Molting season

[Perroquet]

My Conures preen me, and sometimes they get very intense about it. My Senegal is not very interested in Preening me.

[Pajarita]

No, sennies are more interested in what we can do for them than what they can do for us!

[galeriagila]

Well, I had my usual "two feathers" a little while ago.

[Pajarita]

There you go! Mission accomplished!

[galeriagila]

You're taking his side!

[Pajarita]

Of course I am! I ALWAYS take the birds side!

[galeriagila]

Oh, I absolutely KNOWWWWW THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[StroppyChops]

Hi folks - new member here.

My wife and I are Australians permanently based in Cambodia and recently adopted a mature 8yo male Mustached Parakeet "Prince" and a slightly younger female Blossom-cheeked Parakeet "Lizzy" from an expat family leaving the country.

I'm an experienced parrot owner, previously having a bonded pair of Eclectus and a bonded pair of Amazon Conures. I don't know if this mismatched pair is a bonded pair or just co-habiting - given the aggressiveness of the female I suspect they're not.

I have a couple of questions, one of which relates to molting.

We took the birds about a month ago, at which pointed they were completely feathered. In the past couple of weeks they appear to have molted around their cheeks and necks - both of them - and have a good layer of feather pins and down coming through. I expected some stress response to being re-homed but this molt is very localised on both birds. I don't know either species as they are almost unknown in Australia.

I'm still getting used to tropical seasons - does this sound like a typical molt for this time of year, for these species? There doesn't seem to be any excessive scratching or bathing happening, neither is pulling feathers from themselves or each other. I'll post photos if needed.

Second question - the MP is bonding with me quite well and is very fixated on me when I'm in the room, and especially during out-of-cage time. He will herd the BCP away from me if she gets near, which is actually okay as she's not a contact bird, is unflighted, and prefers to be left alone. From early on, he's taken to "dancing" for me, especially if I offer him a treat. He'll touch the treat, and then lower his head down as low as he can, before raising it up and pulling his shoulders back. For my wife, he does the "I'm excited" head-bob, which he also does to a lesser degree for me.

Is this sexual behaviour in parakeets? None of my larger parrots have done this formal dancing for me, other than normal responsive body language.

A cute sideline - we run a very small guesthouse, and the birds spend the day on the ground floor, with me attempting to quietly move them up a level to our office at night. They are very happy to be carried in a cage, and crowd the side of the cage closest to me to whisper happy things to me when I'm moving them. I try to shush them so they don't disturb the guesthouse at night, but as soon as we hit the stairs and they realise where they're going, the cock their heads at me, one of them will utter the bird equivalent of "Let's get this party started" to me, and then they shriek in delight, listening to their voices echo up and down the stairwell, only settling into a satisfied chuckle when they've been bedded down in the office. Moral - you can't quietly smuggle parrots that like the sound of their own voices.

[Pajarita]

They all seem to enjoy hearing their own voices! But, if you wait until they are asleep, cover the cage and then move them, they will not scream -I think

Psittaculas have awful molts! They are the only parrots that look moth-eaten when molting, often showing patches of down in their plumage, and, I have found that, when a bird has had a bad diet for some time or they have been kept at a human light schedule long enough to have their endocrine system out of whack, they will often react to the better husbandry by doing something that it's either off-season or exaggerated.

As to mating dance, this is what they do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18AQv1lfF8k

I don't know exactly what you call 'head bobbing' but, if by it you mean the head going up and down while the bird crouches a bit and flutters its wings real fast, it's the "I want to be fed" thing tht babies do. Adults are not supposed to do it, only babies, but birds that have not been weaned properly do it when adults, too.

[galeriagila]

I love that!
He reminds me of a little flamenco dancer!

The female is ready, but noooooooooooooooo... Mr. Hottie has to show off his moves for a while...

The RB does that beak-to-floor tap with beak-grinding. His dance is shabby compared to those guys. He just sort of hops-skips back and forth a few times.

Those parakeets really put on a show.