Nesty Senegal? Maybe?

[roygbiv]

Hey, sorry if this has already been discussed. I've had my Senegal for about 3 months now and we have a great bond already, he's decided I'm his mate and he rarely bites me (unless I deserve it). He's around 8 years old (he was adopted). He hasn't been DNA sexed, but my vet is pretty sure he's male. My question is do male Senegals get nesty? He's not exactly being aggressive towards me, but he suddenly seems interested in finding hiding spots; cupboards, drawers, that kind of thing. Is he looking for a nest site possibly? He does his skirt dance for me and he's all sweet and cuddly about it, but after a few minutes he gets mean; I guess he's frustrated cause I won't do it with him. What can I do to discourage nesting behavior without hurting his feelings and damaging our relationship? I don't want the poor little dude to get frustrated.

[GreenWing]

Hi Roygabiv, love the username

Discourage mating behaviors... your parrot will feel frustrated as a result, so it's better to not encourage it. (e.g., avoid stroking his tail... lol)

[liz]

Rambo gets like that for about 2 months every spring. He loves to turn cardboard boxes into mulch but in those 2 months we have to take his boxes away or he will defend them against the other animals. When he gets over it we give his boxes back for him to destroy and leave little pieces everywhere.

[pollyparrot]

Each situation can be different. I have a 7 year old female Senegal adopted from my vet 2 years ago. Every day, first thing she does when she comes out in the a.m. is shred newspaper inside the top cover of a trash can. Basically nesting behavior. I allow it with her because she shows absolutely no aggression towards me before during or after. Perhaps this is the exception to the general rule about nesting activities and behavior.