[Dusty_Parrotlet]

I'm not sure which forum this would go under, so I'm sorry in advance. I got my female parrotlet almost a year ago, and by then she was already about a year or so old, but she hadn't been hormonal in our care until now. I'm trying to learn how to deal with her hormonal behavior, and I'm concerned that if we keep her in her cage too much she will stop being so bonded with us. She has always been very sweet and loved sitting on our shoulders, but now she has been rather stand-offish and keeping her distance from us. I don't know if this is just normal, or if I am doing something wrong. I read on other sites to limit her light exposure and make sure she gets 12 hours of sleep, but I'm worried that she is no long going to be a loving pet. What can I do?

 

[HarryTheParrotlet]

Spring is arriving and Harry is acting differently as well. This coincides with her molt which is in full throttle right now. In my case, this is definately expected as this is her third spring with us. She acts like she has ants in her pants when out of the cage, looking at everywhere except at who she's with.

Feathers everywhere!

 

[Anya]

The good news is that the hormonal behavior should eventually stop and you will have your sweet birdie back again. So don't worry. All birds go through this in one form or another. My baby now hasn't gone through the terrible two's yet, but my previous bird turned into a little demon and she eventually snapped out of it. Try to keep the same routine with her instead of keeping her in her cage all the time. Increase her sleep by two hours. There are two stickies on discouraging female hormonal behaviors in the Health forum you should check out (if you haven't already.

 

[Dusty_Parrotlet]

Thank you so much! I'll do just that!