My name is Pixel - seasonal/hormonal problem?

[diljaa]

If only there were support groups for the likes of Pixel.

Pixel is between 1 and 2 years old and his hormones have been going haywire this summer. I'm the only one I know who's excited about winter coming.
I've tried a few things to try to calm him down but so far nothing's worked.

We took a trip to the vet on Monday and she gave us a few good tips. Pixel even put on a show for her in his carrier. She said to change his food, no more seeds and put him on Harrison's (tried and failed before). Change everything, perches, location, toys, even cage. Make him work for his food, put the food bowl on the outside of the cage, make foraging things for him (they're very hard to come by for such small beaks). 8 hours of daylight. Constant interruptions. Clicker training. She even suggested getting another lovie to tell him NO! in a way I can't.
She said he looked good and his poop looked okay and that Pixel is thin but not skinny.

But she seemed to think that I was the center of his attention and that he is trying to mate with me but I don't think that's the case at all here. Sure, he humps my feet. But it's not my feet he's interested in, it's my socks. And not even my socks, anybody's socks, just socks laying about on the floor or on the sofa.

This is really starting to make me sad because of course I don't want him to hump all the time and not being able to have him out because he constantly humps my feet, it's no fun for me. But more importantly I think it's no fun for him either. I was watching him this morning and he was regurgitating and he had his eyes closed and looked really sad like he was waiting for this to pass. He looked so miserable. Today I had him out and was trying to keep him occupied, he had taken a long nice bath in the sink and was drying off with me while I was on the computer. When almost dry he started to look for way to get to my feet and when I blocked his way he started to click his beak and put his foot down and started wiggling on my forearm. He has never done that on my arm before and it didn't look like a voluntary thing. I feel so bad for him! My eyes are starting to water up just thinking about how he was acting this morning.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[hollyhawkz]

No hemp seed, longer sleep hours (less exposure to light) and careful of the touching...

these are a couple of common links.....

How Not to be a Tease

Sexual behavior

p.s. I changed the title. Don't want it flagged.

[diljaa]

Originally Posted by hollyhawkz

No hemp seed, longer sleep hours (less exposure to light) and careful of the touching...

How Not to be a Tease

Sexual behavior

p.s. I changed the title as we have many underage children on here....

He goes to sleep at 8 pm and gets up around noon. I don't tough him at all except to weigh him since he doesn't like the fingers.

Sorry about the title, wasn't thinking. But then I was thinking I was going mad when it changed

[hollyhawkz]

LOL I am soooo sorry, I did send you a private message, but sometimes it takes a while to go through.

Wow, that is tough! Not the sun's hours, not the touching, I sure hope someone else has more info for you. I will look around.

[diljaa]

I don't know about the hemp seed. I googled it and all those seeds look the same to me. I don't know if they are in his seed mix, it doesn't say.

[LovelySydney]

awww its OK he's just hormonal!!! I dont know if there is really anything you can do to curb this behavior. Your vet gave you some great suggestions and I would try those. Its ok - almost every bird goes through this stage, weve all been there!!

[diljaa]

About the hemp, since I don't recognize it from any other seed after trying to google it so I took a pic of his seed mix. See any hemp? I thought maybe it was the smallest seed in the bunch but it looks too shiny to me when compared to a pic I found on google

[hollyhawkz]

Nope, hemp is larger than the smaller seed, round and dark in color. I don't see any in there. Some people say to try to feed less seed overall as well. I think your vet had good ideas.

[Andie]

I am having the exact same problem with my female. She is currently sitting on her third set of eggs since May. The vet says this should be the last or else I will need to get her a shot to stop her laying herself to death.

I feel bad for her because she is so good at sitting on the eggs and I think she would be a great mummy. I hope this passes and won't happen every year for 6 months!!

[diljaa]

The vet suggested a hormone shot for Pixel if he doesn't slow down come winter but she said the cons outweigh the pros so it should only be done as a last resort.