Sexual Maturity....

[Susan Plett]

I'm looking for a bit of advice/experience:

I have a 1 1/2 yr old male budgie named Bob, who is my buddy...spends
his days roaming my house, hanging out with us, eating our food, adoring
himself in our mirrors, laying claim to the baby's toys...he's bonded to
humans and quite sweet and entertaining.
Lately however...his food regurgitation, which I realize is mating
behavior (Hello, my name is Bob, I can provide you), has escalated to
the point where is he is wrapping his wings around my hand and waggling
his little bottom at top speed...I don't mind this, but I'm wondering if
he is getting frustrated!!!
I've been thinking of buying him a buddy (in its' own cage cause the
cage is a night time and feeding thing only) but am wondering about a
few things:

Will this cause Bob to stop being our pal? I would really miss him if
he weren't as tame as he is. (He spent two weeks at Christmas this year
with two untamed budgies, and while he spent time with them, he still
seemed to want to hang out with people as well)

Will it be possible to tame the new bird?

I would get a baby budgie, so then wouldn't know the sex...would either
sex be company for this amorous little guy?

Any advice would be appreciated!!

Thanks!!!

Sue and Bob the Wonder Bird

[LayneDinLA]

>Will this cause Bob to stop being our pal?

Almost certainly. While sexually bonded larger parrots occasionally remain
tame to humans, smaller birds do not. Exceptions may exist, but the
general rule is that a pair bonded budgie, cickatiel or lovebird will not
want to have anything to do with you.

>Will it be possible to tame the new bird?

Sure, as long as he isn't bonded to your existing bird. If caged
seperately and not allowed to interact too much, they'll both remain tame.
On the other hand, this won't help Bob's frustration at all.

I think we anthropomorphisize the sexual frustration thing in small birds
a bit much. The fact that they try to mate with us tells me that they
don't know that they aren't mating with us. Who knows, after a few seconds
on your hand they might be looking for a cigarette and a pizza. I think
the amorous small bird is perfectly happy without a mate. Coziyng up to
your hand should neither be encourage nor punished (that would confuse the
little guy who is only doing what comes naturally). Once he starts the
"mating dance" just slowly position your hand so he has to stop. Don't
make him go away or react violently.

Layne...@aol.com (Layne David Dicker)

[Adam Sundor]

snip
: behavior (Hello, my name is Bob, I can provide you), has escalated to

: the point where is he is wrapping his wings around my hand and waggling
: his little bottom at top speed...I don't mind this, but I'm wondering if
: he is getting frustrated!!!
: I've been thinking of buying him a buddy (in its' own cage cause the
: cage is a night time and feeding thing only) but am wondering about a
: few things:

snip

Read where ? here someone bought a little stuffed animal with which the
bird mates. Worked out quite well. A teddy bear or bird bear then?
Don't know, soon he'll be dialing 900 numbers...

Adam

[d...@jondix.mv.com]

> layne...@aol.com (LayneDinLA) writes:
> >
> I think we anthropomorphisize the sexual frustration thing in small birds
> a bit much.

Layne's comment was reassuring to hear. My 'tiel hen Pea (1 year old) acts the same
way, and I found myself feeling "sorry" for her, and that I had some moral obligation to
find her a "date". Will she really be happiest just hanging out with me for the rest of her
life? She has humans and cats to interact with throughout the day and since she's
spoiled rotten she basically spends the evenings with me, so she's definitely not bored
or lacking in companionship, albeit with different species.

Becky

[Susan Plett]

LayneDinLA wrote:
>
> I think we anthropomorphisize the sexual frustration thing in small birds

> a bit much. The fact that they try to mate with us tells me that they
> don't know that they aren't mating with us. Who knows, after a few seconds
> on your hand they might be looking for a cigarette and a pizza.

Good point - I hadn't thought of it that way :). He IS a friendly
happy energetic little guy, otherwise well-adjusted...really good with
kids and strangers...I'd hate to jeopardize that.

Thanks for your response.

[Thomas]

I wouldn't worry about Bob not being your pal anymore after you get a
female. We've had "Data" for over a year, and he's our buddy, too.
At Christmas, he got a girlfriend, "Joy". Although they have bonded
with each other, Data is stilll our little buddy. He still talks and
plays with us. Joy has been easy to tame, too, since she can take her
cues from Data (she has reasoned that he doesn't seem to mind sitting
on the human's finger, so....) I'm hoping Data will teach her to
talk, too. They are really sweet together, but my husband and I
haven't noticed anything different about Data's behavior toward us
since Joy's arrival.
--Candace