Sexual Maturity

[GreenWing]

That dreaded time has arrived; Tiki is going through sexual maturity. I've known it's been coming on for the last month or so. She has her good and bad days and so far her behavior is not that bad, but now she's nipping me (and my spouse) daily. Some of the nips have been pretty decent bites but they're mostly just pinches. I can tell by the bites that they're hormonal because there's nothing to cause them (i.e., not necessarily to get what she wants; triggers; etc.) but more so just immediate reactions towards anything, and yet nothing in particular.

She's also more clingy, with me in particular as I'm her favorite. I'm bearing through it with trainings and patience, but does anyone have any advice on getting through this time a little easier? I'm really working with her, but am looking forward to things getting better already.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

[janetafloat]

Oh joy, that's nice for you . You're way ahead of me on the 'sharing your life with a Sennie' front so I'm definitely not in a position to give advice. One suggestion though (gleaned from Michael's approach with his birds) is to back up and almost go through a retaming approach with Tiki. Have her out for shorter times and be working with her the whole time, trick training, target training etc, so that she's focused and doesn't have time to get nippy. Focus on short, positive interactions. Poor Tiki is suffering from raging hormones so it's not her fault (you know all this of course) but it's important that she doesn't get into the habit of biting, I think maybe a firm hand on the adolescent ship while steering through these waters will bring you out the other side with a well behaved adult.
Good .luck and let us know how things unfold, I'll be looking to you for guidance in a couple of years

[GreenWing]

Thanks so much Janet, for the kind reply. Michael and others prepped me for this, but now that it's actually here, I really appreciate all the support! My poor little greenwing's going through these changes which she doesn't understand, and I want to help her get through it with continued patience and guidance. And you're absolutely right... keeping her busy with trainings is definitely helpful!

One thing I have noticed is that her behavior swings are the worst at dusk and nighttime.

And yes, when your Sennie hits this phase, I'll be there

[Pajarita]

Well, I would look for another cause because they are molting right now and molt is precisely the sign that sexual hormones are on the wane (most birds, parrots included, always molt at the end of the breeding season) unless you have been keeping her all along to a human light schedule and you have not 'adjusted' her protein intake to the corresponding seasons. If this is the case, then yes, she could be hormonal and what you need to do is put her at a bird (solar) light schedule and reduce her protein -mind you, normally, this would not be the time of the year when you would do that as you would have to wait until molt is over but, if she is getting hormonal now, you might want to.

But none of my unmated birds is actually aggressive even during breeding season (actually, the only ones I have to watch out for are the wild-caught, male amazons with mates) so, again, there might be something else going on. I know that people talk about the terrible twos but that's mostly for the greys because that's when they leave their parents in the wild and they sometimes resent the fact that they cannot go looking for a mate in captivity but I've never seen it...

[GreenWing]

Thanks Pajarita, that's actually a good thought. Tiki has been shedding some feathers so a molt is possible, and parrots do get nippy during molts...

I do expose her to Twilight as she is right next to a large window, and I take her outside with me in a carrier to receive sunlight/vitamin D.

We're predominately vegetarian, so the proteins she receives are from plant origin (she loves Quinoa). How much protein should I be giving her during a molt? I give her protein daily but perhaps I should increase it?

[Pajarita]

Increasing protein during molt is not really necessary because you should already be feeding a higher protein diet since spring but what you can do is give her food rich in methionine and cysteine which are the amino acids they mainly use for feather production (amino acids been the building blocks of all different types of protein - most cysteine sold as a supplement comes from feathers).

Food rich in methionine: sesame seeds, winter squash, zucchini, egg whites

Foods rich in cysteine: red peppers (make sure they are organic), broccoli and oats

[GreenWing]

Thank you for this, and well noted. The only thing listed I don't feed her in the list is the zucchini and winter squash; I'll get her organic zucchini the next time I'm at the store.

Is there a way to tell the difference between a molt and sexual maturity? As far as I understand Senegals do go through sexual maturity... either way she's more nippy, some days worse than others...

[Pajarita]

LOL - Bad mood is bad mood regardless of what is causing it so I would say that no, there is no sure way but, usually, the way you tell is what happens when so if the bird is in a real bad mood and it's spring, you would assume it's sexual hormones but, if the bird is in a bad mood and his/her poor little body is full of pin feathers, you would assume it's molt.

Now, the other thing you go by is specific breeding behaviors which are a sure sign of rampaging hormones flowing in there and, for hens and in general, that includes vocalizing more (this is for the ones without a mate -they 'call' for one), nesting (chewing more than usual, looking for and preferring to stay in whatever they find that resembles a cavity -under a sofa or another piece of furniture, inside a cardboard box, under the bed covers, scratching the floor when they are inside the 'nest', etc), masturbating, brooding vocalizations (they differ with the species but they all have a common low (both in tone and volume) cooing sound to them) and, with hens that have no bird mates, they usually become VERY affectionate and cuddly with their humans. The ultimate proof is when they 'present' (lowering their chest and putting their rump up in the air) while you touch them.

[GreenWing]

Yep, the last couple of days I have noticed that she is exhibiting nesting behavior by shredding paper and trying to dig in corners of her cage. She often lowers her head for me with her tail in the air. At the same time, she is scratching and preening quite a bit, so I really can't say what's going on for sure, but when she had her first molt her behavior wasn't this bad. So, my guess is that this is indeed sexual maturity.

Yesterday, while she was in her cage, she dropped some of her dinner, and I picked it up and offered it to her (while she was still in the cage) and she lunged and bit me hard, drawing some blood. Not only that, but she bit and held on! It realllllllly hurt.

Play and target training helps divert her, and I'm working on trick trainings, but... this will all pass, right?

Seriously, if anyone, Pajarita and otherwise, can offer words of support, I'd be really grateful because I need it. I have to admit that I am glad I've held off on getting another bird because Michael was right about everything... you really do get a different bird altogether when your bird hits "puberty"

[Pajarita]

I've never had a pubescent sennie so I cannot help with this - all my sennies came to me as adults already (and not even young adults at that -the youngest was 7) and all but one came to me because of 'bad' behaviors. One of them -female- because of constant screaming and the other two -one male and one female but separately- because of aggression (the fourth one was because the owner had died and the husband had terminal cancer) but the females all became very sweet-tempered in a matter of a few weeks and never give any trouble during breeding season.