Sorry one more

[cutlass5268]

One other question I have is about a behavior. Pretty much every day the last couple weeks or more, my CAG Avy will slide down her cage door to come and see me when I am sitting on the couch. She reaches for me and if I try to scratch her or touch her she will grab my finger with one foot and the attempt to bite it off. She will actually hang upside down on the bottom of her cage door and reach out with one foot for me. If I fall for it, she just grabs by finger and sinks her beak into it. Is this just rough playing? She does it on occasion when I am giving her head scratches when she is on top of her cage door. She will reach up as though she wants to hold my finger, but if I fall for it, she grabs, flips over upside down and then bites my finger half off. Is this sexual frustration maybe? She does call for me with her wings spread and drooped, which I just ignore, or change her attention to something else. And I thought human females were the hardest to understand!! <br><br>Post edited by: cutlass5268, at: 2009/12/06 00:17

[judygram]

She is in love with you, she has chosen you as her "mate", the drooped wings are a good indication that she is sexually stimulated, I would not be touching her on her back, under the wings or anywhere around the tail area and those are love bites. You want to discourage this so try distracting her to something else and let her calm down before interacting with her again.

[danmcq]

What you describe sounds like something her previous owner taught her or played with her in that manner.

 

When a bird is hanging upside down on your finger it must grab it to right itself when it decides too. This is a lot of pressure, but normally not skin piercing.

 

I would recommend stopping that type of interaction with her until you get a better feel for her.

 

At only one year old, she is not displaying sexual attraction. She is dropping her wings and panting for you in a young grey to Parront manner. They become sexually mature between 4 and 6 years of age. However, they can start displaying sexual advances as young as 3.

[cutlass5268]

Thanks for the replies. I have learned not to touch her back or under her wings from reading info from the forum. I didn't know this when I first got her, so I was touching her back and playing tickle tickle under her wings. But I have been carefull not to do this the last 3 weeks. I don't think it could have been a game, because the second I let her hold my finger when she's upside down (she actually holds her foot out) she clamps down HARD. Then I have to pry my finger out of her foot grip and then she unclamps her beak from whatever part of my hand she could get hold of. Needless to say, I don't fall for it anymore and if I ignore the outstreached foot I can still scratch and touch her.

[cutlass5268]

Thanks for the replies. I have learned not to touch her back or under her wings from reading info from the forum. I didn't know this when I first got her, so I was touching her back and playing tickle tickle under her wings. But I have been carefull not to do this the last 3 weeks. I don't think it could have been a game, because the second I let her hold my finger when she's upside down (she actually holds her foot out) she clamps down HARD. Then I have to pry my finger out of her foot grip and then she unclamps her beak from whatever part of my hand she could get hold of. Needless to say, I don't fall for it anymore and if I ignore the outstreached foot I can still scratch and touch her.