Nash is KILLING me!!!

[lolsavannahh]

ughh! here's my #gripe ([Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]) for the day.. Nash is just going absolute bonkers and it's driving me crazy! He is hormonal off the walls and is very aggressive I am honestly scared sometimes when he is humping something so I will hide and be still until he is done so he doesn't flipping attack me! If I catch him in the act... or just move for that matter.. while he is humping a blanket he will fly towards me and bite me really hard several times wherever is easiest to access... even my face the other day! Nash never ever has bitten my face and he usually snuggles up to it and he gives me kisses which he loves, but he bit my lip the other day and I feel so bad.

I have to have blankets as bedding now because it needs to be something I can remove from the room whenever I let him out, and sometimes even that is not enough. He will find a shirt I have out and hump that too! My hair is a big thing for him whenever it's up in a pony.. I don't know what to do!

He was never this aggressive even though he's been hormonal for months now.. I need some advice people!

He is very good whenever he is not on the hunt for a soft blanket.. seriously he recalls very well and always steps up and kisses me and cuddles and everything... but whenever it comes to his imaginary ladies he wants me 6 feet under! what can I do to help prevent this behavior?? Why is he doing this to me other than hormones?? I am at a loss here and looking for answers. I love my Nash but some days he can only come out for maybe 20 minutes before I put him up because I cannot handle the aggression.. He was very good today and was out for many hours, but I feel so terrible when I have to put him up because I know the cage is not and should not be a punishment.. I just cannot think of any other way to handle it! advice needed!!!!

[Cedardave]

Lucky you...
If he is on a high potency pellet...look for the same brand name, but an adult or senior pellet temporarily until the hormones pass.October and November are breeding season for many species of birds that work on a cycle.Stay away from egg and cuttlebone for a while.When you feed the pelleted diet..mix it with white cooked rice..we also add sweet potatoe before we cook.It has a tendency to fill them up,but in your case,may help slow him down.My final suggestion may sound controversial...but in the interest of your safety.Carry a spray bottle with cold water in it..set it to between a spray and a stream.If he comes at you...spray him with it.While I never would otherwise suggest using this as a control method,your safety has to come first...We don't want to make him afraid of water..they need bathing and misting...the idea is to essentially stop an attack in the least harmful way to him.We have had todo this and the first time they are surprised...after that often just having the spray bottle hooked where he can see it will do the trick.Use a drastically differant shape bottle for this than you would use for regular misting so.Hopefully this will help...if not let us know and I will send you some other ideas

[Mare]

Oh, my! I'm sorry for you that you're having to deal with this behavior, yikes! Amigo was a humper of towels, hoodies, hands, whatever was available when he was in the mood but he never got aggressive towards me or others while in the act. His hormonal time was springtime. Dave has some great advice, I hope Nash mellows out for you, soon.

[Dragonlady2]

How awful for you Savannah. It must be difficult to stay positive with him sometimes. I think Dave has given you some good advice. I use a net and a feather duster instead of a water bottle, that way it doesn't get confused. At times, I had not been able, even with a treat, to get two of my birds back in their cage. One dislikes the feather duster and now I just have to adjust it on the shelve and the little stinker goes back in his cage quite happily. The net I use when a safety issue is at hand, such as a bird getting past a curtain into dangerous territory with Willy. Just lifting the net now when Peanut starts his flight pattern to do the great escape is enough to send him back to the top of his cage. You could try a net. The other thing I would suggest if you are not doing it already is making sure he is on a tight sleeping schedule. At minimum 12 hours up to 14 hours of sleep until his hormonal time is over. It would be best if he can sleep alone...not with another pet or human in the room as it should be uninterrupted sleep.
Hope the little fella settles down for you soon.

[lolsavannahh]

Lucky you...
If he is on a high potency pellet...look for the same brand name, but an adult or senior pellet temporarily until the hormones pass.October and November are breeding season for many species of birds that work on a cycle.Stay away from egg and cuttlebone for a while.When you feed the pelleted diet..mix it with white cooked rice..we also add sweet potatoe before we cook.It has a tendency to fill them up,but in your case,may help slow him down.My final suggestion may sound controversial...but in the interest of your safety.Carry a spray bottle with cold water in it..set it to between a spray and a stream.If he comes at you...spray him with it.While I never would otherwise suggest using this as a control method,your safety has to come first...We don't want to make him afraid of water..they need bathing and misting...the idea is to essentially stop an attack in the least harmful way to him.We have had todo this and the first time they are surprised...after that often just having the spray bottle hooked where he can see it will do the trick.Use a drastically differant shape bottle for this than you would use for regular misting so.Hopefully this will help...if not let us know and I will send you some other ideas

Thank you for the advice.. I think I will try this. It has become quite a problem with him! I would like to " punish " him for it without stripping him of his needs or just flat out abusing him and I think a water bottle is a good alternative. I hope it works! He has his pellets and no calcium suppliments because he gets it through the pellets and his veggies so I have never had a need for it, but I can try to find more veggies with less calcium to give him instead of his normal chop too..



Oh, my! I'm sorry for you that you're having to deal with this behavior, yikes! Amigo was a humper of towels, hoodies, hands, whatever was available when he was in the mood but he never got aggressive towards me or others while in the act. His hormonal time was springtime. Dave has some great advice, I hope Nash mellows out for you, soon.

