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Shah
Dec 27, 2014 4:04:01 GMT -5
Post by Jan and Shah on Dec 27, 2014 4:04:01 GMT -5
He is driving me crazy. Not only is he biting his neck but he now bites the cage at 1.30am - I have to put him out of the room so I can get some sleep. I am at my wit's end with him. He wont stop biting his neck and screams a lot. I was going to start clicker training him today but didn't get the time. He is off to the vet tomorrow morning and I think he will have something put on his neck so he cant get to it. He will then go hysterical for the amount of time he has to wear it. I just don't know what to do with him. Nothing seems to distract him from biting his neck at the moment and this cage biting is a new thing for him. I will ask the vet if he knows of a bird trainer I can go to in the hope of changing his life around. If anyone has any ideas on what to do with him, please let me know.
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Shah
Dec 27, 2014 10:22:08 GMT -5
Post by easttex on Dec 27, 2014 10:22:08 GMT -5
Sorry to read about your troubles with Shah. How old is he? I'd be doing what you are; taking him to a vet first. Some people have good experiences with Prozac for these types of problems, though I've never had to resort to it. (Knock on wood.) Maybe something to discuss with your vet if the training doesn't seem to help.
Some people think that sleep deprivation leads to a lot of the problem behaviors seen in birds, though I don't know how scientific that is. If I were you, I would just put him in a sleep room and not wait for his nocturnal activity. It would surely help your sleep habits, and maybe his, also. Is it possible that Shah is picking up on your frustration and stress, and that is escalating things? If there isn't anything physically wrong with him, and it's a bid for attention, I think your first plan, to work on training, is absolutely the best one.
I hope he is alright and that you are able to work through this soon. Home should be a sanctuary, for everyone.  |
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Shah
Dec 27, 2014 15:31:01 GMT -5
Post by Jan and Shah on Dec 27, 2014 15:31:01 GMT -5
Thanks Easttex. The problem escalated overnight - he has been pulling his feathers out. The camomile tea is not working. I tried Rescue Remedy which usually works but didn't this time. He is 10 years old and has been mutilating for about 4 years but it is usually towards the end of the year when the hormones hit. He mutilated in Sept this year. He is moulting at the moment which I think started this round of biting himself. But it is the change in his behaviour which is unusual. I have been racking my brain to try and find a cause and all I can think of is putting Spike in with Pippin - he hates both of them. But he should have settled down by now. Camomile tea has always settled him down in the past so maybe something stronger is needed. He usually sleeps through the night - I don't know when he is getting any sleep as he is scrabbling around and biting the cage during the night and screams for most of the day. I do try and distract him and it works for a small amount of time. I am thinking that he may be better off with someone else. I will let you know what the vet says. Thanks for your reply. I feel really upset by what he is doing to himself and am exhausted trying to find ways to fix him.
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Shah
Dec 27, 2014 19:09:38 GMT -5
Post by Jan and Shah on Dec 27, 2014 19:09:38 GMT -5
We are back from the vet. He says it is definitely psychological and thinks that because Rebel died and I put Spike in with Pippin, it has upset him. He asked if I would like to leave Shah with him for a couple of days. I said yes. But when we talked about the last time I left him with the local vet after I had to go to hospital urgently, the vet decided that it would be best if I kept him at home. He has been given an antibiotic, a vitamin injection plus something for heavy metal poisoning. While I am pretty sure his cage is okay, I guess it isn't worth the risk. I asked the vet about changing his cage, doing training, putting him in another room and he said that I wasn't to change his routine in any way in case it accidently reinforces the behaviour. He also thinks that he might be trying to build a nest. So I have been on a bit of a bush walk and got some very fine eucalyptus twigs, some bark (to try and discourage him from sitting on the bottom on the cage) and am just wondering what else to get him to help him build a nest in case that is what he is trying to do. Any ideas what else I can get him as he has never shown any inclination to build a nest before? Will also do some Tellington Touch work with him tonight - it will help relax us both. He goes back to the vet on New Year's Day. He never made a sound on the way home so I figured he was mad with me - but I did enjoy the quiet as he usually tells me off for the entire trip home which is 40 minutes. He is quiet now so I am hoping he is sleeping.
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Shah
Dec 27, 2014 19:16:07 GMT -5
Post by easttex on Dec 27, 2014 19:16:07 GMT -5
It is very frustrating when you know they are trying to tell you something, and you just can't get it. Your anguish comes through loud and clear. I hope you have a good vet who will try hard to get to the root of it, and I'll be interested to read what happens at your appointment.
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Shah
Dec 27, 2014 19:55:39 GMT -5
Post by Sharyn and Mr P on Dec 27, 2014 19:55:39 GMT -5
Poor guy, keep us posted (poor you too, as the mom trying to figure out what is wrong)
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Shah
Dec 27, 2014 22:35:28 GMT -5
Post by cnyguy on Dec 27, 2014 22:35:28 GMT -5
Sorry about Shah's problems and hope a satisfactory solution can be found soon. Ralph likes to build with thin wooden dowels, cut down to about six to eight inch lengths. Some QPs like to weave with plastic cable ties too, and some will use plastic drinking straws to build with.
