I’m sure most of us know about bird breeding and their urge to breed. In this post, I will explain some hormonal things birds do during breeding season and how to prevent them.
Things people do that make their birds hormonal:
- Petting on the back. This can cause any bird, male or female, to get hormonal.
- The bird will regurgitate, or throw up, its food. This is a sign of feeding, as if they are feeding their babies or partner.
- The bird will put it’s rear end up and pant heavily. This is a sign of wanting to mate.
- The bird will go under a toy with its rear end up and start chirping. This is another sign of wanting to mate.
- The bird simply lays eggs. This is a sign only with females that the bird is hormonal. Don’t be nervous if your female lays an egg, if your baby lays and doesn’t have a partner, the egg wont hatch.
How to prevent egg laying and hormonal activities:
- Do not give nesting material. If the bird has nesting material such as paper shreds, stringy toys such as woven foot toys made of sticks that can be easily pulled apart, or string, the bird may have the tendency to take the shreds and build a nest, causing the urge to lay eggs.
- Do not give your birds dark areas during the day or places to nest. A common mistake people make is giving their birds these hiding huts or covering part of their cage during the day for sleeping. Your bird will most likely try to nest or be hormonal in dark, compacted places.
- Actively involve your bird. Regardless you should do this anyway, but if you don’t and you notice any hormonal behavior or signs of egg-laying, take your bird out of their cage for a few hours at a time. This will cause the bird to lose interest in breeding if it is involved in other activities.
- Make sure your bird gets 12 hours of sleep or dark time. This will reduce the time the bird has to do hormonal activities. If your bird lays eggs, make sure they go to bed early and get at least 1-2 extra hours of dark time or sleep.
There is no way to 100% stop your bird from being hormonal, but there are many ways to prevent their hormonal activities from occurring for long periods of time. Typically, birds are hormonal during the spring, but personally, my birds first signs of hormones were during the late weeks of December and early weeks of January. If you are considering getting a bird, getting one in spring or summer is the best time to do so, since breeding is most common in spring. Linked below I will add some outside sources that will further help you with your birds and their hormones.
Outside sources:
https://birdsupplies.com/pages/curbing-hormonal-behavior-in-parrots
https://www.thesprucepets.com/signs-of-hormonal-behavior-in-parrots-390318
COMING UP NEXT IN BIRD 101: About Egg-bound Birds; How to Prevent Your Babies from Becoming Egg-bound
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