Petri the Cockatiel

[darclauz]

Originally Posted by LynnM

So please spread the word!

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

[BigV]

hen!



s'okay, it's a real word in this context. go ahead.

[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.

[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.

[sniglet]

I'm not gonna slam you for your opinion Lynn, but there ARE plenty of happy, healthy, well adjusted birds living just fine in captivity.

My African Grey is one of them. No plucking. He lets you know when he wants attention, and a pretty low-keyed happy bird.

[xoxoxoBruce]

So Sniglet, you're absolutely, positively, without question sure, he's not plotting to kill you in your sleep?

[LynnM]

<<I'm not gonna slam you for your opinion Lynn, but there ARE plenty of happy, healthy, well adjusted birds living just fine in captivity.

My African Grey is one of them. No plucking. He lets you know when he wants attention, and a pretty low-keyed happy bird. >>

He's gorgeous. And I'm very glad to know he's happy. My first companion animal was a parakeet and we were very bonded, so I know this is possible. Tommy had a cage but was also given the freedom of the house. Does your bird have the opportunity to fly? And what's his name?

[Clodfobble]

I have a question for you bird-owners: When we bought our house from the crazy old woman who used to live there, it was apparent that the house had many issues. One thing we discovered was a room where we can only assume one or more birds were allowed to fly freely--there was bird shit literally all over the walls, at all heights. I don't understand how this is possible. Do they fly straight at the wall, banking sharply at the last second right as they void their bowels? It was everywhere.

[Kitsune]

This is Leech, who is an extremely friendly bird. So friendly, he didn't want me to leave and, on receiving my keys as a toy to play with, promptly found the most important one on the ring -- the car key -- and snapped it in half with his beak.



This is Nuggy, caught doing a very strange dance while being given a bath. With even more powerful jaws than Leech, it is no wonder I run like hell from this bird. He's punctured my shoes several times while trying to get to my toes and has crushed rings to the point where they begin to cut off circulation and cannot be removed without the help of the garage vice. Fingers could easily be taken off, even if done not in anger.

Nope, I don't get the whole bird-ownership thing.

[wolf]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Do they fly straight at the wall, banking sharply at the last second right as they void their bowels? It was everywhere.

The little bastards can aim. I've seen Indy do this. He has one hell of a sense of justice, and saves up poop when people he doesn't like are over at his house.

[sniglet]

Originally Posted by LynnM

He's gorgeous. And I'm very glad to know he's happy. My first companion animal was a parakeet and we were very bonded, so I know this is possible. Tommy had a cage but was also given the freedom of the house. Does your bird have the opportunity to fly? And what's his name?

That's Iian. He lost flight priveleges as a young pup when he got spooked and flew off our back porch and into the neighbor's back yard (usually populated by big happy goofy dogs...it wouldn't have ended well). Now he gets clipped at the first hint of sustained lift.

From a poop perspective: When taking him out of the cage, you MUST put him on the perch and give the 'go poop' command. (He's shortened it to 'gope') Otherwise at some point between the cage and a 25 foot radius, he'll lay a bomb that'll greatly decrease his weight.

He's also successfully living with 2.5 year old twin boys, so there's ANOTHER myth I can dispell. We only had one real incident with one of the boys when he was about 18 months old. After that, the kids believed me when I told them to leave Iian alone.

[sniglet]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

So Sniglet, you're absolutely, positively, without question sure, he's not plotting to kill you in your sleep?

Not really. He'd sneak up, towering above my head in my uneasy slumber and demand I scratch his head.