Pionus Parrot Hormones | Going Through Puberty
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- Quaffle has hit puberty. So thought I'd share a quick video on what it's like when Pionus get hormonal.
Disclaimer: I am not a parrot behaviour expert, nor am I a parrot trainer or an experienced parrot owner. The Information provided in this video is information and advice that I have learnt from experienced parrot owners and my own personal research.
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Brilliant! LMAO....searching and preparing for a Pionus (not easy) I've wanted one for years and the time is perfect now. But ....finding.... wow.. finding. I'm in the U.S.
Finding them in any country is a nightmare!! Good luck! Hope you find a feathered buddy soon ❤
I had a white cap pionus who went thru her hormonal stage at least twice a year. She became very territorial and nasty. She was always looking for crevices to turn into a nest. We did our best to ignore all this and then one day she started laying eggs. When she was finished we took the eggs out of her cage and she was fine, until her next surge of hormones. Took those eggs away as well. One day I went up to her cage in the morning and she was wobbling on the bottom of the cage like she was drunk. I took her to the bird vet and it turned out laying those eggs had leached the calcium from her bones and she couldn’t support her body. The vet gave her a shot and she was better after that. I had six infertile eggs until my bronze wing pionus came across ten in the little secret spot I thought I had hidden them in and for some reason her smashed them all. What a snot. No need to eat her DNA sexed. 2:54
Yeah, one thing I learnt about keeping females is if they start laying, extra calcium in their diet is super important. Hope your little White Crowned is OK now. Wonder why your bronze wing smashed them 🤔 very interesting
I love the name Quaffle! Is he a Harry Potter fan????
I am and the person I rehomed him from was too
Love all your videos
Thank you!!
Heel mooie
Too much sleep =problem
Actually just the opposite, too little sleep can cause hormones in all parrots because they associate it woth spring. Plus too little sleep is bad for any creature, even us humans.. Too much sleep is also bad for them as they don't have enough time in the day to eat otherwise. However we let our parrots choose what time they go to bed. They dictate how much sleep they want.
I think your bird is a honey girl, we call it being a dirty birdie... but that for sure is not a male behavior display.
I have a DNA certificate from his previous owner confirming he is a Male. However I plan on getting him re-tested as I'm very aware that it's a female behaviour lol
@@PionusTales did you find out the gender? Is quaffle a female? My “male” is also behaving like this and has also got me questioning
@@oliviapos3397 yes we did. In fact you'll notice in all of our latest videos I refer to Quaffle as "her/she". She was in fact a girl.
I have a 30 year old white capped pionus, and never had ”terrible twos” with him. He’s always been consistent with things that make him uncomfortable. What a weird thing to insist that every parrot has. You obviously need to learn better on reading their body language.
"Terrible twos" as it suggests usually happens in their first few years of their life when year hormones start to kick in. If you're pionus didn't go through them thats fine, not all children go through terrible 2's either so it would be wrong to assume that some birds don't either. And it's not weird at all, its extremely common. I got that information after speaking to 30+ pionus owners, 50+ owners of other bird species and from research online from parrot specific websites and books. So I had no reason to believe that it wasn't something that every parrot went through. But again every bird is an individual and there probably is some parrots that don't go through it, but from what I've read and been told by experienced owners is that majority of parrots do go through this.
In regards to body language I have never claimed to be an expert or knowledgeable in it. Im still a new parrot owner, ive only had Quaffle now for a year and a half, and just like everyone else I am having to learn through experience and research or by discussing it with other owners online. And I'm still learning every day. Learning a new language of any form takes years and years of practice and I have no doubt that it will take me years still until I can have a good strong grasp of what she's trying to tell me, and even 10 years down the line ill probably still make mistakes. Its amazing that your pionis has had 30 wonderful years with you, and hopefully many more, and without a doubt you're far more knowledge than me on pionus body language as you've got 29 years more experience than I have. So if you've got any advice or noticed body language I was missing or misinterpretating, or would just be willing to help me learn more I'd love to have a more in depth chat about it.
@@PionusTales
Sorry I haven’t been able to get back to you sooner…
I will just ask a simple question to start off with. You said that her biting you wasn’t her fault or your fault - that it was just your bird’s hormones because of the terrible twos and your leather jacket creaking that he bit you.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if your bird bites you, it is going to _ALWAYS_ be your fault. _Always, always, always!_ *NEVER HERS/HIS.*
And that is precisely because it is your responsibility to be paying very close attention to their body language at all times when dealing with them.
So my question to you is, *how can you possibly be paying attention to your bird’s body language when you are asking her to step up without you even looking at her because she is on your shoulder, and you are looking straight ahead? You cannot.*
If you had actually been looking at her before you put your hand up slowly for her to step on, you would have definitely noticed her puffing up/beginning to lunge for your hand to bite it.
