Parrot Hormones: A Complete Guide to Stopping Reproductive Hormones & Supporting Birds in Moult

Hormonal problems in birds are one of the most frustrating and difficult to live with behaviours and often the cause of why many birds are re-homed. A lot of birds in captivity spend far too much time in a stressful and sexually frustrated hormonal state which is not good for them or us. This frustration can also play a role in feather chewing and plucking. For female birds, excessive egg laying can deplete the body’s calcium. Hypocalcemia can lead to egg binding, where the uterine muscles cannot expel the egg. It can also cause seizures and brittle, easily fractured bones.

Lighting, environment, lack of sleep, excessive petting, diet, over feeding, feeding the wrong foods and lack of exercise are the main contributors to this problem and things that can, with a bit of effort, be overcome.

In the wild, birds only breed when conditions are right and are reproductively inactive when out of breeding season. In captivity the surroundings of abundance we provide often have the effect of keeping companion parrots reproductively active throughout the year. Without the naturally occurring environmental pressure of dwindling food supplies and changing conditions, breeding behaviours and hormonal drives persist unchecked.

Moulting can also cause birds to become grumpy and aggressive, behaviours that are often mistakenly labelled as sexual hormones. The nutritional needs of birds in moult are completely different to a sexually hormonal bird.

This book covers both hormonal behaviours and moulting. It gives solutions on how to prevent and stop breeding hormones from escalating including food lists that are natural aromatase inhibitors which can help stop activation of sexual behaviours.

It also covers moulting, including food lists of essential vitamins needed for healthy skin/feathers and feather problems caused by deficiencies.