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Help! In the last month it seems that just the mere presence of my husband is overly stimulating to Sadie bird the U2. If she even hears him in the other room she gets in the crouched low, wings out, shaking mode looking for any way to get to him. When she does get to him she runs after him nipping at his feet (gently so far ) If he is around she will not play with her toys or even eat her food it seems that he is all she can think about. She did give him a pretty nasty bite on the arm recently but he confessed that it was mostly his fault lol. He never pets her anywhere but the head and she does not behave this way with me. It's beginning to get frustrating for all involved. I feel like we are not able to give her as much quality time because she so often has to be removed from the situation to keep it from escalating into a scream-fest or a bite. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Have you talked with your avian vet about this? I was surprised very few years ago to learn right here how very life-threatening this response can be for a 'too. Please realize it's far, FAR more than frustration. I would expect your vet to suggest a series of Lupron injections to see if that will calm her. If that doesn't work, many vets recommend rehoming to save the bird from dying of prolapse. Again, much more serious than mere frustration, so please don't let this go any further without involving your avian vet. If you need help finding a good vet, just nod.

My best, Paca

Thanks for the advice Paca! Failed to mention a key fact... Sadie is a male. Named first sexed later. He calles himself a pretty girl and I forget sometimes and do the same. 20 years of "Sadie is a pretty gggirrrrl" gets everyone confused lol.

In this situation, all that changes is the pronoun -- still a life-threatening problem that might be relieved by Lupron and screams for immediate vet care.

Good luck, Paca

Male Cockatoos can become extremely aggressive and inflict real damage. Especially when hormonal, and more so than females. Have you done any behavioral reading? Is he 20yo or more?

Check out the Macaw forum. There are a few recent threads re biting.

I had this problem for a little while. During breeding season I learned to cut back on the higher fat diet ( cut back on peanuts and peanut butter ), fewer showers, less light ( less than 12 hours bright light )and no petting on the lower back and where the top sides dip in to bring her out of breeding mode. She wants to breed with him. Cute for awhile but annoying after that.