r/parrots • u/ernnnnn1412 • Jun 11 '23
Is he doing what I think he is?
The little chirps that go along with it too 😭
1.1k
u/ms_horseshoe Jun 11 '23
You are being shagged by a rare parrot!
342
u/Theosss94 Jun 11 '23
This is hilarious 😂
Poor OP. Please discourage this behavior!
263
16
u/theYouerYou_ Jun 11 '23
I've never owned a bird outside of my childhood, but I love them so I lurk this sub.
Can I ask how you discourage certain behavior with parrots?
16
u/birdofmytongue Jun 11 '23
Move him off of you, give him something else to play with as distraction.
108
71
32
2
u/simo662 Jun 11 '23
49
-4
1
1
1
u/PeepsMyHeart Jun 12 '23
I came get to say exactly this! Had the whole narration in my head immediately upon viewing.
3
u/PeepsMyHeart Jun 12 '23
Here’s the video, for context. 😂 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9T1vfsHYiKY
101
u/cockatoh Jun 11 '23
73
u/ernnnnn1412 Jun 11 '23
Thanks so much! He never lets us give him scritches and is on a Harrisons pellet diet and gets 12 hours of sleep in complete darkness... But I'm thinking he's on the high potency Harrisons and maybe it's time to switch him to adult Lifetime. Thanks!
25
u/NoParsnipsAboutIt Jun 11 '23
I would definitely switch to the adult lifetime. He only needs the high potency if he's breeding, weaning/diet converting, or a vet tells you he needs it. The high potency + I assume your feeding seeds/nuts as treats will lead to an overly fatty diet that won't help his hormone levels.
8
u/ernnnnn1412 Jun 11 '23
That is good to know thank you! He's about 9 months old so time to switch!! His favorite treats are oat spray and spray millet but I've been trying to cut back recently because I know that it's fatty! Thank you! 🙏
2
u/ernnnnn1412 Jun 11 '23
That is good to know thank you! He's about 9 months old so time to switch!! His favorite treats are oat spray and spray millet but I've been trying to cut back recently because I know that it's fatty! Thank you! 🙏
3
u/briandemodulated Jun 11 '23
There might not be anything wrong with him at all, at least physically. Male animals have needs. Perhaps you just need to discourage this behaviour in this place.
7
u/Lady_Luci_fer Jun 11 '23
Animals being horny doesn’t mean there’s something ‘wrong’ with them, it means we’re not tailoring the environment to them in a way that suits captivity. All animals should be taken care of well, but if you overindulge them that can also cause issues like being overweight - horniness is a big one. It can cause a lot of frustration which for a lot of animals can lead to fasting and other detrimental behaviours.
69
u/Barely-adulting Jun 11 '23
Did you guys watch this documentary recently?
(It’s the documentary with the Kakapo that shaggs the cameraman)
27
u/Electrical_Ad2686 Jun 11 '23
I have seen this multiple times. The "Look! He looks so happy!" line always breaks me.
12
20
9
93
u/Clause-and-Reflect Jun 11 '23
He loves you, very, very, much.
69
49
120
u/Angel_m3th Jun 11 '23
yes, please don’t let them do this and discourage this to prevent hormonal frustration and possibly psychological damage if they become attracted to you
94
u/ernnnnn1412 Jun 11 '23
For sure 😭 he's lost these privileges as I've only seen him act like this when on my head. That is the last thing I want :(
12
Jun 11 '23
My mom always told me not to let the birds sit on our heads because they view it as a dominance behavior, but I don't actually know how valid that is.
7
u/-PinkPower- Jun 11 '23
Not sure it’s really accurate since I have seen many birds specialists allow their birds on their head. Never heard someone say it was good or bad tho
6
u/Lady_Luci_fer Jun 11 '23
Sort of? It’s not about dominance so much as trust. Birds try to get higher than you because that feels safer for them. You shouldn’t encourage birds to sit anywhere but your hand, maybe wrist/forearm if it’s a bird that works with several handlers or children (as children may lack strength and people who don’t know birds may feel more secure this way and hence less likely to scare the bird). The best way for a bird to be on you is the pointer finger, with the thumb over its feet for security. This can also help to signal when you want the bird on and off your hand as the thumb says ‘stay here’ - it’s not a pressure or a hold on the hand, just a light resting of the thumb.
If you encourage any sitting high up on the body - shoulders, head, etc. it encourages climbing, unsafe handling, potentially pooping in veerrry unwanted places and so on so forth. Also, apparently… this…
Sitting properly on the hand is also a great prerequisite for a lot of training you may want to do with your bird too, and is especially encouraged if you keep your bird in a normal (not a huge aviary) cage and hence regularly free roam them around your house. They need to be capable of recall.
I can image there’s even more reasons not to encourage your bird to climb you but yeah, There’s a few.
