What Is Parrot Hormonal Season and How Can I Help My Bird Stay Regular?

With spring in full swing, the temperatures rise, the days get longer, and your exotic birds are quickly approaching mating season. Around this time, your bird will start showcasing increasingly erratic and confusing behaviors that are out of the norm. It’s a natural occurrence this time of year, but birds in captivity can undergo an extended version of this hormonal season and showcase these behaviors for longer periods. What causes these prolonged periods of unrest, and what can you do to help keep your bird’s hormone levels in check?

When Is Parrot Hormonal Season?

Typically, parrot hormonal season begins in the spring. The weather has gotten warmer, the days are longer, and the birds’ bodies are ready for the mating and breeding season’s rigors. A bird’s body can typically only handle breeding once or twice a year, and their hormones go into a dormant state for the remainder of the year outside of these specific windows. This behavior occurs so their body can recover and bring their offspring into the world before the winter. 

What Causes Disruptions in the Hormonal Season?

Wild birds get prepared based on external factors such as food availability, weather, and a host of factors that we do not yet understand. Captive birds still go through the same process; however, the guaranteed food supply, sedentary lifestyle, and irregular sleep patterns can throw their hormones out of balance and create an extended hormonal season. With these changes in their natural rhythms, captive birds can suffer from an extended hormonal season and continue to display the erratic behavior that becomes a calling card of the season. 

What Behaviors Should I Look Out For?

At the outset of the hormonal season, you will see shifts in your bird’s behavior that indicate that mating season has begun. Most birds will showcase a few of the following behaviors:

• Flat backing
• Strutting with fanned tail feathers
• Nesting
• Feather plucking
• Food regurgitation

These are some of the most common behaviors that your bird can showcase during its hormonal season, and being aware of these signs can help you become better prepared for the changes. 

How Can I Help Regulate Their Hormones?

While you cannot eliminate parrot hormonal season entirely, there are steps you can take to help keep your bird in a natural rhythm and avoid prolonged bouts of hormonal season antics. One of the most significant contributors to an out-of-whack hormonal season centers on their diet. If they currently have an imbalanced diet that does not provide them the proper nutrients, their hormonal season can quickly get out of sync. By changing their diet and focusing on bringing them the right balance of nutrients, you can help keep their system in balance. Additionally, mate availability, access to nesting materials, and longer daylight hours are other major contributing factors affecting hormone levels. 

When it comes to finding the proper diet for your birds, Todd Marcus can help! Our store features a wide variety of parrot treats, bird travel cages, and other dietary options that can help give your bird the balance they would find in the wild. Help their hormone levels stay in check by visiting Todd Marcus Birds Exotic today!