I remember the first times I figured out that my bird gets scared or angry when he sees me without my glasses after I stopped wearing contacts for a while, or if I have a hat or bandanna on my head, or if I am wearing dark or red lipstick, or if I cry… He will absolutely show signs right away that he is not wanting me to give him a kiss or pick him up or anything under those conditions, and I learned that because I paid close attention to his body language. He is a prey animal after all, so many things will set him off that make him uncomfortable and resorting to a fight or flight mode.
Additionally, them wanting to bite you really doesn’t have to do with their age, because birds have mood swings just like humans do - they are very emotional beings and extremely intelligent. They will even hold a grudge if you’ve been away for too long and they get lonely/depressed/bored (which is sadly why they are prone to feather picking in captivity). You are their lifelong mate in their eyes now, so they expect a _LOT_ from us, mainly time and attention, and rightly so. And they really aren’t getting the exercise and experiencing the normal outlets they would in the wild to release pent up energy they get in our homes.
Throughout 30 years, my bird will constantly go through daily moods where he is extra affectionate and wants to be pet and around me all of the time, to moods even 10 mins later where he is just wanting to be left alone with his own personal space, for whatever the reason (and he ofc has the right to feel however he is feeling, no judgement - domesticated captivity is not normal for these amazing beings, and we made the mistake of thinking it is, so we owe them an extraordinary amount of patience and understanding and “going with the flow” - *THEY STRAIGHT UP ARE NOT DOMESTICATED ANIMALS).*
That is why it is important to move way more slowly around them, so that you can tell the moment they begin fluffing their feathers out, and/or pacing back-and-forth in warning, staring you down in a manner you can sense they are _NOT_ happy atm, etc.… Signs like that that they are in no mood to be your cuddly friend and are demanding personal space. When you move quickly and ignore their warning signs, you deserve that bite.
Sometimes my bird will also give me little nibbles when I have been petting him for a while, which tell me “I think I am probably over being pet right now… And then the nibbles might get a bit stronger if I misjudged whether those nibbles were friendly little nibbles, or nibbles that were showing a bit of anxiety, which is his second warning of “I really am done, so even though I may be giving you mixed signals by sticking around, you should probably stop before I end up actually biting you.” Often times I have to be the one to discern that he is done being pet before he shows it by leaving.
To be honest, it made me very nervous just watching how fast and quickly (almost aggressive-like) you pet your bird. My bird definitely doesn’t like that much pressure and quick motion… And it seems with your bird, it possibly excites him _A LOT._
When my bird makes the sound that yours was when he was making whilst sticking his bottom in your neck, I ironically (no joke) call that his “giggle butts” sound. His name is Pokey and I’ll cheer him on saying “Pokey’s got the giggle butts!” 😂 However, he only makes that noise when he is playing by himself though - with his a toy bell that hangs on string, and he will hold onto the bottom of the string where it connects to the bell and hang backwards on his cage, getting very excited as he leans back as far as he can. He never sticks his bottom in my neck/face like yours, but that sounds like it’s possibly a female/male thing. Idk.
It is simply a sound of him having fun, and it always makes me smile because he is in pure joy and playfulness when he makes that noise. I wouldn’t ever try to discourage it in a million years.
Anyways, I have written a lot, so I would just finish it with this… This is the only video of yours I have watched, and I get that you are very excited with having your new baby in your life for a year and a half now, but I want to express with my whole heart that it didn’t take me long to realize just how wrong it is to keep these amazing beings as pets. Anytime I talk about my bird, which I absolutely love with my whole heart and soul and will never break my lifelong commitment to him (I’ve lost count with how many sacrifices I have made for him in these 30 years), I always try to educate people that this practice of bird ownership *NEEDS to stop, and the sooner the better.*
The only birds that should be owned are those that are rescued. I will never, ever get another bird, despite how much I adore and love mine.
They just deserve so much better than being held in captivity… They deserve to be out in the sunshine flying amongst their flocks with mates of their own species, being totally free, with constant stimulation.
Even though I am home-bound everyday with him spending waaayyyy more time than the average bird owner does with their birds, I never lock him in his cage, and he is able to fly in my apartment because I intentionally stopped clipping his wings years ago, I still feel an absolute insane amount of guilt for not having been informed enough about the decision I was making at age16 by asking my mom to get him from a breeder for my birthday.
I had no idea just how wrong it is to keep birds inside homes as pets, but I no doubt figured that out, because it’s unavoidable for those of us with sound empathy and compassion for animals.
All I can do is continue giving him the best life I possibly can, and continue loving him to pieces - NEVER giving him up to a rescue or another person like so many mindless, terrible bird owners do. I implore you to not encourage others to get birds as pets, and if you are going to make these videos, to add a message on each of them that discourages people from getting birds from either breeders or captured in the wild… And to do serious amounts of homework before rescuing them to understand what a massive and long commitment they are, and the amount of time and work they require, as rescues should be the *ONLY* thing that we encourage.
