Re: male hormonal behavior

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: Hi Sam! : This note will assume you have had a chance to review the other posts and responses I mentioned in my private e-mail from May 13th. If you haven’t had a chance to review these yet, please take a minute and read them. I think they will help you handle Dave. Sorry I could not get back to you sooner with some suggestions. : It sounds like Dave is growing up! I think much of Dave’s behavior is probably due to his hormones. Eclectus generally begin to experience hormone cycles between the ages of 2 and 4 years of age, depending on the individual. I have read several questions about this subject recently here on Ask Polly, and also on other Internet bird lists I am on. Many species of parrots appear to be exhibiting hormonal behavior right now – both males and females. : You mentioned in your additional information that Dave is beating his head on the floor. This is a behavior is probably what I call “beak bonking” – my great scientific term! My interpretation of this behavior is that it is the male eclectus’ way of saying “THIS IS MINE!”, and then bonking on whatever he feels is the important part of what is his - “THIS PERCH IS MINE! THIS CAGE IS MINE! THIS PERSON IS MINE!” and since he is beak bonking on the floor of his room, he could be saying “THIS ROOM IS MINE!”. This fills the need of the male eclectus to communicate to other eclectus (and human flock members) the contents and boundaries of his territory. It is interesting to note that many other species of parrot communicate this through some sort of “bonking”, stomping, or in the case of the Black Palm Cockatoo, drumming with a specially selected and shaped stick held in the foot. : Dave’s behavior does seem to be a bit intense. This could be due to his own individual expression of his hormones, or could be due to the recent move/cage change. He could be feeling a very intense need to both define and defend territory and “keep” it safe/stable/secure/in one place. In addition, it could also be due in part to Dave’s reaction to your/your family’s frustration with his behavior. With our male SI, Chardy, I found that the more “upset” I got at being bitten, or if I reacted “angrily” to his behavior etc, his aggressive/defensive response reaction would increase “exponentially”. He wouldn’t get “a little bit” more defensive – he would get A LOT more defensive – even if I was just a little bit short with him. One of the tricks I learned, then, was to respond to Chardy calmly and not give him the opportunity to escalate his defensive behavior. With Dave, keep your voice and manner calm and happy. If you do need to be firm with him (which you probably will at first), be sure to be FIRM but not ANGRY or SHORT. FIRM will help you to “get through” to Mr. Intensity – ANGRY or SHORT will just make him more defensive and aggressive. : When you enter his room and he growls at you, acknowledge him. Tell him he is brave and fearless. He may not understand the words, but he will probably understand your tone. Tell him he is a good boy and move calmly and directly, move your hand to him smoothly and deliberately, and tell him to STEP UP (or whatever similar command you have taught him) in a FIRM voice. If he doesn’t listen to you, tell him again, and push your finger gently against his tummy and repeat STEP UP. Use the repetitive techniques mentioned in the other response, and try from the back of his feet if necessary. Make and keep eye contact with Dave, but try not to stare or look into his eyes too intensely, as this can be interpreted as aggression, and could also escalate his defensive reaction. : The idea is to get him AWAY from his “hot spot” – his actively defended territory. Take him to a room where there is nothing of his and he can’t see his cage or playtree (nothing to defend, and an unfamiliar place, where you are the most familiar “thing” in the room). Talk to him gently and tell him he is a brave boy. Then do some laddering (a series of step ups in a row from hand to hand). Then take him to a play area in a different room from the one his cage is in. Your goal is to diffuse his hormonal behavior, distract him from it, and divert his energy to another more appropriate activity. : Try to help Dave vent some of his considerable energy through play, or through “flapping” exercises – get him to “fly in place” using the “elevator” method or “big eagle” method – or any other methods that work for Dave (if you are not familiar with elevator or big eagle, please let me know and I will describe). Teaching Dave new words can be a successful diversion, as can the warm wet washcloth toy described in one of the recommended posts. : The good news is, as you have seen/will see in the other responses, that it is very likely you will be able to successfully break the pattern of behavior. Not stop the hormonal behavior – I believe that would be cruel and break Dave’s spirit – but break the pattern of it when it starts – distract him from it, or control how much of it you allow and distract the rest. : Some other things that could help with Dave – : If you are currently feeding Dave pelleted foods, you might consider reducing them until he settles down a bit. Some eclectus are sensitive to food colorings/dyes and/or preservatives. You might also wish to reduce or omit foods containing spirulina, a very nutritious blue-green algae that seems to be “too intense” for some eclectus, and appears to be linked to hyperactive behavior such as screaming and biting. In addition, if you are giving Dave vitamin supplements or if he is eating breads, cereals, etc, that are fortified with human levels of vitamins and minerals, you might wish to stop these. Eclectus appear to be easily affected by additives in their diet. You might also wish to limit peanuts as these are often an allergy culprit which can sometimes be linked to behavior issues. Replace these foods/additives with additional fresh or cooked greens, vegetables, fruits, grains, etc. : Fresh twigs and small branches from safe, unsprayed trees (such as willow, hazelnut, cottonwood) in his cage could also provide a way for Dave to vent his energy through chewing, peeling and shredding the leaf buds, bark and young wood. : Petting under wings – : This is an erogenous zone for many birds. Try to limit petting him under his wings, especially when his hormones levels are increasing (this happens several times a year – about three to four). This does not mean you have to stop petting or cuddling him! Just observe his body language, and when it seems he is starting to get a bit defensive of his “hot spots”, stop until the cycle diminishes. : IMHO, now that you have observed Dave’s hormonal behavior, it should be MUCH easier for you in the future. You will have a good idea of what the signals are to know when it starts and what to do. His future episodes will be much less intense as you will recognize the behavior, use techniques to begin diffusing and distracting earlier, and to keep it from escalating. : Re the Houdini eclectus : You might try stainless steel c-clamps to keep cage doors and food bowl doors closed. If that doesn’t work, you can get small link stainless steel chain and slip that through the bars and use a c-clamp (it’s a fastener that looks like a chain link with part missing – like a “C”. One end of the open part is smooth and the other end is threaded like a screw. There is a little section that slips down and screws onto the screw end). Some people’s birds are so adept at escaping from their cages that they actually have to lock the cage. My parents have a Grey that is like that. : Re Washable Area Rugs : You might find it easier to use plastic shower curtains or something similar under and around the cage to protect the carpeting. They are easy to sweep or wipe clean, and you can get them in clear plastic or other colors to match your décor. We have one under our birds’ playtree in the living room and it works very well for us. : I hope this information and that contained in the recommended posts has been of help to you. Please ask if you have additional questions or if there is something you would like us to describe or clarify. I have every confidence things will work out and you will have your loving Dave back in a very short time! : Al and Mary : Cabby and Chardy (SIE)

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