I think that my parrot is sexually attracted to me...

[Saucy Jack]

Anyone else ever have a pet bird become too attatched to them? My 5 year old
female macaw seems to think of me as a mate rather than as her master, she
regurgiates food for me and sometimes squats down and raises her tail like
she's expecting me to mount her or something. Yesterday she laid an egg on
the bottom of her cage. She's also become much more noisy and clingy
recently and hates to see me leave the room.

This is really creeping me out and it seems unhealthy for the bird too. Is
there any way of stopping her from doing this? I've heard that it's not good
for a hen bird to lay unfertilized eggs too.

[Alex]

Who told you these stories? Do you get rec.pet.birds?

Post by Saucy Jack
the bottom of her cage. She's also become much more noisy and clingy
recently and hates to see me leave the room.
This is really creeping me out and it seems unhealthy for the bird too. Is
there any way of stopping her from doing this? I've heard that it's not
good for a hen bird to lay unfertilized eggs too.

[Saucy Jack]

Post by Alex
Who told you these stories? Do you get rec.pet.birds?

I think it was on rec.pets.birds that I read that. Something about hen birds
getting into the habit of laying unfertilized eggs, then getting low on
calcium and getting sick.

There's too much flaming and bad advice on that group, thought that you
'bird people' might know more.

Every time I stroke or cuddle her, she starts getting excited/turned on and
I feel really guilty about it when it happens, as though I've done something
wrong. Anyone know why she's behaving like this? She's only just started
doing it in the last couple of weeks.

It might sound funny if you're not in that situation but it feels sick,
wrong and really creepy for me to have a bird that 'fancies' me.

[n***@no_where.invalid]

Post by Saucy Jack
Anyone else ever have a pet bird become too attatched to them? My 5 year old
female macaw seems to think of me as a mate rather than as her master, she

Post this in rec.pet.birds. Folks there would be able to give you an
answer. Many parrot people there.

[n***@no_where.invalid]

Post by Saucy Jack
Anyone else ever have a pet bird become too attatched to them? My 5 year old
female macaw seems to think of me as a mate rather than as her master, she
regurgiates food for me and sometimes squats down and raises her tail like

My YNA does this in the spring every year. Never lays an egg though.
It is normal for members of the parrot family to do this. There is no
harm and will pass after a while. Just make sure the bird is getting
a good diet and there should not be a problem.

[Phil D.]

Post by Saucy Jack
Anyone else ever have a pet bird become too attatched to them? My 5 year old
female macaw seems to think of me as a mate rather than as her master, she
regurgiates food for me and sometimes squats down and raises her tail like
she's expecting me to mount her or something. Yesterday she laid an egg on
the bottom of her cage. She's also become much more noisy and clingy
recently and hates to see me leave the room.
This is really creeping me out and it seems unhealthy for the bird too. Is
there any way of stopping her from doing this? I've heard that it's not good
for a hen bird to lay unfertilized eggs too.

Is it getting near spring where you live? Parrots are very
highly-sexed birds and their hormones go crazy at that time of year.
The hens seem to get it worse - they'll 'fall in love' with the person
whom they have the most contact with, in the absence of a male bird,
then get snappy as the mothering/protective instinct kicks in. The
cock birds just tend to get a bit noisy and hump their toys a lot.

In your other post, you said that you like to stroke/cuddle her. To a
parrot, stroking anywhere except the top of the head when she's in
'heat' is like foreplay to her - especially the tummy feathers, her
back and underneath her wings. Cuddling is probably worse.

If she's laying eggs, make sure she eats lots of calcium-rich foods to
replace that she lost in producing the shells. Boiled (hen's) eggs or
hard cheese are quite good, if she'll eat them.