Thanks so much Mare! Nash wasn't always aggressive and I don't know what triggered it! I used to be able to just scoop him up when he was in the mood but some switch flipped and he decided I was the bad guy here. This has been going on for a few months so I hope it will all be over soon....



How awful for you Savannah. It must be difficult to stay positive with him sometimes. I think Dave has given you some good advice. I use a net and a feather duster instead of a water bottle, that way it doesn't get confused. At times, I had not been able, even with a treat, to get two of my birds back in their cage. One dislikes the feather duster and now I just have to adjust it on the shelve and the little stinker goes back in his cage quite happily. The net I use when a safety issue is at hand, such as a bird getting past a curtain into dangerous territory with Willy. Just lifting the net now when Peanut starts his flight pattern to do the great escape is enough to send him back to the top of his cage. You could try a net. The other thing I would suggest if you are not doing it already is making sure he is on a tight sleeping schedule. At minimum 12 hours up to 14 hours of sleep until his hormonal time is over. It would be best if he can sleep alone...not with another pet or human in the room as it should be uninterrupted sleep.
Hope the little fella settles down for you soon.


I do believe Nash gets an ample amount of sleep, and he is covered at night so he should be sleeping sound the whole time. Unfortunately I cannot move him to another room because of fans, and dogs, so he has to sleep in my room with the guinea pigs and me. They are very quiet at night too so I hope he is OK!
I will likely try all of the methods suggested just because I am so desperate to get him back to normal! THank you for the advice(:

[lolsavannahh]

Fun new thing Nash is doing!!!!!!!

He loves to feed everything now! His very few HARD WOOD toys ( yes only a few because everything else he HUMPS, so I had to take them all out ), his perches, his bowls, everything! I don't understand why he is being SUCH a hormonal mess right now but it's KILLING ME! He has been great out of cage but unfortunately last week my work schedule was so crazy I had to work way more than usual and only got him out for roughly an hour every day and two days he couldn't come out at all. This week and from now on will be back to normal but I guess I didn't realize he was doing it until a few days ago.

He gets fruits and veggies daily via a thawed frozen chop I made him, pellets, nutriberries, and millet for foraging.. but he still is acting like a hormonal mess for what seems like almost 3-4 months now! Shouldn't he be done with that by now?! It's putting a real damper on our relationship.

Also he is super into shredding things now.. like I give him old toilet paper rolls and he will easily destroy it to the point of it falling to the ground of the cage ( I put it over his perches ) in like a day! He used to do this in a week or more, but he is bored out of his mind I guess now?? I don't know...

Sorry just needed to rant!

[kendrafitz]

I'm sorry you are having such a hard time.

I have no experience with birdy hormones (yet), so I can't offer advice. I just wanted to let you know I am thinking of you and sending good vibes to both of you!

[lolsavannahh]

Thank you Kendra.. Hope it passes soon!(:

[Mare]

Poor buddy..poor YOU! I also hope this gets over soon. Sassy has started barbering her chest, again. I blame hormones, she is beautifully feathered half the year and the other half..she picks on herself. This has been her cycle since we've had her, around four years. Hopefully, Nash won't put you through this for half the year!

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Casper just enjoys destroying toilet rolls and cardboard boxes without the hormonal problems. Well he might get a little excited when he first goes in a box but quickly gets distracted by having a jolly good chomp at the cardboard. So please don't take away Nash's fun.

[Cedardave]

Some male birds will remain hormonal for a long time....I would think he should be starting to wind it down though.Keep lots of destroy able things for him to tear apart to wear off the hormonal rage.If he is unable to mate..the hormones can't really settle out of his system.If you can let him shred paper,wood,phone books ,whatever it can help distract him from the natural hormonal cycle.Forgive my short memory...is he the only bird you have? The hormones could stay active longer if there is a female bird close to him.You could also experiment a bit with a product like a I calm...I'm not sure it would reduce the hormones..but may relax the urge a bit....

[Cedardave]

Some male birds will remain hormonal for a long time....I would think he should be starting to wind it down though.Keep lots of destroy able things for him to tear apart to wear off the hormonal rage.If he is unable to mate..the hormones can't really settle out of his system.If you can let him shred paper,wood,phone books ,whatever it can help distract him from the natural hormonal cycle.Forgive my short memory...is he the only bird you have? The hormones could stay active longer if there is a female bird close to him.You could also experiment a bit with a product like a I calm...I'm not sure it would reduce the hormones..but may relax the urge a bit....there is also help thru medication your vet can offer to help rebalance his hormones...but I think I would prefer to hold that as a last resort.Hemp seed has been noted as helping to lower the levels as well as caloric intake

[SquawkandHowl]

Birds get hormonal when certain factors in their life are present:

1. Long hours of sunlight (breeding season is the warm season- to change this, make sure your bird gets 12 hours of darkness/sleep)
2. Overabundance of food; presence of rich foods (when there is enough for them and a clutch, they get hormonal. to remedy this just a sprinkle of pellets and greens/veggies- you can replenish a couple times a day, but give the impression of scarcity. No rich foods like eggs, sprouts, or nuts for a while)
3. A nest site (this can be any dark area, most parrots are cavity nesters- under the sofa, in a closet, a happy hut, a cardboard box- these are all "nests"
4. The presence of a mate. This can be a human mate- so be wary of full body petting (cockatoos often beg for this, but it contributes to feather destructive and mutilating behaviors as well as aggression and frustration because of hormones). Do not accept regurgitation from your parrot (turn your back). No kisses for a while.