Petri the Cockatiel

[darclauz]

Originally Posted by wolf

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

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.

[wolf]

Originally Posted by darclauz

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.

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.

[LynnM]

Originally Posted by wolf

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.

Neurosis from captivity. Very depressing.

[Elspode]

Originally Posted by LynnM

Neurosis from captivity. Very depressing.

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.

[LynnM]

Originally Posted by Elspode

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.

Originally Posted by Elspode

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!

[darclauz]

Originally Posted by LynnM

So please spread the word!

all i can think of here is LJ's word.

[capnhowdy]

Originally Posted by LynnM

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!

Were these drugs administered as per the order of a veterinarian?
I've heard that ritalin is a "phamaceutical babysitter" for kids. Seems to me like good old TLC could be the best medicine. I'm no animal therapist but I've noticed that my pets start doing stupid shit if I don't take up enough time with them. But then again Leroy the lab does stupid shit anyway. I think drugs, in all cases (human or animal) should be the LAST resort.
Some of you may remember a cellar dweller handled "xxxxx xxxxxxxx. He had a boston terrier that was extremely hyper. So he self-administered the dog valium so he could "handle him". The valium temporarily sedated the animal, but when it wore off he was all the more unmanagable. Naturally the dog developed a dependance to the drug. Eventually he gave him away. The new owner didn't have the drug to give him and I heard (tho not confirmed) the poor guy wound up at the shelter and was put down. Very sad, indeed.

[LynnM]

Originally Posted by capnhowdy

Were these drugs administered as per the order of a veterinarian?
I've heard that ritalin is a "phamaceutical babysitter" for kids. Seems to me like good old TLC could be the best medicine. I'm no animal therapist but I've noticed that my pets start doing stupid shit if I don't take up enough time with them. But then again Leroy the lab does stupid shit anyway. I think drugs, in all cases (human or animal) should be the LAST resort.
Some of you may remember a cellar dweller handled "xxxxx xxxxxxxx. He had a boston terrier that was extremely hyper. So he self-administered the dog valium so he could "handle him". The valium temporarily sedated the animal, but when it wore off he was all the more unmanagable. Naturally the dog developed a dependance to the drug. Eventually he gave him away. The new owner didn't have the drug to give him and I heard (tho not confirmed) the poor guy wound up at the shelter and was put down. Very sad, indeed.

Yes, the drugs definitely were administered per vet's orders. I agree about drugs being the last resort. I've been on Zoloft for many years now, but resisted and resisted and resisted before starting. Now I wish I hadn't held out so long because my depression-free life is so vastly improved as to be unrecognizable.

And yes, I was in therapy for ages, and continued therapy for several years after starting Zoloft. The simple fact is that these drugs address very real chemical imbalances or deficiencies in the brain that cause depression and other crippling mental disorders.

Valium is a completely different drug from the anti-depressants. It's sad that the Boston Terrier's dad didn't seek the expert advice of a vet who might have steered him toward the appropriate medication for his dog.

[wolf]

Originally Posted by LynnM

Neurosis from captivity. Very depressing.

Raised in captivity from a handfed hatchling. The wild terrifies him. The wild does not have Taco Bell or Kentucky Fried Chicken.

One owner. He is treated like a prince. Better than a prince, actually. He is rarely kept in a cage. When he is caged, it's a 6'X5'X4' palace of bird entertainment. He has his own radio. Daylight hours are spent on a ringstand outdoors in appropriate weather, and a massive tree thingy in the house. He is able to wander about and climb down from it to investigate other parts of the house at will.

He didn't always pluck, it's only over about the last three or four years. I think he's approaching 11, possibly 12. He is older than the oldest human child in the household.

He has an excellent disposition, is not a biter (other than deriving a certain mischevious joy from snapping buttons in two and "resizing" rings), and is very comfortable interacting with a variety of people.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I feel sorry for Indy the Parrot. I have the same problem. Everytime I try to take my clothes off they want to cage me and give me drugs.