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Shah
Dec 27, 2014 23:09:47 GMT -5
Post by biteybird on Dec 27, 2014 23:09:47 GMT -5
Hi Jan, hope the New Year's Day vet visit yields some results...so Shah hasn't been interested in building anything prior to this? Bonnie is 1-y-o now and she likes picking up pencils and carrying them to her cage, which makes me wonder if she is interested in building. I'm not sure how one tells this sort of thing.
What is Tellington Touch work?
Let us know if Shah is interested in the eucalypt sticks/branches.
Remember to breathe!
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Shah
Dec 28, 2014 3:03:50 GMT -5
Post by Jan and Shah on Dec 28, 2014 3:03:50 GMT -5
Hi everyone, thanks so much for your support - it means a great deal to me. Tellington Touch is a therapy which started with horses and is now used for all species - including humans. I used it on my pony, Izzie, with great results. Shah didn't want the fuss tonight so I didn't push it. I have popped some bark and twigs in the corner of his cage. I also got a call from a quaker parront in South Africa who has given me a few ideas and sent me videos of her set up. Her quaker gets hormonal and builds large nests but he also plucks at the same time. So I will slowly be changing Shah's cage around and giving him a play/sleep area. He hasn't bitten his neck or plucked his feathers all day. He is in bed now and I am hoping he will sleep tonight - he needs it. I will be using Sharyn's idea of a portable play stand. Thank guys - you have given me the strength to carry on and try to find a solution. I feel so helpless when he hurts himself. And yes Biteybird - I had forgotten to breathe.
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Shah
Dec 28, 2014 6:24:15 GMT -5
Post by easttex on Dec 28, 2014 6:24:15 GMT -5
Some birds like to tear paper into strips for nesting material. I hope the detente holds. |
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Shah
Dec 30, 2014 8:09:50 GMT -5
Post by easttex on Dec 30, 2014 8:09:50 GMT -5
How are things going with Shah, Jan? * Just read your post under another thread. Not so good, I gather.  Don't give up on him yet, though. I just know there's something correctable at the bottom of it. Okay, so I don't know it, but I hope that's the case. |
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Shah
Dec 30, 2014 16:20:10 GMT -5
Post by Jan and Shah on Dec 30, 2014 16:20:10 GMT -5
Shah makes great progress pulling out feathers. He is still biting the bars of the cage in the early hours of the morning. Made the big mistake of picking him up at 3am - we watched part of a DVD together and he went to sleep snuggled into my neck. I put him back in his cage and he almost broke the sound barrier getting to the bars of the cage so I would get him out again. So I allowed him to sleep tucked into my neck until breakfast time. He is now back in his cage stuffing his face and is on cockatiel patrol. I am thinking of getting him a large playstand on wheels as he might prefer to sleep on something that is not enclosed. Someone has suggested I get him a mate but I am cautious about doing this as the quakers he has met he didn't like. He goes back to the vet tomorrow.
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Shah
Jan 1, 2015 14:46:33 GMT -5
Post by julianna on Jan 1, 2015 14:46:33 GMT -5
Oscar keeps constantly busy building nests.... which I call houses... cause they are enormous. I used to give him dowels around 1 ft. lengths but then I found that he prefers the plastic ty-wraps. The long black ones are his favorite. I helped him start with a small wooded base and then I stuck a few ty-wraps around the bars of the cage.... and the rest is history. He has loaded over 5,000 of these now.
After molting the new feathers come in and I know it can be painful for the birds especially around their neck. Not sure if this might have something to do with it. When Oscar's are painful he usually asks for a bath and then he really soaks his head.
Wise of you to be cautious about the mate.
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Shah
Jan 1, 2015 22:18:55 GMT -5
Post by biteybird on Jan 1, 2015 22:18:55 GMT -5
Hi Jan, hope Shah's vet visit went OK.
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Shah
Jan 1, 2015 23:00:52 GMT -5
Post by Jan and Shah on Jan 1, 2015 23:00:52 GMT -5
Hi Biteybird, well the vet would prefer him to pluck out his feathers than to bite his neck. He got another dose of antibiotic and the last treatment for heavy metal poisoning (which I don't believe he has). One more vet trip to go for the antibiotic. The vet said no to another bird and no to leaving him with anyone else (the guy in the local pet shop offered to keep him for a couple of days to distract him). The vet also thought he might have plucked out feathers as the vitamin injection he gave him on his first visit would have stung. It is all quiet on the western front at the moment. I am training him to a bird stand (which he has always hated) but am making it a fun thing and will start clicker training. I spend lots more time with him which we both enjoy. He is still biting the bars of his cage during the night but it is a lot quieter and he gives it away after a short period of time. I am finding it a challenge to keep him distracted but it is a positive challenge and know that there are improvements being made to his life.
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Don't give up on him yet, though. I just know there's something correctable at the bottom of it. Okay, so I don't know it, but I hope that's the case.