Male ekkie puberty behavior - is this what to expect?

[ginaekkie]

Hey all!

Our rescued pair has been with us for just about a month now. The male is just around 3 years old, give or take a few months. He's crazy, loud, talkative, and constantly active and flying laps around the room. Never sits still. I totally don't trust him yet to not bite my face off haha. The female is 16 years old, extremely docile/nervous, and had been barbering for the past years. We notice the male is really aggressive toward her when she flies on the tree or on top of the cage or comes near any of the outside the cage toys, he will come over and start a fight with her.

Is this typical of him still being in the puberty phase and causing territorial-ness? We haven't had them long enough to know much but they were together since he was a baby - then in the same cage but we have of course separated them in their own cages so she has more rest in general.

Is this phase stuff? and if so, how long does it last for males? So we know what to expect with him - do males calm down at all after?

Thanks for sharing your experiences all!

 

[wrench13]

THe rule of thumb is that the larger the parrot species, the later they start puberty and the longer the first one lasts. A big HOWEVER is that there is no hard and fast number, as puberty is affected by many things. 3 years sounds a bit long for the onset of puberty, but remember the above. Puberty can last 3 months and upto
one and a half years in the largest parrots. And puberty is often the most severe of the from now on mating seasons, because its the first flush of hormones rushing thru your parrots little body. They almost loose their minds, and can go from being a lovey-dovey birdie to a feathered raptor in seconds, only to do a 180 and look at you like "WTF was THAT??". Patience is needed, and try not to let undesirable behavior not become permanent.

The mantra to repeat to yourself "This Too Shall Pass".

 

[ginaekkie]

Ah, could he territorialness of toys and outside the cage areas be caused by puberty? or is he too old to be going through that?

Any tips to help curb this behavior? I want obviously both of them to be out of the cage as much as possible but if she goes anywhere he comes over to her to boss her away