Amber Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 My 4 year old female (I think) grey has a big gold bell hanging on a chain in her cage. She loves her bell and always plays with it but recently, she hangs by her feet from the chain and tries to mate with the bell. :dry: She gets rather excited and I wasn't sure whether to take the bell away or is she ok doing that? I ignore her when she does it. She makes her funny little grunty love noises too. What age are greys sexualy mature? I'm starting to wonder if she is a he! :huh: Or do females show sexual behaviour too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 African Greys reach sexual maturity at approximately 3-4 years of age.Both female & males will show sexual behaviour .Is she regurgitating for the bell ? My 3 year female acts aggresively towards certain toys, hanging off them, attacking them,this is normal ! i leave her be to get on with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 I don't believe they are sexual mature at that age, more like puberty, but the hormones are beginning to rage so therefore the sexual behavior is apparent. I would just ignore it but when you get her out of the cage and are cuddling or stroking her be careful of how you do that, no stroking down the back as it heightens the arousal and you don't want to increase the sexual frustration any more than is necessary. At this point I couldn't tell you whether it is a she or a he, only a DNA test will accurately determine that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 ok i stand corrected ,Most domestic raised birds will be mature enough for breeding around five years of age. Wild caught birds seem to take a bit longer, being seven to eight years of age. This is probably due to the less nutrient-rich diet found in the wild as compared to todays handfeeding diets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber Posted April 16, 2008 Author Share Posted April 16, 2008 She doesn't regurgitate for the bell but she makes the neck movements like she is going to! She has regurgitated for my partner Martin and also for my mum! I'd love to be 100% sure that she is female. Is it expensive for a DNA test? They can do it by pulling a feather out for testing can't they? Maybe I'll ask my vet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Yes they can Amber but they will probably use a little drop of blood they obtain from a talon, and its not an expensive test or it shouldn't be, you can obtain one from on the internet for about $25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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