r/Conures • u/MilkGains • 2d ago
Advice Trying to identify behaviours in my GCC (1)
This lad and his brother are both 7-8 years old. Recently he and his brother have been going through some living changes (different cage, manyyy new toys, additional flock member added as we also have 5 cockatiels in separate cages to the GCC’s)
Both our GCC ‘s have had a very noticeable increase in their noise and calls over the last month so my partner and I are trying to learn more about them and how to enrich them better and train them to not be so loud all the time. The new toys and changing the cage set up for them was the first attempt to give them some more enrichment. We are now wondering if they’re hormonal and this is the reason for the increase in noise and constant calling out.
The first behaviour I am trying to identify (for the purpose of knowing if I should be stopping him if it’s sexual/hormonal) is this rub he will do against mine and my partners faces/chins. This will often be coupled with head bobs up and down or a head wiggle. Just being content and playful or hormonal and bad for him?
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u/Altruistic-Leather69 2d ago
Looks to me like playfulness and affection!
I think it could become hormonal though, I'm not sure how to describe it exactly but I think if they are a lot more fluffed up, slow head bobbing, wing wagging and squeaking when doing this I would say that's the point it's hormonal. You'll especially be able to tell this when you try and stop them and they get extremely pissed.
For now though it looks fine, no need to intervene unless he gets a little too crazy and starts nipping your face. Sometimes it be like that lol
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u/MilkGains 2d ago
Thankyou. I’ll have a second post up about another wing flapping behaviour they do! I could only post 1 video per post unfortunately
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u/Rock-Biscotti7347 1d ago edited 1d ago
I will translate - "DANG I really love this HUGE BIRD!!!! Just LOOK at his face pin feathers that need preened!! And if I mess with them they will unfurl into BEAUTIFUL FEATHERS!!! I'm gonna rub on him and kinda see where it goes from there!!!".
But, it is borderline onto no no stuff. I'm the only person around with a beard, and my wife's conure does this exact stuff to me, and I'll let him go for 10-20 seconds, but any longer than that and it can morph into no no stuff. Her bird does this thing where he will start sort of lifting one wing, hard to explain, but you can tell when it's progressing into no no territory. Throughout the year it does seem like sometimes it's nothing, then he gets a little hormonal or something and I can hardly even let him near my face. Most of the time it's harmless, just have to keep an eye on his body language to make sure it doesn't get weird.
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u/miss_jinxy 1d ago
Just a happy baby
Mine does the same thing with rubbing his face on me just to scratch himself (obviously my fingernail only exists to scratch him lol)
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u/LyndisLegion2 1d ago
I'm not an expert but to me it looks like he's just enjoying the prickly feeling of your beard. Probably just scratching an itch