I had a budgie named Socrates. He was insane. He didn't like to be handled, but he loved for me to come up to the cage so he could rub his head on my nose. At some point, that behavior turned to biting -- hard. He wasn't being defensive, he genuinely enjoyed doing it. He would bug you until you came over to the cage, at which point he would run over and gnaw on my nose for a couple seconds. Then he'd shut up for the rest of the night. It was his ritual.

And, um, shouldn't you keep him in a dish instead of a cage?

He's a plucker, so mostly he's a naked macaw.

That sentence was worth repeating.

One of the things I really like about the cellar is that smart, creative, esoteric personalities and comments abound...wolf primary in that list.

It's a great sentence. Creative word choice. Stopped me in my tracks.



I had a cockatiel but he was the devil. I gave it to my neighbor, who is a card carrying bird lover. She was glad to have stevie at her house, and swore inside she would take better care of him.....called the vet to look it over (stevie's first checkup).

The vet reached her hand in to examine him, and he had a heart attack and dropped over dead.

Hey, never thought of those! Thanks guys! ;)

Seriously, I understand he was named after a character in The Land Before Time.

:redface:

Thanks. :)

This is a photo from when Indy was actually doing better, meaning that he had pinfeathers growing in ... his chest should be fully red, but everytime he gets a red feather coming in, he yanks it out.

I don't get it.
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so bossy he thinks he is the king of the house

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sleep on our slippers and poop in them!!

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He wants lots of attention

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he'll bite your arm off

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Not real friendly



I don't agree with keeping birds. It breaks my heart to see social creatures. born to fly free, sitting alone in a cage. If anyone gets the chance, see The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. It's a real eye-opener.

But to address the opinion that because of a few personality quirks a bird would not be a good companion, I'd venture to say that most of the humans in our lives, including our immediate families, have far more irritating and potentially far more dangerous idiosyncrasies than those birds.

Neurosis from captivity. Very depressing.

Hi LynnM, welcome to the cellar. I guess a cellar isn't really a naturalistic biotope for birdies. Bats, maybe, birds, prolly not. But don't shun us just because we're conflicted about the pretty pretty birds, hang out awhile.


ps, don't freak out when the test comes. and the answer is not ammonia, nevermind what the others say. Good to have you here.

mustard

Do birds bred in captivity suffer from this, or only captured wild birds?

I've always wondered why I pull out my arm hairs. Now I know why. Office Confinement Syndrome. :)

Both. It's because it's in their genes to perform certain behaviors (flying, congregating, grooming each other, bonding, mating) and when they're prevented from doing so, and confined in a small prison cell to boot, they go mad.

Please, please don't buy birds. The only legitimate reason for getting one is to rescue it from a worse situation.

I just remembered something that may help that poor bird who's mutilating himself. Years ago, Michael Moore produced a show called "TV Nation." One of the segments was entitled "Dogs on Prozac." There were dogs who had been helped, of course, but there was also a parrot who had denuded himself of feathers and pecked himself bloody. With Prozac, or whatever similar drug they use for birds, he was fine. A little too laid back maybe, but better than the alternative.

I've since used antidepressants on cats and on a couple of dogs. Just 10 days on Buspar helped me integrate Philippe, once a "vicious" cat who had to be kept separate from the others, into the rest of my cat family. Always a lover with humans, he previously had attacked to kill any other cat he saw. Philippe didn't need further treatment. For him the medication worked as a behavior modification tool, teaching him a new way to react to those in his environment.

My dog, Buddy, who just died of liver cancer, was obsessed with and aggressive to other male dogs if they were in the house. During a 26-month period in which I kept a male Beagle, Prozac very nicely took the edge off for Buddy. Actually I'd started him on Buspar, which worked beautifully at first but then stopped working.

The Michael Moore program showed a Pit Bull (I think) who was obsessed with a log, taking it everywhere. It was worth your life to try to get the thing away from him. On Prozac he just said, "Log? What log? Don't bother me about that stupid log."

Another dog on the Moore segment incessantly chased his tail. Prozac fixed that behavior as well.

From my own experience I've come to believe that many of the personality/behavioral problems that land animals on death row in shelters could be addressed and corrected by antidepressants. So please spread the word!

Thanks for the welcome! I've been telling my friends about this place, which has become my new addiction. Night after night, when I should be sleeping. Oy!

I love the intelligence and the wit of those who post here.

The Cellar is a great place with great people. Some of us are more argumentative than others, though. :)

For instance...I have a cat that really, really likes to go outside. It is obviously in her nature to do so. She was a stray when we got her, although very young. She goes absolutely apeshit if she can't go outside several times a day. So...

Do I keep her in so nothing bad happens to her, do I let her out because it is in her nature, or should I have never picked her up in the first place? :D

Cat Flap!!

redundant




edit : sorry, wrong thread