ABettua Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 Aloha all! I have a female African Grey - she will be 2 on Feb 5th! She is a delightful girl, she is a cuddle bug, loves to give kisses and affection, she snuggles with me on the couch where she demands her head scratched and face touched, but she has that temperamental side we all know too well! I have noticed these days every time I approach her cage and try to give her "lovings", she immediately tries to regurgitate and sometimes she makes these noises like she can't breathe or like the regurgitating food is stuck in her throat. It really freaks me out. I will put her away and it stops immediately. ANother thing she will do is bob her head up and down vigorously, and she hangs her wings low (does this make sense?). I am trying to learn what this all means. I heard that the regurgitating is a sign of affection, but the head bob, and the wing displays? Also she will hold onto my sleeve, and try to hang upside down and strike at me - but not hard. I always like to call these the beak wars, because I try and grab her beak (gently) when she does that, like we are sparring. Any thoughts??? THANKS!
Shamelessmuse Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 Sounds like she is trying to regurgitate food for you! That means she loves you!
Ronda477 Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 Our Quaker does the same exact thing! I know exactly what you are talking about! And it is very normal, the vet said she has just found her mate lol.
lovemyGreys Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 .A bird that is regurgitating will make head bobbing movements & you will see the neck stretch.food is brought up & deposited on to you this can be accompanied by the drooping of the wings & little whimpering noises. Normal behaviour
ABettua Posted January 31, 2008 Author Posted January 31, 2008 I am relieved to hear you experience something similar! She has bonded very strongly with me over my husband, but I was worried that with the regurgitation, she might choke or something. My eclectus on the other hand just regurgitates the food, maserates it some more, and climbs up to my shoulder and tries to force it in my mouth! YUK! But he loves everyone and everything, he even tries to feed my dog (yep - it's true) My wienie has been caught licking the regurgitated food out of his beak through the cage wire. I put a stop to that pronto!:sick:
judygram Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 Don't you just love these little displays of affection and that is too funny about the wienie dog licking the food out of his beak. But you did the right thing in stopping that, good for you.:laugh:
ABettua Posted January 31, 2008 Author Posted January 31, 2008 Oh yes! Those 2 are quite the silliest (wienie and ekkie) My wienie takes him on "horsey rides" but within minutes my ekkie is trying to "feed" him again. YUK My African Grey wants NOTHING to do with either of them, maybe she is disgusted by their blatant shows of affection??
judygram Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 ABettua, why don't you introduce yourself in the welcome room and tell us a little more about you and your grey.
MazyAK Posted February 1, 2008 Posted February 1, 2008 ABettua: your bird definitely loves you. Throw up = love try to ignore this behavior and if she continues, put her in her cage. It's wonderful to be loved by our birds but we don't want them to think anything sexual can come of it. These are all the signs of sexual maturing. Make sure you confine your petting to the head and neck area if the behavior starts up . Nothing to worry about, it's just a chance for you to control this behavior. My 13 yr. old has been doing the same thing for a few years. I just shut it down (even though I'm flattered and just want to cuddle her more when she does it. Bruce & Mazy
Lyric Posted February 2, 2008 Posted February 2, 2008 As everyone else has stated, this is nothing unusual at all. Instead of giving you flowers and chocolates for Valentines day you get some birdie left over lunch! Hope your baby has a happy hatch day this weekend- do something fun with her to celebrate! :silly:
ABettua Posted February 2, 2008 Author Posted February 2, 2008 Wow, I never thought she might be "courting" me!! :ohmy: Does the hanging upside down and striking at me playfully get included in this"ritual"? She is not biting me hard, just grabs my hand, fingers, sleeve, holds on and releases. And I will try and grab her beak (gently) and release it. I hope I am not doing anything inappropriate!!!! Would hate to "lead her on". I know what that feels like!! I do pet her all over, and she loves her neck and chest scratched - is that too much?:unsure:
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now