OMG!!!!

[Mydoona]

OK my bird Keiko is NOW officially a BOY....I think
I came into the room and Keiko was humping her happy hut.
going madly at it.....is that a boy thing?
I didn't even think Keiko was sexually mature at 10 months??
It was WEIRD to say the least...I didn't stop him..should I?
He loves to sleep on top of the hut at night.
My new lovie is younger...three months old- if he is randy will he try to hump her when i put them together?
thanks

[Janie]

In your spare time, take a look at the behavior and taming section. There have been too many threads to count addressing that behavior which, btw, could be either male or female. All those previous threads and replies really do contain some great information that can answer many questions regarding this behavior and other behavior that you might think is unusual. The form of masturbation you've seen with Keiko is most often seen in males but CAN be seen in either sex. As far as stopping it, I have not with my two young males and would not. It's normal and a natural thing for them to do.

[Flapjack]

LOL- I was praying Jack would be a boy his whole life. He began "getting friendly" with paper towels, my hand, etc. at around 4 months. He exhibited some female traits, though, too. When he became obsessed with his jingle bell, I thought YES!!! he's a boy.
And then BINGO! :omg: Out popped 6 eggs.
He's a girl :nyah:

[Mydoona]

a friend pointed out to me that humping things is a sign of dominance, so I think Keiko is just showing that she is more dominant than Mardi.

[chellybum]

What about the idea that letting a bird do it whenever they want and whenever they want can lead to overstimulation?

We let our bird do it whenever he wants, and now he gets really angry when we try and change the routine. He was doing it like 6 times a day. We recently started him on a training routine to keep his mind more occupied, and we play with him every day. Now he is down to twice a day. but it seems that as soon as he sees us in the morning as when we get home from work that is all he thinks about - he gets really angry if he can't get it. Any thoughts?

[michael]

I think your absolutely correct in that possible overstimulation (excessive hormone production) carry's some concerns in regards to their health and wellbeing. Unfortunately, trying to divert excessive mating behavior has its own varying degree's of success which can often make a world difference, or in some cases none at all. Certainly, any measures we could provide to help get them through whats often a very stressful and confusing part of nature may have its advantages, yet we have to be careful in that at the same time trying to stop it entirely may not help much either. To me, This is where the importance of knowing their true gender (by DNA verification if necessary) can help in exercising any measures towards helping to "limit" such behavior accordingly. After all, males and females are different regardless if their outward appearance/behavior suggests otherwise. With males we try to focus their attention on one particular object (like a bird buddy, happy hut, favorite toy, etc.) in hopes they will "limit" that attention towards US :omg:. Sometimes though, they gotta do what they gotta do even if it includes a certain part of our anatomy. Females on the other hand, really want dearly to create the perfect home/nest so that junior along with all his brothers and sisters can grow up to be just like mom and dad. Problem here is, this may not be in her best interest. Really, she has no idea regarding the risks of egg binding nor understands problems surrounding homeless lovebirds, so the best we can do is try to "limit" her behavior by removing various nesting materials, decreasing food and daylight hours, and if necessary boil her eggs and return them in hopes she will eventually lose interest and think about other things.

Most importantly though, these are special times in our lovebirds lives that require much understanding with plenty of patience and love to go along with it..................:)