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Post by Holly on Mar 27, 2017 4:43:26 GMT -5
Hi Everyone,
As some of you may know, I have adopted Norms a baby sister, Elsie who is a 4.5 month old beautiful princess parrot. Norms and Elsie have made some awesome progress and have been getting along really well, I am super happy with how they interact with one another at this stage. The problem is, Elsie is a HUGE stress head. She seems to get nervous and stressed very easily, she then starts open mouthed panting, looks at the ceiling and sometimes even shuts her eyes. I usually try very calmly to move her into her cage and cover her, this sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. The problem is... I am finding it very difficult to know what is stressing her out. I live in a her quiet home and like to think its a very happy one. She has a nice large cage, filled with her favourite toys. I have tried to keep her in a routined environment to try and create bonding opportunities for us. I feel like I'm trying everything but she still periodically has what seems like an 'anxiety attack'. The other big problem is, we are about to go on a 2 week holiday to my parents house and she will need to travel in the car for 2.5-3hrs. I am worried that this is going to stress her out so much she could actually hurt herself.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I am thinking of covering her in her travel cage which will be in the back seat of the car.
Thanks for your help!
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Post by biteybird on Mar 27, 2017 5:40:35 GMT -5
I guess you don't know if she has an underlying medical problem or whether it is, literally, just anxiety/stress. Maybe it's the ceiling that is worrying her? My husband's side of the family had a bird that would fall on the floor of its cage with its legs in the air whenever they took the cage outside, it was so scared of seeing the sky.  Whether or not you should cover the cage in the car - hmmm...I don't truly know, but I would see how she goes without covering it at first, as she might feel better being able to see you. But if she seems too agitated, then try covering it. |
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Post by easttex on Mar 27, 2017 12:50:45 GMT -5
I take a very conservative approach to these things. Some might say even too conservative, but if there is nothing you can see that may be causing the panic, I would get her examined by a vet. I'd be concerned that she might be having mild seizures. I don't think these are run-of-the-mill fear responses. It could be environmental stresses bringing them on, and sometimes it's hard to tell cause from effect. I've never known a Princess parrot, but have read that they tend to be curious and outgoing. Do you know much about her history?
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Post by Holly on Mar 27, 2017 15:37:42 GMT -5
Hi,
Thank you for your replies, I don't know much about her history. I know this is probably frowned upon, but I fell in love with her in a pet shop, it is one of our local bird shops, and they said she was hand reared, the breeder just wanted the shop to sell her birdies. I have also read they are usually quite outgoing and I'm surprised by Elsie's behaviour. She is a sweet little thing and it starting to take little trinkets (shiny toys) from my hand and wants to come out of her cage to explore on the play gym but other times she will just start to tremble and not want to move.
As far as the vet goes, I live in a small country town (I am doing my teaching country service) and we do not have an avian vet. So my concern is that I completely stress her out and take her to the vet and then the vet won't really know what to do for her... I took Norms there once when he crashed on the floor and had a small cut above his beak, and they were friends but admitted they don't really see birds very often and seemed a little unsure as to what to do.
As for the car, I think you might be right biteybird, I might see how she goes with seeing me and then I can always stop and cover her if it gets too much. Do you think I should do some test drives? Or will that put her through too much?
I just feel so sorry for my little Elsie, it would be horrible to be scared all the time!
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Post by aaron on Mar 28, 2017 9:45:45 GMT -5
I would try test drives... Maybe just try taking her out to the car and sitting in the car for a few minutes... drive around the block if it seems okay... then go back inside. Gradually work up to longer times based on her response... if she seems to be fine it doesn't have to be very gradual. If she seems really stressed, you will probably want to move slow.
But I do agree that it would be a good idea to get her seen by a vet-- especially if you can't identify any common factors that might be triggers for the anxiety behavior. She seems awfully young to be so stressed out for no clear reason, but I guess it's possible that she is just easily scared, or she went through something traumatic earlier in life? Hard to say, obviously. Poor little girl!
That said, maybe you can call the vet and describe the situation to them and see if they feel there is anything they will be able to do. Have you been able to identify how far the closest actual avian vet is, just in case?
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Post by Holly on Mar 28, 2017 15:35:00 GMT -5
Thanks Aaron, I am going to start test drives today. My plan was just like you said to sit in the car with her in her travel cage and see how she is and if she's looking ok, just go for a quick 5 minute drive. Hopefully she is ok... fingers crossed!
Our closest avian vet is about 3.5 - 4 hours away which makes things a bit tricky, Elsie is such a little sweetie and I feel like sometimes she is trying so hard to be brave but then her fears get in the way. As you can imagine, this makes the bonding process a bit challenging, as I want to spend time with her but also don't want to make her anxiety worse. At the moment I have just been talking to her through the cage and reading her stories... picture books so there isn't anything scary haha and when she wants to come out, I have just tried to be super calm and follow her lead.
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Post by aaron on Mar 29, 2017 23:00:55 GMT -5
It sounds like you have the right idea. I'm sure she will get more comfortable as time goes on. Patience is key with these little guys for sure. Let us know how it goes with the test drives!
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Post by biteybird on Mar 30, 2017 1:01:39 GMT -5
I, too, was going to recommend test drives of increasing duration. They are a great way to reassure your Elsie that she'll be safe.
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Post by Holly on Mar 30, 2017 23:55:32 GMT -5
Hi Everyone,
I sadly couldn't do a test drive as the weather decided to flood the road and I wasn't sure I was going to make it if I left any later... So Norms, Elsie and I took off with the help of my dad and we have arrived safely. Elsie did an awesome job! She was a little scared but we made it and she looks back to normal now. We took up her home cage as well to make the stay a little less scary! Yay Elsie!!
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Post by aaron on Mar 31, 2017 22:50:59 GMT -5
Glad to hear it!!
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Post by Holly on Apr 18, 2017 1:01:16 GMT -5
Hi Everyone,
I have to say, the holiday has done Elsie a world of good! We are back home now, but she is like a new bird, super curious and happy! She is still a little reserved and a quiet little thing but she LOVES Norms and feels safe with him which is great! She is also starting to be more interested in me and we are starting to bond nicely! Normy loves Elsie too and is being a super big brother! Yay!
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Post by aaron on Apr 18, 2017 21:59:40 GMT -5
Wow, that's fantastic! So glad to hear Elsie has come out of her shell! Great news.
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Post by biteybird on Apr 19, 2017 5:27:30 GMT -5
Knew you could do it, Holly! |
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