About Hormonal Amazons...

[LtlWngdAngl]

As some of you know, I've had a few issues recently with Oscar, possibly due to hormones. Oscar is a 22y/o male Mealy 'zon. This is my first "hormone season" with him, and I have some questions:
1)How long does this hormone season last?
2)Does the bird ever get to an age where the hormone/breeding season has no effect?
3)Other than the biting and letharga, is there any other behavior changes I should expect?
4)Is there anything (protein, vitamins, etc) that I should increase or decrease during this season to help him out any?

Thank you!

[Joanie Doss]

Originally Posted by LtlWngdAngl

As some of you know, I've had a few issues recently with Oscar, possibly due to hormones. Oscar is a 22y/o male Mealy 'zon. This is my first "hormone season" with him, and I have some questions:
1)How long does this hormone season last?
2)Does the bird ever get to an age where the hormone/breeding season has no effect?
3)Other than the biting and letharga, is there any other behavior changes I should expect?
4)Is there anything (protein, vitamins, etc) that I should increase or decrease during this season to help him out any?

Thank you!

**************
Having lived with at least 5 male hormonal Amazons for well over 15 years as pets, I have learned a lot about handling and caring for hormonal Amazons.
1. The hormonal season depends on the individual bird and his environment.
Whenever your house is like their breeding time, the bird will become hormonal and will stay that way until the enviornment changes or they go to
nest and raise young. Even after going to nest, if the environment resembles their breeding time, they will again become hormonal.

2. I wish I could say that in time it goes away, but it doesn't. Old Polly (106
year old male Nape that I have written several articles about) was still showing hormonal behavior at that advanced age. Although he never bit the
man of the house, he often bit the wife. When they got a young female Nape, Old Polly became very interested and of course showed some aggression. Even with arthritis and cataracts he knew a good looking female was around.

3. There are many signs to show that your bird is hormonal. In my book,
"Can You Speak Parrot Two?" I show the body language, how to recognize
when a bird is hormonal and how to bring him out of hormonal behavior. The
birds go through quite a few physical changes. The droppings will become loose and larger in size. They may begin pooping in their water or placing their body so that the droppings shoot out between the bars of the cage. Some birds will gain weight while others will lose weight. I have a male that can easily lose 40 grams during his hormonal time. He gets so pre-occupied with mating that he just can't take time to eat....this is even when not with
a female.

4. There are several things you can do. Yes, some foods will bring them into
nesting and breeding behavior. Moist food or high protein food often bring
them into regurgitation and other hormonal behavior. Light and evening temperatures are the two biggest triggers of hormonal behavior. Reducing the amount of light that the bird receives will bring them out of hormonal behavior. The good thing about a very hormonal bird is that generally they are also healthy. If a mature male (Blue Front, Nape or Double Yellow) does
not ever show any aggression when hormonal or never gets hormonal, you
probably should take him to a vet for a complete health check.

Amazons are one of the sweetest birds around when not hormonal. There is nothing sweeter than a young Amazon. Because of this it is often hard for
owners to cope with the change when the guy becomes aggressive and hormonal. Once a person understands the bird and how to handle this time in their lives, they become excellent companions. Hormonal behavior generally does not last all year. Generally it varies from 1 month to 3 months.

Joanie Doss
The Amazing Amazons
http://www.parrothouse.com

[art]

1)How long does this hormone season last?
2)Does the bird ever get to an age where the hormone/breeding season has no effect?
3)Other than the biting and letharga, is there any other behavior changes I should expect?
4)Is there anything (protein, vitamins, etc) that I should increase or decrease during this season to help him out any?

Thank you![/quote]

Well I see the terrible twos at two months old. ;o) I also have a 22 year old? imported nape who likes to do his war dance. tail spred eyes flashing and looks like a worker bee telling everyone where to fly to get honey. Do I reach in and try to pet her? Only did it once and drew back a bloody nub. ;o) but if I get her attention and she comes out of the trance she is a ***** cat. You pass her cage and she reaches out and coos.

I had one person bring a amazon into the room with it holding on to her finger? Duh?
again training and TLC If you can't give TLC only ? then get a cow!

Is that what your talking about or what is the problem?

I am a firm believer in a good cross section of quality food, a good avian pellet, fortified seeds, fruit and veggies, mineral block, and the more you eat with your parrot the more it becomes a part of the fun world. If you should cut corners on feeding your parrot expect lousy feather condition and everyting you don't want to see.
Wish you the best and what is the problem? really? ;o)

[Joanie Doss]

Well I see the terrible twos at two months old. ;o) I also have a 22 year old? imported nape who likes to do his war dance. tail spred eyes flashing and looks like a worker bee telling everyone where to fly to get honey. Do I reach in and try to pet her? Only did it once and drew back a bloody nub. ;o) but if I get her attention and she comes out of the trance she is a ***** cat. You pass her cage and she reaches out and coos.

***************
Homonal aggression is different from terrible twos or aggression from being abused, etc. This aggression has little to do with training but more on the
environment. A common mistake of keeping pet Amazons especially the males
of birds I call the "Hot Three".....Blue Fronts, Napes and Double Yellows... is giving them too much light. The light increases the size of their sexual organs which means they are producing a lot more hormones. People think since these birds are from the jungle they need a lot of sunshine. These birds are from the middle canopy and therefore do not get a whole lot of lot during the day. They need 12 hours of darkness. If aggression is still present after a week, increase the darkness by another hour. If they are aggressive after another week, increase the darkness to 14 hours. Now if you are trying to breed theses birds, you will want to increase the light.

These boys can be some of the sweetest birds around but when you trigger their hormonal behavior....watch out! You will get nonstop screaming and
aggression. Hormonal bites are always bad and are almost always the ones
that send people to the hospital with broken bones or in need of stitches.

Joanie Doss
The Amazing Amazons
http://www.parrothouse.com/bodylanguage.html