courtship display?

[kyleeandlilly]

hi there i have a female IRN just turned 3yr, she has always loved 1 toy ball in particular that she has always leaned over and played with. for 3 weeks now shes is always at the ball, stretching over it, quivering her wings, clicking etc.. she would rather do that than anything else. do i just leave her to it? or shell i take the ball out for a day?
thank you
kylee

[ellieelectrons]

I don't know what the "correct" answer to this is but my gut instinct is to take it away & also introduce more food foraging into her life.

My reasoning is that this behavior could turn into an obsession and we need to break that behavior. Introducing foraging will mean that your bird has to do more during the day and this will keep her occupied. Your bird may not know how to forage naturally so you will need to introduce it slowly and make it really easy to start with.

Is yur bird tame?

Hopefully someone with a little more knowledge on this will respond too.

Ellie.

[ellieelectrons]

P.s. Please don't pull the toy out of the cage unless you are sure. I'd hate to be responsible for traumatizing your bird! Best wishes. Regardless of whether you pull the toy out I think foraging is a good idea. Please let me know if you want more info. I will find a link to an old foraging thread on this forum for you.

[lene1949]

If you rotate her toys, maybe you can swap the ball for another favourite for a little while and see how she goes?

[kyleeandlilly]

hi thanks guys,
ill try rotate it with another and put some more foraging things in for her.
yes shes tame but i cant get near the ball when shes around it.
she has plenty to do in her cage during the day but would rather be with her ball.
ill see how she goes without it

[Sixty Fiver]

hi there i have a female IRN just turned 3yr, she has always loved 1 toy ball in particular that she has always leaned over and played with. for 3 weeks now shes is always at the ball, stretching over it, quivering her wings, clicking etc.. she would rather do that than anything else. do i just leave her to it? or shell i take the ball out for a day?
thank you
kylee

Have been trying to figure this out as well as my female IR does this and always picks one perch in the lower part of the cage and have been told she has always done this... does not seem to be directed at her partner but to humans and was a behaviour before Lucce came along.

When she does this it seems to associated with her desire to come out and spend time with us as does hanging upside down from the top corner of her cage... she only speaks in parrotese while Lucce is very talkative and will act like a total clown when he wants to play.

She does not do this for Lucce as part of their flirting behaviour... she will become quite submissive when when he is strutting his stuff trying to impress her but does not do the little wing wag for him.

Have thought it was a carry over from a juvenile behaviour as with Amore is it often a gesture of supplication or to get attention when she thinks Lucce has been getting too much of it.

[kyleeandlilly]

sounds similar except she is the only bird in her cage, some times she will be more aggressive during doing this and sometimes more submissive so much that shes frozen in her 'stance' and u can pick her right up, she faves one person maybe she has her fave ball a swell like yours?
im taking the ball away slowly for a hour and replacing it to see what she does.