Mating behaviour

[Ellie]

So, Benji is probably around 6 months old, and has hit THAT age. I have a hormonal budgie on my hands now, and I'm not sure the right approach to take with his behaviours.

First it started off with him talking to his reflection in his stainless steel dishes. Then he discovered the shiny bolt that holds the bird bath/ veggie dish on to the cage bars. I tried sanding the bolt to remove some of the shiny reflection, but it was too late... he become obsessed with talking to his new "friend". I ended up having to cover the bolt with a piece of cardboard, and moving the dish closer to the cage floor.

Now he's regurgitating on certain toys, trying to mate with them, screams into his dishes while trying to flip them, and has no problem trying to attack my hand at random when the mood strikes.

He's becoming a... TEENAGER . Help?!

What's the best way to handle these behaviours, and maybe derail him a little? I know it's just nature hitting when it's supposed to... but gosh he's moody!

[Hezz]

Let him get on with humping everything in his cage, don't let him hump you. You are not his mate; you are his friend, and yes he may be aggressive about being thwarted. If he starts the ritual of pinning his eyes and making merry with your thumb nail, divert his attention to one of his favourite hump toys.

If he is going to talk to any- and everything he will find a way regardless of what you do, just like he will regurg on toys regardless of whether you move or remove them. Just let him get on with it, as long as he isn't trying to involve you. Wash his toys that he uses in either way regularly, which might end up being several times a day for a short time. They can make themselves sick by re-eating their regurg "offerings" that their favourite toys hasn't 'accepted". It is not likely but can very occasionally happen.

[tweetiepiesmom]

Good info for us all. Hope he gets over this phase soon Ellie!

[crackfox]

Nothing to add other than to say that I am currently in the same boat with my little boy Danny and he's not even 5 months old yet. He humps everything in his cage A LOT, all day. When he's out of his cage he humps us, especially my head. I've never let him carry on once he starts but removing him results in a sharp bite. He also randomly bites for no reason and it can hurt, i'm surprised it hasn't broken skin, he really digs in and goes for it. He luches at lips too, i think he knows that is a sensative spot. It's been going on for over a month and he's only getting worse, i can hear him humping things at 1am in his cage when it's dark and he's covered. It's pretty funny but the whole family is starting to tire of his attitude. Being around him whilst he's out of his cage isn't a pleasure anymore. Hopefully it will settle down when he's a few months older, for both of us.

Nothing we've tried so far has helped. All we can do is make sure we're not encouraging it which i'm pretty sure by now he knows his advances aren't wanted, he just doesn't care. He should be on a list.

[clt80]

Rupert has been humping a swing for years. I wouldn't mind but he has a girlfriend!

[Hezz]

Oct 14, 2020 18:31:53 GMT clt80 said:

Rupert has been humping a swing for years. I wouldn't mind but he has a girlfriend!

That may be a blessing in disguise - better the swing than the girlfriend, unless you want the pitter patter of little budgie feet.

[Ellie]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Sorry it's taking me time to reply, my desktop died, and I'm left to survive on this old laptop until I get my new computer.

Hezz What do I do if the toys are not washable? It's mostly the bamboo and palm shreddables that he's taken a liking to. Mind you, I'd more say the regurg falls to the floor, and he's mostly holding the toys and rubbing on the perches (which I'm keeping cleaned). And unfortunately he's not attacking me for thwarting him, he's just attacking at random. He'll hop on my hand and just start biting.

crackfox I'm not being seen as the mate it seems, just the outlet for his current moodiness. But he's also taking it out on the food dishes, or anything that can be pulled down and thrown to the bottom of his cage. I try to let him out for out of cage time to burn off excess energy, but so far, as much as he wants to leave the cage all the time, it seems he panics, flies in to things because of his refusal to land on things outside his cage... then goes back to his cage. We've never had a successful cage outing, and I'm not sure how to help him adjust.

clt80 Hezz is probably right. Besides, I know when my mother had both a male and female budgie, the male never gave her a break and left her alone. So she may be okay with the swing being the target of his affection lol.

[Hezz]

You should be able to flick off the worst and wipe over the residue if the shredables are a bit fragile. You can only do your best, so don't stress it too much if he is mostly using them for support and not actual feeding or humping.