Petri the Cockatiel

[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!