regurgitating?

[AnniePani]

So Charlotte is confusing me. When she comes out and gets on me she starts bobbing her head like she's about to throw up, and she will cough up a pea or something. The thing is, I know that regurgitating is a sign that they love you and are trying to feed you, buuut I'm pretty sure she doesn't like me that much since she loves to attack me. She also barely knows me, she's just a baby and has only been here 6 days. So should I be worried?

[Eurycerus]

Apparently it is no reflection on how well she knows you. My Senegal does the same thing. She also did it within a day or so of us meeting, when she was still aggressive and would bite me. It's the season. Also it's not an expression of love (I guess it can be but not in this case) it's an expression of her hormonal interest in making babies.

Definitely discourage it. If she is doing it set her down and walk away for a minute or so. I've never actually had her regurgitate anything she just does the motion. It can be detrimental to have them regurgitate constantly but you just do the best you can.

In addition I wrote this someplace else:

I was told to make sure Nika (my Senegal) got lots of sleep so I put her to bed at 8 or earlier for a minimum of 10 hours of sleep. They should get more full spectrum lighting so I wheel her cage close to the window for sun during the day. Also try to limit touching your parrot in places that stimulate them like wings, bellies, and backs. I have heard conflicting advice regarding food, but I limit protein and sugars to a certain degree, less fruit and nuts. She still exhibits hormonal behavior every day but it is a lot less intense and for a much shorter period of time.

[AnniePani]

Would she be having hormonal interest in having babies when she's just a few months old? Seems young... Plus I don't even actually know if she's a girl or boy, I just wanted a girl name. Although I have a guess that she might be a girl.

[Eurycerus]

EDIT: Male and female parrots do it. I'm not certain why such a young parrot would be doing it. However both of these pages:
http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-words/r ... ation.aspx
http://www.parrotchronicles.com/behavio ... havior.htm
indicates that generally adults do it but even young parrots will too. It sounds like she's regurgitating to me but the following I found online gives a nice detailed description of regurgitation and vomiting so maybe just check.

"A parrot regurgitates usually for one of two reasons: he is ill or he likes you. One way to tell the difference is by observing the action of the bird's head. If he whips it from side to side, he probably is vomiting because he is sick. If the bird makes a bobbing or pumping movement, most likely he is offering food to a mate or person with whom he has bonded.

However, just to complicate things, a sick bird also can make the bobbing movement, and a lovesick bird may whip his head to dislodge food. Unless you're certain your parrot's regurgitation is aimed at you, it's best to let an avian veterinarian decide whether he is sick, especially if you've found food in the cage that was vomited during the night. With any luck, an upset tummy from some ill-advised tidbit of food will be to blame.

Regurgitation as courtship is what seems to be going on in each case here. As unpleasant as it seems to us, regurgitating food is perfectly natural for a parrot following its hard-wired urges. Here's what happens.

Most parrots kept as companion animals are hatched in captivity and raised by hand. This close association with humans allows the birds to imprint on humans. Imprinting is a form of early learning that results in the bird identifying with a particular species.

When humans imprint a parrot, the bird grows up almost thinking it is human. This confusion often results in a parrot pursuing a human as its mate when it reaches breeding age. And a lot of breeding revolves around regurgitation.

Parrot couples exchange food via regurgitation as part of the courtship ritual before breeding. It is even rehearsed by pre-breeding age birds once they have formed bonds. "

[AnniePani]

Thank you so much! I guess I'm just going to keep an eye on it for a couple days and see if it keeps up. I'm wondering if maybe she just had a bit of food stuck in her throat but we'll see. She's perfectly happy (I think?) and peppy otherwise, so I'm not too worried just yet...

[liz]

Would she be having hormonal interest in having babies when she's just a few months old? Seems young... Plus I don't even actually know if she's a girl or boy, I just wanted a girl name. Although I have a guess that she might be a girl.

Hormonal does not mean the urge to have babies. Hormonal means the urge for something even if they don't know what it is.

I was hormonal at the age of 9 but did not have the urge for babies until I was 21.