just wondering...

[steptoe91(tozie)]

Today i had skittles playing with my neice... but that's another story. the connection is the toy they were playing with had little basketballs about the size of a pingpong ball, and  they are orange. well, Skittles got hold of one and was holding it with his (her) foot. (now remember, tho i call skittles he i'm almost positive skittles is a female) and he/she was mouthing the ball with her beak and tongue very carefully, then he/she put it against me, kinda in the crook of my arm,  and tried to straddle it, and began making some very very strange noises. which left me wondering WTH???     needless to say, the ball went into the other room, skittles was put back on his/her totem pole, and i went to find something else to do. 

but my question is: was skittles A) trying to mate with the ball.   B) trying to hatch the ball or C) just playing with the ball. or maybe D) none of the above??

[Sondra]

I'm not sure at what age Macaws become sexually mature, but it does sound like mating behaviour. OR it could be he thought it was an egg and he was trying to sit on it & tell you how proud tou should be of him/her. The sitting instinct will kick in even if they aren't sexually mature although real young parrots will try to eat or play with it. I've given Powder a whole egg and he's tried to sit on it and he was only 5 at the time - not sexually mature. I also gave Poncho one of Mommas eggs before I tossed it and he sat on it for almost a whole day.

[Ditty]

Ummm yeah the wierd noises, with the straddle.  Female mating behavior I would say.  She may be making the connection between Loving the ball and loving playing with the ball with Aly too.

[Sondra]

Actually, MALES straddle and make wierd noises, Females lift the rump and slide the tail feathers over to one side.

[Ditty]

True I have seen males straddle too.  Just don't tell Zuri.  She hunkers down onto something, wings go out a bit from the body and then the wierd noises start. 

[steptoe91(tozie)]

now i've seen some female mating behavior in skittles, that's what makes me think he's a she.  i've read they become sexually mature between 5 and 8.  he/she will get on the swing and wrap his/her wing around the chain, tip the tailfeathers to the right and try to hunker down on the swing. he/she will also try to pull my mouth open like a female pulling a male's bottom mandible to encourage him to feed her.
now marley definitely does his business in the "male position". he curls his tail around his platform, and rubs. twiggy, who is 99% sure a female, does the tail up and to the side rubbing on her ropes, as she makes an unmistakable sound. Ollie has also gotten into the act. the last couple days in a row, in the mornings he will get on his dragonwood perch. it has three large, blunt branches. he straddles the middle one, curls his tail under and makes a sound similar to an old Dodge trying to turn over in cold weather.  he also has his beak open and his wings slightly extended. the first time he did it i almost paniced, i thought he was in resparatory distress! 

the thing about skittles with the ball that made me wonder if he was treating it like an egg is he held it very gently and mouthed it, turned it this way and that, then he put it in my arm and tried to straddle it, poked it with his beak, and moved it around some more to get it positioned under him. then he started making this very strange noise. i cant even describe it because it was like nothing i've ever heard before.

lol, zuri is gender confused?    poor girl.  or maybe she's played this take care of myself game so long she's figured out the best way to achieve maximum pleasure?

[Sondra]

When I first gave Poncho that egg he did position it the same way Momma does when she sits on eggs, tucking, and moving it with her beak. He also made some sounds, but they were definitely different than the sounds he makes when he masturbates - more like "I'm gonna be a daddy" kinda noises, happy grunts, and such.

[Ditty]

Actually Tozie, Zuri IS gender confused.  Came to us saying Baaaad Boooooy, but DNA'd female.  What is with this household.  Zuri thought she was a boy and is a girl.  Yoshi is DNA'd female but we always have called her a HE so he says Good Boy.  Hmmmmmm with that thought, Jared comere!! 

[BPMar]

  Chili and Taj I am sure are somewhat gender confused as they both say "good boy".  I still tell Chill he...she is a good boy   It's hard to change that thought pattern....so my boy Chili laid an egg before...so what!?

[BuffaloParrot]

At least I know Julio is a boy.  He has been mounting anything that is available to him.  At least he has not mounted Chico!

[Sondra]

At least I know Julio is a boy.  He has been mounting anything that is available to him.  At least he has not mounted Chico!

Wait for it......it WILL happen! 

[sophiemae]

Rachel is gender confused as well...I've been calling her Rachel for months now and she still insists on being called Rebel  She lays 2 eggs a year and is currently trying to nest so I know she is a she as she that just wants to be a he