Best way to support a hormonal teenager?

[Kori]

Azuki is 11 months old this month. Her teenage / young lady years have coincided with spring and summer. She seems to be in a hormonal peak at the moment - very very vocal, chewing up her wooden perches more than usual and on occasion - offering her back to me.
I am : - removing the more calorific and protein rich items from her chop - sweet potato. quinoa etc...
- putting her to bed at 6pm (it's a small apartment and unfortunately she does get disturbed; when we go to bed and especially at 5:30am when my husband gets up and she starts calling for him..). She gets uncovered around 8:30 -9am.
- I move some of her toys around every weekend to discourage egg laying.
- and of course I distract her as soon as she offers her back.

It's hard to see her so... stressed? upset? And to be honest, as someone with migraines, the extra vocalization at the moment is a bit hard to live with. Hopefully my neighbors don't hate me too much too!

Should I consider putting her to bed more early?
Will she start to calm down after she reaches a year old +?
Do hormonal teas really work?

 

[Shezbug]

@Ripshod

 

[Ripshod]

She's a solo budgie? This in itself makes matters worse as she has clearly bonded to you in a "mate" way.
Yes, up her sleep hours but you need to find a way to stop disturbing her sleep. Is there a place you can put her cage where she won't be disturbed? Even if this means moving her cage at night? It's not just a case of light, she'll likely be more disturbed by a slight movement of the cage from someone just walking across the room. You're already considering upping the hours of darkness - worth trying.
Personally I'd get her a friend. Gender makes no nevermind, just a same species friend. I feel her bond with you will not be greatly affected as it's clearly very strong right now

 

[Kori]

She's a solo budgie? This in itself makes matters worse as she has clearly bonded to you in a "mate" way.
Yes, up her sleep hours but you need to find a way to stop disturbing her sleep. Is there a place you can put her cage where she won't be disturbed? Even if this means moving her cage at night? It's not just a case of light, she'll likely be more disturbed by a slight movement of the cage from someone just walking across the room. You're already considering upping the hours of darkness - worth trying.
Personally I'd get her a friend. Gender makes no nevermind, just a same species friend. I feel her bond with you will not be greatly affected as it's clearly very strong right now

Oh dear, both are tricky. The only other room is a spare / storage room, and with what's in there, I wouldn't consider it bird safe unfortunately. Some odors from work stuff etc.
She would still hear husband in the morning, too. I bet there are people on this forum that have bigger lounges than our whole apartment
Personally, I'm not totally against getting her a friend, but my husband will be I think. He seems to worry about the extra work, and the space needed for another cage and stand. Space is obviously a bit of an issue. Plus, the extra noise? I'll try and soften him up to the idea, in the meantime doing what I can for her as a solo birb.
I was kind of hoping someone would say she will start calming down once she's fully an adult!

 

[tka]

Make sure you don't respond to her when she offers her back. By distracting her with attention, toys or treats, you're teaching her that it's a good way of getting your attention. Instead, just carry on with whatever you're doing - don't pay attention to her, don't turn your back on her, just do exactly as you were doing before.

 

[Ripshod]

I was kind of hoping someone would say she will start calming down once she's fully an adult!

She will calm down. As you've already suggested the current phase is her first but the next hormone peak will be next spring. It'll calm down over the next couple of years. That won't stop her thinking of you as a mate, it'll just be less intense.

 

[Ripshod]

Realised I have a good link to info so I'll just drop it here. Need coffee

Hormonal Behavior in Companion Parrots

All parrots will get hormonal at times. This is a normal natural process. The challenge, however, is greater with some parrots than with other species.

www.beautyofbirds.com

 

[Kori]

Make sure you don't respond to her when she offers her back. By distracting her with attention, toys or treats, you're teaching her that it's a good way of getting your attention. Instead, just carry on with whatever you're doing - don't pay attention to her, don't turn your back on her, just do exactly as you were doing before.

That's what I've been doing - good to know it's the right thing to do! Thankfully just by my slightly turning away from her and continuing what I was doing she stops and so far has never tried to do it more than once in a day. In fact, she has done it about 4? times total and the last two days, I've been able to distract her before she gets to that point. Wohoo.

Realised I have a good link to info so I'll just drop it here. Need coffee

Hormonal Behavior in Companion Parrots

All parrots will get hormonal at times. This is a normal natural process. The challenge, however, is greater with some parrots than with other species.

www.beautyofbirds.com

Thank you! Some excellent information there. I've re-ordered some eucalyptus branches to help redirect her energy, as they suggest.
I'm also putting her to bed at 5pm, and it's going well, considering.
Hope you had a nice coffee. I always make a big cup of black drip coffee before letting Azuki out in the morning.