Sexual Maturity NEVER ENDING.. HELP!

[chloeandalfie]

Hi everyone,

I have a 6 year old male eclectus parrot called Alfie. From what I have read this is a late age to be going through sexual maturity however we are having continuous problems with his hormonal behaviour and it's wearing us down because it never seems to end!!!
Alfie is very strange, he's such a sweet boy and is not aggressive at all, but almost 24/7 he is finding objects and random items to regurgitate on and basically mate with.. It's not very pretty. Such items include; any remote, the iron, sandals (flip flops), stuffed animals and even lamp switches! It's becoming uncontrollable we have to remove all these items at food time else he refuses to eat. Over a 11 hour period (day) he probably spends about 8 of these doing this? Don't get me wrong he is so sweet but this needs to end, not only that but he also is quite feral looking and his feathers are patchy and he doesn't have a beautiful big tail like a normal eclectus! Just one or two feathers. And before anyone mentions bad diet I must say we pay so much attention to his diet and he is certainly a very healthy bird! Lots of fruit vegetables and special mixes.

Please can someone help we just want this behaviour to end, we had tried everything! Including removing all these objects (which he then sulks and screams) telling him off, taking him back to his cage, EVERYTHING! It's been going on for about 8 months now.... We just want our beautiful boy from before then back!

 

[Anansi]

So wait, how long have you had Alfie? And how long has this behavior been going on? Is he mostly just regurgitating? Or masturbating as well? And you mention his feathers being patchy and having only one or two tail feathers. Do you mean he's plucking? Do you have any pictures so we see what you're talking about?

 

[chloeandalfie]

We have had Alfie for about 2 years and this has only been going on for just over 6 months. He regurgitates as well as masterbates on all these items and we can't stop him. He isn't plucking for sure, I have a photo of the patchiness around his head and neck (sorry for bad quality) but he doesn't have any tail feathers left.. They just fall out and don't seem to grow back!

 

[Mallory]

I would think trying to discipline him or take the items away would cause him frustration, better to let him masturbate and find other ways to minimize the behavior over time. If he started plucking or another self-harming behavior due to removing his "objects of affection" it could be a much harder habit to break. That said, this is not normal behavior, it sounds very obsessive, and I think in this case consulting an avian vet and/or behaviorist would be appropriate.

Have you tried distracting him with foraging toys, training, or other means? There are some good threads here that list various things that can stimulate sexual behaviors. Just off the top of my head..minimizing fruits and mashed foods, ensuring he has the proper day/night cycle and avoiding petting him in a stimulating way (zones other than his head and neck) can help minimize hormonal behavior. Hopefully this is just a phase and he will level out over time. I personally feel that seeing some regurgitation and masturbatory behavior is normal for birds, but 8 hours a day is not healthy.

 

[MonicaMc]

Does he get warm mushy foods? Or mushy foods in general? Does he get any high protein foods?

Does he get enough light? Does he get too much light? Does he get quality light?

Have you tried teaching him any behaviors? Such as turn around, fetch, put an item in a container, hoops on a ring, etc? Basically, any behavior you want him to do *other than* being hormonal?

Does he get enough exercise? i.e. flight?

Does he get bathes?

Have you rearranged his cage at all? Or tried moving his cage to another location?

As mentioned, what about foraging?

 

[Anansi]

When dealing with hormonal behavior, distraction can be very helpful. When he starts his regurgitation process, you could try offering him a soft piece of wood to chew. Diverting his attention can work wonders.

As has been mentioned, if his diet is high in protein, or consistently mushy, that could be contributing to the hormonal state.

Also, try to ensure 12 hours sleep time, as increased daylight hours can also stimulate hormonal behavior.

Stroking down the back, at the base of the tail, down the length of the tail or under the wings can be sexually stimulating for your parrot as well.

But I'm actually rather concerned about what you've mentioned with his feathers falling out and not being replaced. I think you should take him in for a veterinary check just in case.

 

[c3honey84]

Is this late for maturity? My female just laid her first egg at 5. I thought 6 years old was around the correct time when eclectus mature? And it can last for several years from what I have heard...Make sure you reward him any time he goes near a toy or does anything that is not mating with random objects or regurgitating (except screaming of course). Put treats inside his toys to make him forage. Don't touch him anywhere under his wings, tail, or lower back. Try to only scratch his head. I would definitely try some trick training as well to keep his mind elsewhere...hopefully something works.

 

[Anansi]

Sexual maturation is typically somewhere from 2 to 4 years of age, with 3 being a comfortable average.