Eclectus Parrots are one of the few species parrot that go through a short hormonal stage. For majority of this species it’s very short & tolerable. But there are some that become very aggressive & intolerable.
The female, when coming into adulthood can sometimes become moody & over protective of her surroundings. A well balanced diet can help curb some this behaviour & can also help to prevent egg binding or feather plucking.
The males can become stubborn during these times & can be delt with by using positive reinforcement.
Both male & female can display territorial behaviours during this stage at any of their favourite place in the home.
You cannot stop hormonal behaviour, but you can lessen the severity of it.
Hormonal aggression is a natural part of life for parrots & occurs through maturity & breeding times. In the wild if an Eclectus has found the perfect hollow tree & a good supply of food & water close by she will naturally want to protect this area & this is where the aggression plays a roll. A pet Eclectus is no different. You have supplied them with a cage, toys & endless supply of food & water, so when breeding times comes around why wouldn’t they want to protect their space from unwanted intruders?
This sort of aggression can be eased or sometimes even prevented by taking a few simple measures. Spreading their toys, food & water throughout the house, rather than having it all in one small space. By setting up more than one place for your ekkie with food, water, toys, swings & stands throughout the house & having your ekkie active equally in these spots you’re giving your parrot less opportunity for the need to protect the one 'perfect' spot. You can also block off small dark areas & corners if you see your ekkie is starting to favour them & spend a great deal of time in these areas.
Through my eclectus' time of hormones he started to favour being under our coffee table. We allowed this to happen & as a result we often found him lunging at our feet when we would go anywhere near the coffee table. He would also drag all his favourite toys under there. His aggression was very mild, he wouldn’t go further than lunging & growling at the time but it did start to become quite frequent. We were worried that it gradually would get worse so we decided to wrap a t-towel around the bar under the coffee table. This was where he would sit a lot with his worldly possessions. With the t-towel in place he stopped going under the coffee table & his aggression stopped.
This sort of aggression can be eased or sometimes even prevented by taking a few simple measures. Spreading their toys, food & water throughout the house, rather than having it all in one small space. By setting up more than one place for your ekkie with food, water, toys, swings & stands throughout the house & having your ekkie active equally in these spots you’re giving your parrot less opportunity for the need to protect the one 'perfect' spot. You can also block off small dark areas & corners if you see your ekkie is starting to favour them & spend a great deal of time in these areas.
Through my eclectus' time of hormones he started to favour being under our coffee table. We allowed this to happen & as a result we often found him lunging at our feet when we would go anywhere near the coffee table. He would also drag all his favourite toys under there. His aggression was very mild, he wouldn’t go further than lunging & growling at the time but it did start to become quite frequent. We were worried that it gradually would get worse so we decided to wrap a t-towel around the bar under the coffee table. This was where he would sit a lot with his worldly possessions. With the t-towel in place he stopped going under the coffee table & his aggression stopped.
On one occasion my Eclectus decided to start dragging his favourite toys over to my cats bedding so we removed the bed to a spot we knew he wouldn’t favour or use in any way. He has on occasion taken out his aggression on my cat who has always been terrified of him. His hormones had eventually settled & there is no aggression towards living beings, until the next season. On an occasion his hormones are raging he takes his aggression out on his toys. This we can accept & so far it’s gone no further than this. Eddie has learnt the lounge floor is NOT his. It is a shared floor shared lounge room however, because hormones are unpredictive in any bird, during this time Eddie cannot be 100% trusted.
When Eclectus parrots reach maturity they can sometimes lash out for no apparent reason & it happens in both sexes. If the aggression is hormonal or maturity they not usually aware of their own actions. Hormones can cause undesirable behaviours & there is very little we can do about this except ride it out, have patients & understanding of this & not attempt to discipline a bird for their behaviours through this time. This will eventually ease & go. If you attempt to discipline this sort of behaviour your parrot will not understand why it’s being disciplined & you may make things much worse. You can’t force your parrot to stop being hormonal. It’s a natural course of life.
Eddie began to show his first mild signs of hormonal behaviour around 20 months. The hormonal aggression was extremely mild, almost not there & easy to manage. By the time he reached about a little over 2 years his aggression disappeared & he’d settled down nicely. At the age of 3 years & 2 weeks, Eddie's hormones kicked in for real this time, showing aggressive behaviour towards his toys, playing extremely rough, lashing out randomly. Some Eclectus parrots can go through more extreme hormonal stages while others don’t show any signs at all. Our misunderstanding of hormonal aggression can usually be the main culprit for the aggression getting worse & out of control for longer than it should go.
When Eclectus parrots reach maturity they can sometimes lash out for no apparent reason & it happens in both sexes. If the aggression is hormonal or maturity they not usually aware of their own actions. Hormones can cause undesirable behaviours & there is very little we can do about this except ride it out, have patients & understanding of this & not attempt to discipline a bird for their behaviours through this time. This will eventually ease & go. If you attempt to discipline this sort of behaviour your parrot will not understand why it’s being disciplined & you may make things much worse. You can’t force your parrot to stop being hormonal. It’s a natural course of life.
Eddie began to show his first mild signs of hormonal behaviour around 20 months. The hormonal aggression was extremely mild, almost not there & easy to manage. By the time he reached about a little over 2 years his aggression disappeared & he’d settled down nicely. At the age of 3 years & 2 weeks, Eddie's hormones kicked in for real this time, showing aggressive behaviour towards his toys, playing extremely rough, lashing out randomly. Some Eclectus parrots can go through more extreme hormonal stages while others don’t show any signs at all. Our misunderstanding of hormonal aggression can usually be the main culprit for the aggression getting worse & out of control for longer than it should go.
Hormonal Aggression