Odd behaviour from a African Grey??

[DeLaUK]

One of the parrots, an African Grey that is boarding at the shelter was acting very strange earlier...at least it dint look normal and no one has seen him/her doing it before, one foot on the perch, the other clenched tight and it looked like she was rubbing her lower abdomen/vent area on the perch, repetitive motion, making an unusual sound, then she (they think its a female but not sure) would switch sides/feet and do it again, it went on for about 5 minutes. At the same time there was what looked like something opaque and slimey in her mouth, then it disappeared, then it came back, I managed to get her beak open and there was nothing unusual that we could see, she is vicious and they didnt have any gloves, I would have toweled her but she stopped the behaviour, was quiet for a few minutes, feathers ruffled up and then carried on talking and acting normal. A seizure of some kind crossed my mind but she seemed aware of us being there, maybe it was a pain issue, with not knowing for sure if she is a female I thought about egg-bound maybe, theres no blood, no signs of injury, stool looks normal, no diet changes. She has been boarding for about 2 weeks and I believe she has anotehr 2 weeks to go, she is also a regular boarder there, she comes in 3-4 times a year and has done for quite a few years now.

Any ideas what this might be?

[Shineillusion]

My male Amazon used to do something very close to what you described when he was sexually frustrated and having himself a little thought, if you know what I mean. The male will regurgitate to feed the female as part of their mating ritual...and rubbing the vent area is birdy masturbation.

[DeLaUK]

Well if thts what it is...thats a relief, we dont need to worry about it all then. Just let 'him' carry on....there is another African Grey nearby, I was told that one is a male although I have no idea if there any differences in colour, these 2 are almost identical except the one thats boarding is a litlte bigger and I think a little younger.
Thanks.

[charmedagain]

Hi Dela I agree with Shine, It is breeding season and all birds without a mate will probably be doing this it is perfectly normal behaviour.
Birds become more aggressive than normal during the breeding season so do not worry if he seems alittle bit more aggitated than normal.

The opaque stuff you have seen is food as Shine mentioned they regurgitate food for the female this shows the female that he will be a good provider for her and there family.

Mike

[DeLaUK]

I had thought about the regurgitation but I didnt know males did it, I know that the females develope a 'milK' for their baby's.....amazing. Thanks for the info, Ill let them know at the shelter and we wont stand around staring at him the next time he does this then. Im thinking now we should provide a partition for them then

[DeLaUK]

Theres been a 'developement'.....I didnt see this as it happened this morning but the woman that runs the shelter said he did the same thing again, Id already phoned her and given her the info you both gave (thankyou again) so she wasnt worried about him when he started up again but then she saw him fall off his perch and was on the bottom of the cage shaking and unable to get up for about a minute or less, he seemed 'sedate' for a while after...by the time I got there this afternoon he was eating, drinking, active and 'yelling' at everyone.

[charmedagain]

Sounds like he has exhausted himself.
If he falls off the perch again i would have him checked over just to make sure all is well.

I do not think there is anything to worry about as with cockatiels the males will breath fast and this can cause disorientation..

Mike

[DeLaUK]

OKay, thanks Mike, Ill let them know.....