Ask Lafeber

Hormonal Obsession

Hi, it has been a while since I sent my questions. Right now my bird is in better condition since his vet visit. The lovebird now can fly and move his wings with ease and the wound is gone. Only little bare patch is there with new feathers growing in. He has been separated for long time and I tried slowly introducing him back to his mate. However when she is there, he has this crazy obsession of regurgitation for her which makes me worry if he’s losing his food. I noticed the female is quite attached to the idea of mating and always knocks on surfaces with her beak. As you mentioned that it’s mating ritual signs, how can I reduce their crazy obsession with mating? Is boredom the source for this issue? Or is it their presences of each other? If so, how can I fix this?

Hi Lillium,

I’m glad to hear he is healing and feeling better! Being together is enough to trigger hormones. You can try to discourage nesting by making some changes.

You need to do all of these things to discourage breeding.  Keep in mind that to breed and lay eggs, they need longer daylight, warmer weather, abundant food, and a quiet, private environment. Your goal is to reverse these conditions.

Limit their light to 8-10 hours by covering the cage early each evening

Do not give them anything to use as a nest – no bird huts or tents, no box, bowl, etc. If they decide to sit in a food bowl, remove it and replace with smaller cups.

Do not give them anything to shred such as paper or cardboard.

Rearrange the toys in the cage frequently.

Move the cage to a busy room. Move the cage about once a week, or whenever they show signs of nesting – settling on the cage floor for example.

If they are let out of the cage, do not let them get in any dark cozy places and don’t give them free roam.

If there is no metal floor grate, then do not use any bedding or paper in the cage tray – leave it bare and clean it daily.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda