine, I found out won’t step up on my hand but will on a rod if I lay it on top of the cage so I can put him back in without grabbing him.
Once he does choose to come out have a playground on top of the cage for him to play or perch on, it’ll make his day. (Oh and move any wires)
Best of luck and I hope at least a little of this was helpful sorry for the long wind!
I hope it is a simple hormonal behavior brought on by the bedding choice which I didn’t go over because others have, but bringing in nesting material can almost always result to hormonal triggers for birds.
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Bijou's_mama
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- Jun 19, 2023
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- Green cheek conure
Rubbing alcohol is safe?
It is not recommended unless you need to deep clean and the bird is out. If you do use it, I would wipe down the area with water after it has dried. I would use bird safe sprays or a white vinegar water mixture.
Like I mentioned above, alcohol if absorbed through their mouth or feet can kill them instantly.
kme3388
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- Sep 17, 2021
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Eclectus Parrot: Nico (male)
Jenday Conure: Kiwi (female)
Hi there, Yes rubbing alcohol is fine to use as a cleaning agent on a cage. I power wash my bird cages outside. I spray on the rubbing alcohol first, and let it sit. Then I spray it down with a power washer. I have a parrot who consistently regurgitates, and has back to back infections.
Not safe to spray on a bird, or around a bird.
Not safe to spray on a bird, or around a bird.
kme3388
Well-known member
- Sep 17, 2021
- 1,097
- 3,324
- Parrots
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Eclectus Parrot: Nico (male)
Jenday Conure: Kiwi (female)
The problem with vinegar in general is it doesn’t kill a lot of bacteria. It’s rather useless for a lot of them.
I hope you are frequently encouraging him to leave his cage. It's so bad for a bird to become cage bound.
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