16/06/2024
Hormones and related behaviours usually last 2-3 months, but can be more or less. Try putting methods in place to reduce hormones, and when she's displaying any hormonal behaviours ignore her until she's out of it.
To reduce hormones you can:
●Increase darkness/sleep to 12-14 hours. (14 is best as Tiels are an Australian species. )
●Don't touch anywhere but the head, neck and feet. Everywhere else is an erogenous zone. (Meaning touching there can elicit a s*xual response!)
●Remove any and all possible nesting sites. This includes nest boxes, happy huts, tunnels, hides, cupboards, blankets, cardboard boxes etc. Basically anything dark and enclosed.
●Keep the room(s)/areas they're in on the cooler side during the spring and summer. If it's too warm it simulates good weather/temps for breeding. You can lower room temperatures by running an AC if you have one, keeping windows open (if possible. If birds are out slightly cracked or consider installing screens or bars over the windows so they can be opened) or running a fan that has no accessible blades.
●Reduce feeding high fat, high calorie, and high protien foods, and no warm and/or mushy foods. Limited seeds, nuts and treats, no meat or eggs, limited beans, legumes and certain grains like quinoa etc. No cooked, warm or mushy foods. Instead feed more fresh foods like veggies, herbs, weeds, grasses, spices, flowers, sprouted seeds etc.
●Stop giving food 24/7 and instead pull all food overnight, and feed at specific meal times during the day. In the wild they feed in two main sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. These last on average 1-2 hours. They will sometimes have a shorter feeding session in the late afternoon/evening just before dark and settling down to roost for the night. Providing them with food 24/7 (which they don't actually need) can trigger hormones as plentiful food is linked with breeding season. Feeding distinct meals with veggies first thing in the morning can also encourage them to eat more fresh foods if they don't already. Portion sizing is also very important, most tiels only need about 1-2 tablespoons of food per meal. If they eat all of it and want some more, you can give extra fresh foods or pellets.
●Introduce more enrichment and foraging opportunities and/or frequently re-arrange her cage to keep her busy - busy beaks have less time for hormonal behaviour!
●Don't let her on you while displaying hormonal behaviour. Remove any mirrors in the cage, and any toys that are triggering hormones.
If laying eggs you can either leave them if infertile, or freeze, boil, blow out etc. Then put them back, or replace completely with appropriately sized dummy eggs. Don't remove eggs entirely until she's finished laying and has lost interest in them, or it can encourage them to keep laying until they have a whole clutch. While laying eggs it's important to ensure she's on a good diet (not an all seed or seed based diet) and up calcium levels. Some good sources include veggies like spring greens, spinach, kale etc. Oyster shell, cuttle bone, mineral blocks, cleaned eggs shells, or a calcium supplement sprinkled over food. If your bird is on a healthy complete diet, make sure the supplement you use doesn't contain fat soluble vitamins and minerals as they can overdose on them. The type you put into water are ineffective so best to avoid.
Parrots (smaller ones especially) can suffer from egg binding, which is where the egg gets stuck inside them. This is more common in birds who don't have a nutritionally complete diet, such as those on a seed based diet. Keep an eye on her for symptoms just in case. These can include lethargy, appearing 'puffed up' and/or sitting on bottom of cage for extended periods of time, tail bobbing, lack of appetite, struggled/heavy breathing, trouble perching, and swelling near the vent area. If you notice any of these signs, for best chance of survival and recovery take her to an avian vet as soon as possible.
If none of these methods work, making an appointment with your avian vet may be necessary (especially if she's a chronic egg layer or has a history of egg binding). Hormone blocking injections can be given or an implant administered to help reduce hormone levels and related behaviours if needed. :)
