How do I discourage female conure mating behavior?

[chris_tina]

I don't know the exact age of my female conure, but she's likely 2-3 years old because she's been exhibiting lots of hormonal behavior lately. In addition, I think she's chosen my dad as a mate. She can differentiate his footsteps and gets so excited whenever she hears his voice that she'll drop whatever she's doing to go find him. She's so obsessed that she gives up even her favorite snacks to go look for him.

How do I "break" this obsession? My dad is an extremely busy guy; he's rarely ever home and I'm planning to move out in about 1.5 years to go to grad school. I really want to discourage this behavior because I don't want her to put her health at risk by laying eggs for him.

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

There is only one reason the Goddess created hen birds, and that is to lay eggs, mate with the cock and continue the species. That is the purpose of every living thing alive. She is trying to bond with your dad and unless you cage her, she will continue to do this. Is it really so bad? Can't your dad take five minutes and scritch her a little and passively allow her to sit on him during his down time? If not, cage, cage, cage.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

One of my tiels loves my husband, even though she doesn't see him much. He's frequently home after she goes to bed, and he leaves before she wakes up. He's not really a bird person, and doesn't do anything to warrant this affection. He did start letting her hang out on his shoulder a lot on weekends when he can. She will not eat for hours just so she can be on him. She appreciates me, but she adores him. I don't think anything will change that. She hasn't layed any eggs, she six years old, but we have only had her a little less than a year. We don't give any of the birds any opportunities to nest, and have never had eggs. They all get 13 hours of sleep a night.

 

[chris_tina]

One of my tiels loves my husband, even though she doesn't see him much. He's frequently home after she goes to bed, and he leaves before she wakes up. He's not really a bird person, and doesn't do anything to warrant this affection. He did start letting her hang out on his shoulder a lot on weekends when he can. She will not eat for hours just so she can be on him. She appreciates me, but she adores him. I don't think anything will change that. She hasn't layed any eggs, she six years old, but we have only had her a little less than a year. We don't give any of the birds any opportunities to nest, and have never had eggs. They all get 13 hours of sleep a night.

That's pretty much how my dad treats her! He rarely ever sees her and doesn't pay her any attention whatsoever, but she absolutely adores him. As long as this behavior won't make her lay eggs, I'm fine. The only bothersome thing is that my dad is always walking in and out of the house to run errands, and it's impossible to get her off him once she sees him. We wouldn't mind so much if he weren't always in a hurry. I'm not sure if there's any way to get her to understand that she can't be with him 24/7 because he does most of his work outside?

 

[Tiel Feathers]

How long have you had her? Maybe she will ease up a bit after a while. My bird has eased up a tiny bit after she lived here for about eight months. She now might get off him after she has been on him for thirty minutes or so, but only for a few minutes lol! Your best bet is to train her with treats to target, step up, or step on a stick. When she does step off him, let her go right back on at first. This way she knows stepping off him doesn't always mean she has to leave him. Reinforce stepping up/target training when he's not home.

 

[JLcribber]

Site Name - Articles - Behavioral - Sex And The Psittacine

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

There is one thing which could keep her from wanting to bond with your dad: get her a cock bird as a mate.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

There is one thing which could keep her from wanting to bond with your dad: get her a cock bird as a mate.

Actually I didn't but know if that would work for sure. My tiel thinks she's a human, and she absolutely has no desire to be with any of my other birds. She is very independent, and she was an only bird for five years.

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

I had a tiel like that, Gracie, and it took her six years to realize she was a bird.

 

[Rooary]

There's no real way to stop it once it's happened, though, and you should also take into account that it could be breeding season for her. With that knowledge, you should think about how you want to proceed.

Just make sure no one's touching her inner wings, back, or cloaca. These are all hot spots for birds and sends signals to their brain to mate. Also, don't give her a nest or anything like a box or blanket. and, depending on the species, too much variety in food with fruit can initiate mating behavior. When food is abundant it gives the bird the idea that 'this is the ideal time to make babies' and since she probably views you as a parent sort of figure, she is going to your dad. It's not her fault, it's just instinct.

 

[chris_tina]

Yes, my conure absolutely thinks that she's a human being because she's never interacted with other parrots before! It's adorable because she tries to do the same things that we do.

I've only had her for half a year--puberty started soon after I adopted her. And of course, I don't blame her for choosing my dad as her mate. She definitely sees me as her mother in that she'll go to me whenever she's scared or hungry.

So this means no more cuddles and lessening the variety of fresh foods? Is feeding her some chop still ok? I started putting her to bed earlier so she could get at least 11 hours of darkness and have only given her scritches on her head.