VickyW
New member
- Feb 16, 2021
- 8
- 0
- Parrots
- Max - black capped conure
Walter - green cheeked conure
I know, quite the title.
Unfortunately, due to COVID, it has been nearly impossible to make a vet appointment for my birds, as places around me are really scaling back and heightening requirements to make said appointment. So I thought I'd check here first for any insights before I try to call up a vet.
I've grown up with only male birds, and none of them conures. Max, my black-capped, just turned 1 in January, and I was informed both of my birds are male. I've tried to do as much homebrew research as possible to keep an eye on signs for my birds' health, but this just baffles me.
Starting last week, Max was in the bird hut in the cage, and he started moving strangely. Raising his head and lowering it repeatedly, as if reaching out and pulling in, while lying flat on the bottom of the hut, and he spent a couple hours in there. I had to fly cross country, so my mother looked after my birds, and she said they never strayed far from the cage and that Walter was even behaving a bit more aggressively to anyone coming near the cage. Max, meanwhile, has been a little less energetic and really doesn't want to leave the cage at all. I caught him repeating the head motions last night when I got home.
I've tried to do more research, such as ages of maturity for the birds, nesting behaviors, and the like. I took the hut out of the cage immediately before I left the birds with my mother, because if Max is indeed female, I don't want to encourage anything. But I can't find anything super specific on female conures, whether about hormonal influxes or illnesses, and any identifiers.
Does this sound like a health concern? If it seems questionable to you all too, then I absolutely will book an appointment. But if it sounds hormonal and I'm overreacting, is there any advice? Is this just a phase at this point, and taking out the hut should have helped? Or is there anything more I can do for my bird?
Any advice would be most appreciated!
Unfortunately, due to COVID, it has been nearly impossible to make a vet appointment for my birds, as places around me are really scaling back and heightening requirements to make said appointment. So I thought I'd check here first for any insights before I try to call up a vet.
I've grown up with only male birds, and none of them conures. Max, my black-capped, just turned 1 in January, and I was informed both of my birds are male. I've tried to do as much homebrew research as possible to keep an eye on signs for my birds' health, but this just baffles me.
Starting last week, Max was in the bird hut in the cage, and he started moving strangely. Raising his head and lowering it repeatedly, as if reaching out and pulling in, while lying flat on the bottom of the hut, and he spent a couple hours in there. I had to fly cross country, so my mother looked after my birds, and she said they never strayed far from the cage and that Walter was even behaving a bit more aggressively to anyone coming near the cage. Max, meanwhile, has been a little less energetic and really doesn't want to leave the cage at all. I caught him repeating the head motions last night when I got home.
I've tried to do more research, such as ages of maturity for the birds, nesting behaviors, and the like. I took the hut out of the cage immediately before I left the birds with my mother, because if Max is indeed female, I don't want to encourage anything. But I can't find anything super specific on female conures, whether about hormonal influxes or illnesses, and any identifiers.
Does this sound like a health concern? If it seems questionable to you all too, then I absolutely will book an appointment. But if it sounds hormonal and I'm overreacting, is there any advice? Is this just a phase at this point, and taking out the hut should have helped? Or is there anything more I can do for my bird?
Any advice would be most appreciated!