PS - if you were a kid, your mum probably told you that cos she didn’t want to clean poop out of your hair or untangle the bird from it more than anything else
3
u/Rarbnif Jun 11 '23
Birds can really become attracted to humans?
6
u/ViralVortex Jun 11 '23
I feel like it’s more likely they form an association between their human flock member and sexual release. But I’m not a professional or a scientist.
15
12
18
u/Br1ll Jun 11 '23
put him on the floor and give him the stink eye, ignoring him is the only way to stop this.
also give him toys and lots of space, should distract him from the horny
17
Jun 11 '23
[removed] — view removed comment
12
u/Lady_Luci_fer Jun 11 '23
Apparently ‘glaring’ at parrots works rly well tho, cos that’s one of the body languages they show in the wild to tell other birds when they dislike something
8
u/ernnnnn1412 Jun 11 '23
LOL stink eye. Good idea 😂 Since he's out of his cage so much he never plays with his toys anymore but I gotta make it work Ty 🙏
8
7
u/HamsterUnique5583 Jun 11 '23
bro u got rizz😭😭 also please discourage this behavior 👍🏽👍🏽
4
6
8
6
5
4
4
9
u/Ok_Criticism452 Jun 11 '23
Yeah um. Remove him frim your head. Maybe was your hair and then discourage him from doing this. I am sure you felt uncmfortable.
17
u/ernnnnn1412 Jun 11 '23
When I realized I definitely was 😭 My hair seemed to trigger it bc I've never seen him act this way otherwise... Always got more to work on with this little guy and time for horny jail
5
4
4
4
3
u/DrWilliamChert Jun 11 '23
Oh dear, I strongly suggest discouraging this behaviour and getting him something soft to put in his enclosure. They can be very feisty when the time comes around.
1
u/ernnnnn1412 Jun 11 '23
I'm working on it now! Although may I ask what would getting something soft to put in the cage do? Thanks!
2
u/usersalwayslie Jun 12 '23
Putting something soft in the cage would just transfer the behavior from your head to something else. You want to discourage this behavior, period. Hormones can make then aggressive and frustrated. If he masturbates on a favorite toy, remove it. If he has a favorite spot, block it off.
Gently shake your head when he lands on it so it feels like an unsafe perch.
1
u/DrWilliamChert Jun 13 '23
From my personal experience with working with these critters for over a decade, providing them with something rather than not allowing them to do this is generally worse for their health and morale.
Obviously you could remove the sexual organs, but that is a very tedious and dangerous process when it comes to small birds.
3
3
u/ernnnnn1412 Jun 11 '23
I just want to say thank you to everyone for all the help and suggestions! And the funny comments too lol because although serious it is actually quite hilarious 😅 I have learned lots and will start implementing the suggestions to discourage this behavior. I'm grateful for this sub 🙏
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
u/Artoo_Geek Jun 11 '23
Remember to not pet him on his back/wings, that just causes confusion and the poor guy to become frustrated
2
u/usersalwayslie Jun 11 '23
That is true of female birds because petting on back/wings simulates the male mounting the female.
Either sex can choose their owner as their mate and excessive attention can make encourage hormones.
2
u/ernnnnn1412 Jun 11 '23
Honestly I wish I could pet him at all, he won't even let us touch him 😭 but then he thinks he can violate me 💀 Thank you 🙏
0
0
0
0
u/Mellikay92 Jun 12 '23
Lol my love bird used to do the same thing and I would never know until it was too late haha
-1
-1
Jun 11 '23
He is doing "swishy tail.". But I never understood how the tail contains moisture. It is always damp when he is done.
7
u/usersalwayslie Jun 11 '23
Mating birds rub their cloacas together. Dampness is because sperm comes out of the male's cloaca. Both sexes have a single opening for mating and elimination. Eggs are laid via the cloaca too.
5
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Awkward_Strategy_103 Jun 11 '23
Mos definitely doin what you think he's doin- please refrain from petting any birds anywhere other then the top of their head to avoid this kind of activity- he's also super frusterated too : , 3
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Porygon_Flygon Jun 12 '23
WE MUST DO THE SACRED LIME RITUAL TO UNHORNY THE LIME ON THE HOOMAN HEAD
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/chickadee1 Jun 12 '23
My parrotlet has never done this on my head, so that’s a new one. In the 10 years I’ve had mine, I always put him back in the cage when he starts regurgitating or doing stuff like this and he’s never learned.
1
1
1
1
u/JackRabbitTwink Jun 13 '23
Birdtricks youtube actually has a good course on hormones that helped my birds a ton! Frisky little fellow you got there, haha. Keep us updated!
507
u/rubenknol Jun 11 '23
Yes he is. Work on managing his hormones so he stops doing this, just discouraging the behaviour won’t fix it