Cheers.
@@PionusTales
P.S. Sorry for quite a few typos there in my long reply… Especially where I would accidentally write “he“ instead of “she“ when referring to your baby.
Also, just a small suggestion - when your bird is on your shoulder, and either you can’t get a good look at her because she is acting a little funny crawling behind your neck or whatever, or perhaps you can tell she is getting a little uppity by nipping on your ear or something… Simply raise your shoulder towards the birdcage or your parrot jungle gym for the bird to step on that instead of using your hand to pick her up.
You will avoid possible bites that way. Whenever in doubt about the mood of your bird, always take precaution by assuming that they aren’t in a good mood even if they are fine… It’s always better to be safe than sorry, and give them the respect by assuming they would rather have some distance from you than pushing yourself on them.
The biggest mistake that bird owners make is insisting to invade their bird’s personal space/touch them when they aren’t wanting us to do so. I hope that helps!
@@anti-ethniccleansing465 thank you for that message, its very good advice for anyone thinking of getting a bird. Just wanted to clarify a few things for you.
Firstly Quaffle was rescued, I didn't get her as a baby.
The reason I started this channel was to help educate people on pionus as a species as they are so uncommon compared to other species, including how to care for them correctly as I'm sure you know yourself they do require slightly different care to other species.
I researched for over 6 months before deciding to get a bird, had every intention of rescuing and not getting from a breeder and was fully aware of the changes I would have had to make to my life in order to give her the best life I physically can.
I dont intend to encourage bird ownership at all with this channel, as I know first hand just how many birds get stuck in rescues, change homes multiple times a year, or even die young due to incorrect care. The intention of this channel is to help people research and educate themselves in pionus care before choosing whether or bot to get one. I completely agree, birds should not be captive at all, but the sad truth is they are, and for many species being bred in captivity its whats keeping a lot of the species in existence, which is a horrible reality.
I was warned by many experienced bird owners that when their hormones kick in around 2 years old, they will experience a lot of mood swings which is what is referred to as the terrible 2s. Theyre likes and dislikes will change incredibly! And I have found this to be true. And its been a challenge in itself learning her new likes and dislikes. And yes at the point of this video I was still learning her body language and there was a couple of times when she would bite without obvious warning signs, like mid way through a head scratch that she was enjoying. I can understand why you find the head scratches I give aggressive but believe it or not she does enjoy them and often pushes her head into my cheek or against the bars of her cage wanting me to be more rough. I used to be super gentle and she'd get annoyed at me until I slowly increased the pressure, and she stopped getting annoyed and made her happy huff noises. I've been told by multiple pionus owners and a couple of breeders I know that the noise can be excitement but its also hormone related. Its a females way of saying they want to reproduce.
I'm still researching every week, learning every day, and I want to gain as much knowledge as I can about these wonderful birds before I put educational content on this channel. But I've learnt from experience education in bird care is constantly changing. What may be correct one year, may not be correct 5 or 10 years down the line.
@@anti-ethniccleansing465 also i just wanted to say you sound like a very knowledgeable and caring owner thats doing the very best for their bird. I just wanted to say thank you for your comment and providing such great information to myself and anyone else who sees this video. I hope people read it and get a better idea of just how much goes into owning a bird.
Are male or female pionus harder to handle during this time?
That depends on the individual bird and the level to which their hormones affect them. For example Quaffle and Lyra are both female. But have gone through puberty differently. Quaffle was harder to handle through the day and was generally territorial of everything. Whereas Lyra is easier to handle through the day but is far more nesty and more aggressive of her bed cage and nesty spots compared to Quaffle. I know many people with a male or a female pionus who have been super calm and chill during hormone season, and I know others that whose pionus, again both male and female get exceedingly aggressive to the point of flying across the room to attack. Just like us humans, every individuals hormones/puberty affects them differently, no one parrot is the same and its impossible to predict how their hormones will affect them.
Is the part about not touching their backs just during puberty, or not at all during their lives?
I think it’s throughout their lives as they still get the hormonal response when petted. A good Google would be BirdTricks and Marlene Mchohen (sp) I consider those two to the experts that have done tons of research so if you just put in those names and hormones, their videos will show up.
@@hopesprings4967 cool. Thanks for the info and suggestions!
HAHAHAHA! 😅
My yellow nape Amazon (DNA male) sticks his bum in my face also. Love your Pi. Are they easy to get in UK? In US they are hard to find.
They're not as hard to find in the UK compared to the US, I found a couple of breeders, but they're still extremely rare and hard to come by. I've only ever seen a handful up for sale in the ast 2 years