Discouraging mating behavior in a pair of goffins cockatoos?

Question

Swift and Boo are driving me NUTS! It's Spring, they see and hear rain, warmth, and sunshine... and being in California I'm giving them alot more fresh fruits and veggies :)

When people are around, they both prefer humans and fight with eachother. 

Swift is 3 and is especially driving me and my boyfriend nuts. She is obviously going thru puberty and nothing is safe from her beak and she screams excessively. 

I've started to put them to bed earlier, and severely limiting "treat foods" like eggs and oatmeal. Also not rubbing either of their shoulders or rumps (just head scratching). Noted the signs of swift regurgitating, and successfully distract her when she begins to do so (this has been checked by a vet and confirmed as behavioral)

It is probably worse because they are the same species and a male/femal pair. Separating them is out of the question (due to space issues).

Is there anything else we can do to limit this seasonal behavior  and make Swift's puberty easier on us humans?

PinkDagger · Accepted Answer

Have you considered putting a cage wall within the cage? That may help a bit, since you say caging separately becomes an issue. You're definitely on the right track, but puberty's generally the toughest time to deal with any kind of bird, ever! Some say it's like re-training the bird all over again because they have the tendency to become nippy and territorial all over again.

To get you started on some things you may not be doing yet, check out http://www.rationalparrot.com/tease.html If I remember correctly, the owner of that site has gone through puberty with three parrots and is in for it at least one more time, so she really knows what she's talking about.

Good luck.

Anonymous · Answer

Have boo give her a wing job.

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Discouraging mating behavior in a pair of goffins cockatoos?

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