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Post by millie on Mar 4, 2015 23:06:33 GMT -5
Hello everyone
my name is Milagros but everyone calls me millie because people have difficulty pronouncing first name.
I have a female Quaker that gray green. Her name sweet pea although I must say she is not always sweet
I'm hoping someone can help me understand my Her behavior She's spending most of her day with her head in her food bowl
and she has tried nesting in her food bowl as well.Can anyone offer me suggestions on how to get sweet pea to stop that particular behavior?
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Post by aaron on Mar 5, 2015 0:10:14 GMT -5
Greetings Millie and Sweet Pea!
How old is Sweet Pea? It sounds like she is behaving hormonally. What kind of food bowl does she have? If birds have access to places that feel or look like nests to them, they will often start displaying hormonal behavior. It sounds like something about this food bowl is inspiring that in Sweet Pea.
One simple thing you could do is replace the food bowl with one that is less prone to nesting. She probably won't like it, but she'll get over it. If she is behaving hormonally, you can try having her get more sleep if she isn't getting at least 12 hours in the dark every day.
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Post by easttex on Mar 5, 2015 10:23:36 GMT -5
As Aaron said, it sounds like it could be hormonal, but I wonder if you could give a little more detail about her keeping her head in the bowl. Is she active, as in foraging, or is she resting her head, are her feathers fluffed, or whatever it is you're seeing. Is this new behavior? Does she get out of cage time? What is she like then?
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Post by cnyguy on Mar 5, 2015 21:26:22 GMT -5
Welcome, Millie and Sweet Pea!  Does Sweet Pea ever move away from the food dish? Is she using it to support herself, or can she perch normally without holding on to the food dish? It might be a good idea to talk about this with your veterinarian. |
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Post by millie on Mar 5, 2015 21:36:14 GMT -5
Greetings Millie and Sweet Pea! How old is Sweet Pea? It sounds like she is behaving hormonally. What kind of food bowl does she have? If birds have access to places that feel or look like nests to them, they will often start displaying hormonal behavior. It sounds like something about this food bowl is inspiring that in Sweet Pea. One simple thing you could do is replace the food bowl with one that is less prone to nesting. She probably won't like it, but she'll get over it. If she is behaving hormonally, you can try having her get more sleep if she isn't getting at least 12 hours in the dark every day. |
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Post by millie on Mar 5, 2015 21:38:09 GMT -5
Greetings Millie and Sweet Pea! How old is Sweet Pea? It sounds like she is behaving hormonally. What kind of food bowl does she have? If birds have access to places that feel or look like nests to them, they will often start displaying hormonal behavior. It sounds like something about this food bowl is inspiring that in Sweet Pea. One simple thing you could do is replace the food bowl with one that is less prone to nesting. She probably won't like it, but she'll get over it. If she is behaving hormonally, you can try having her get more sleep if she isn't getting at least 12 hours in the dark every day. |
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Post by millie on Mar 5, 2015 21:59:16 GMT -5
Hello Aarron
Thank you for replying to my For post I really appreciated. Sweet pea has a round metal bowl that goes with her cage that she's in.Unfortunately I think it's perfect for her to try nest in.I have tried switching the side of water bowl with the food bowl That really didn't work
I will definitely try your your suggestions. I have been trying to cover her so that she can give more sleep
thanks again and I'll let you know what happens
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Post by millie on Mar 5, 2015 22:01:39 GMT -5
Hello Aarron Thank you for replying to my For post I really appreciated. Sweet pea has a round metal bowl that goes with her cage that she's in.Unfortunately I think it's perfect for her to try nest in.I have tried switching the side of water bowl with the food bowl That really didn't work I will definitely try your your suggestions. I have been trying to cover her so that she can give more sleep thanks again and I'll let you know what happens |
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Post by millie on Mar 5, 2015 22:13:20 GMT -5
Aarron,
I forgot to mention that I'm not really sure about her age. Sweet pea band has the number 05 on it I'm not really sure if that means she was born in 05.
She looks perfectly fine moving around the cage she had no problems perching.She is not foraging in her bowl she's perfectly still with her feathers puffed up to her backside up in the air she did not want to leave her cage when she's like this
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Post by millie on Mar 5, 2015 22:33:17 GMT -5
Welcome, Millie and Sweet Pea! Does Sweet Pea ever move away from the food dish? Is she using it to support herself, or can she perch normally without holding on to the food dish? It might be a good idea to talk about this with your veterinarian. |
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Post by millie on Mar 5, 2015 23:10:57 GMT -5
Hello Cnyguy,
Sweet pea has absolutely no problem moving around cage. I have a friend in the neighborhood Who has had birds for many years and he believes she is experiencing hormonal behavior.
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Post by aaron on Mar 6, 2015 1:31:11 GMT -5
Glad to help! I agree with others that you might want to discuss the matter with a veterinarian, but I would say that it does sound like hormonal behavior, which isn't a health problem, but it can certainly pose behavioral difficulties. It is common for Quakers to exhibit this behavior periodically once they hit sexual maturity, which happens usually between 1-2 years of age... It can't be prevented, but it can be mitigated... How much sleep does Sweet Pea get every night? How much time out of the cage does she get every day? What kind of food does she eat on a typical day? How long have you had her and has she exhibited any of this behavior in the past? Here are some articles on hormonal behavior in parrots that might give you some further insight: www.birdtricks.com/blog/handling-hormonal-birds/beautyofbirds.com/sexualbehaviorinbirds.html |
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