Parrot Arousal Issues?

[scaredypuppy]

So, I need help. I have no idea if this is just... weird behaviour or if this is alarming. It's certainly alarming to me.

Molly is a 5 year old Peach Fronted Conure. Within the past few weeks, she has decided that my face is extremely attractive. She'll scoot up to either my face or my hands and make a noise that sounds like growling or static, and then she'll rub her head on me and press herself down. When she does this, her... opening... pulsates. I reprimand her and send her away. She'll act indignant and come back a few minutes later to try this again.

I have always been the only person she has spent time with, but she has NEVER done this sort of thing before. I can't even cuddle her anymore without her starting this behaviour. I have no idea if she's feeling ill or if she's just going through a phase. I'm more than a little worried.

The rest of her behaviour is more or less normal. I can't tell if she's sleeping more than normal because she's always been a napper. She loves taking all kinds of cat naps during the day. She's been talking to us normally and been cheerful, chewing on her favourite toys. But it's disturbing. Any help would be very much appreciated!

[sidech]

That's normal, sexually mature, parrot behavior. You just have to teach her tat you're not a sex toy... Sometimes giving them teddy bear or other substitutes work. You need to mean it when you say no.

[Shelby]

Firstly, spring is coming where I live, so there are a lot of raging hormones in the bird community this time of year. Second, I suggest removing any and all nest-type items in her cage - tents, sleeping sacks, etc. I've also heard that reducing the amount of daylight the bird gets to about 10 hours helps. Try moving the cage to another room at night where you can draw the shades so they go to sleep earlier and wake up later.

Michael may be able to give you suggestions regarding diet... perhaps cutting back on the treats and protein/fat rich foods for a few weeks will help. Feeding a little less has also helped some people.

Also, you need to be careful to only touch her on her head/neck. Touching/stroking the back is a mating behavior.

[scaredypuppy]

Ah, thank you both so much! I read about the nest thing earlier. She loved tearing up a pair of pants and sleeping in it, which I think may have been contributing. I took it away and we'll watch and see if it helps.

Thank you very much. Haha, I was about to go to the vet about it. She just... never showed ANY interest before, at all. So strange that she would suddenly decide I'm sexy. Haha.

Thanks again.

[Shelby]

Glad to help! Let us know if the situation improves!