Self-Destruction - I need help please!

The pictures below are only part of what I came home to today. Just 15 minutes prior to my arrival Sweet Pea did his battle scream (as in he just did battle on himself) and my son ran upstairs because the scream was so loud that it was clear something unusual had happened.

I'm glad I showed my son yesterday how to stop bleeding with cornstarch and light pressure, or he wouldn't have known what to do. Without his help Sweet Pea would have bled to death today By the time I came home the leg was bandaged and we made a collar from foam rubber insulation tubes that I bought during my lunch break. I wanted that collar on before he did more damage to himself, but was too late

I was so upset that I didn't manage to write or upload this afternoon and watched him every second because he was so weak. I took his collar off tonight so he could eat and drink (I was feeding him coconut water from a syringe all afternoon and hand-fed him his favorite treat - safflower seeds).

I called the vet but he just said to "keep him from hurting himself" until the follow-up appointment in 2 weeks. IF he is still alive

If anyone here has advice on what to do, please help me save this bird's life. He is so gentle and such an incredibly smart bird, but seems intent on doing himself in. I have to admit that my self-confidence is quite shattered. I can't take off work nor can I take him to the office to watch him all day

I'm so sorry to hear this. I don't have experience with self-mutilation, but do hope someone who does can offer help and suggestions. Is it possible to find another vet in your area who is qualified to work with birds? Sounds like your vet might be at a loss as to what to suggest. Best of luck with this... Keep us posted.

RavensGryf said:

I'm so sorry to hear this. I don't have experience with self-mutilation, but do hope someone who does can offer help and suggestions. Is it possible to find another vet in your area who is qualified to work with birds? Sounds like your vet might be at a loss as to what to suggest. Best of luck with this... Keep us posted.

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Raven, the vet is one of the two top avian vets in my city. An older man who has seen lots of birds during his career..... Thank you for responding even if you have no experience with this type of problem, it helps knowing that someoneyou read this post and cared enough to respond.

I am so sorry for what you are going through. Self mutilation is such a frustrating and terrifying thing to deal with I PM'd you and will have some more ideas after I talk to my friend tomorrow. You both are in my thoughts.

it seems to be a mental health issue, The only advise I can give is look up Barbara Heidenreich.

Delfin said:

it seems to be a mental health issue, The only advise I can give is look up Barbara Heidenreich.

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I agree! He has other non-life-threatening obsessive compulsive issues that have pretty much convinced me that his problem is not physical, but mental or emotional. I just wonder what the heck he went through with his prior owner to have ended up like this

Thank you for the reference to Barbara Heidenreich. I will check her out right away!

Since Sweet Pea's last slash fest, he has "only" bitten himself one more time, but he did it the very second I lifted his blanket from his cage. When I saw his red tipped beak I immediately grabbed his thigh between thumb and forefinger and applied pressure, got the corn starch and packed it well, then applied pressure again. After 5 minutes or so the bleeding hat stopped. He seems to nick the artery every time, because you can see that the thigh is purple, so he's bleeding on the inside also.

The vet's exams have yielded nothing so far; I'm thinking his behavior is psychological, or maybe tied to sexual frustration. Yesterday Clover landed next to him on the play gym and he regurgitated a pellet for her. I had never seen a bird do that but it was obvious what he intended! Clover obviously had never seen it either, because she indignantly flew away

I've removed his favorite bell, his fuzzy fleeze toy, and anything that could be construed as a mate, nest, or otherwise be working on his hormones. I've been thinking on how to make a thigh shield... but nothing comes to mind. The foam collar doesn't really prevent him from anything other than eating, drinking, and moving, because he can still lift his leg to his beak!

Any ideas you might have, no matter how crazy, are very welcome. I really want this bird to make it, (now I am convinced it's a HE), so will call him Mr. Peabody from now on. He is wonderful, funny and cuddly when he is not fiercely defending his cage or butchering himself. He flies from the cage to the floor when he wants to be picked up and is Mr. Sweetness away from the cage. He deserves to live!

Ok I did have one and she died [to bleeding out]; My username is a little tribute to her. You can try this stuff called Avicalm. Do an overall change with him . Move his cage so hes near you guys the most . Give him a new area to distract him. Fill his cage with different things [don't take things away]. have him out with you as much as you can .Make a huge deal about him . Use a soft collar [baby him] try to turn the relationship around.I was new to birds when this happened . Now with more experience I wish I had tried this.

Thank God for your son! Is there any chance you can schedule Mr. Peabody as an emergency? Of course the cost for that will be quite high, but two weeks sounds WAY too long IMO.
What about an e-collar like RavensGryf used with Griffin? Maybe another vet has one you can purchase instead of waiting online or a local store might have one.

You mentioned his hormones, frustration and diet, what are you feeding him on a daily basis?

His food: roudibush pellets, nutri-berries, peas, rice, and I am trying to get him to eat veggies and fruit (I've only had him for 5 weeks). Today was bad I came home from work and found a big puddle of almost dried blood on the cage floor and the food dishes. I took him out and his leg looked ok. Not 30 seconds later he bit himself in front of me again, I did the usual applying pressure but it didn't stop bleeding until about 20 minutes later.

I went to get his collar and slipped it on him and put him down to wash my hands. Wouldn't you know he bit himself again, collar and all. He couldn't reach his leg with his beak, but he was able to lift his leg TO his beak. He did it so fast I couldn't react to match his speed. This time the blood just spurted...I just put pressure on, I had no time to get any corn starch. When 20 minutes of pressure had no effect, I somehow dialed the vet with my nose it seems... he wanted me to come in but there was nobody home but me and I couldn't let go of his leg. I walked the walk (like when you have a baby you're trying to put to sleep) with one hand holding him against my chest, and the other holding his leg between thumb and forefinger, applying pressure. Meanwhile the dogs were going crazy, the phone rang at the same time the doorbell, I was ready to just take that thumb away and let things happen but.......I couldn't let him die on my watch.

My son's girfriend finally came home at 6:20pm and since more than an hour had passed, I thought I could drive while she held Sweet Pea. However no, the blood started spurting again as soon as I took my thumb off. So she called the vet and they were waiting for us. Pea got a pressure bandage, a huge collar, an iron shot, and a shot of fluids. The verdict: we'll talk about what to do on friday during his regular appointment. The doc didn't give me much hope. He said there are a large number of tests we can do but 50% of the birds with QMS don't ever get better. They either have to live their entire life with a collar on, or put to sleep.

The viciousness with which Pea attacked himself today was horrible It was a very stressful afternoon

I think you might need to keep the cone on permanently... and maybe get one that is a little longer so that he can not raise his leg to his beak. I haven't used AviCalm myself, but have heard good things so this might be an option as well.

I can not imagine how difficult this is for you. (((hugs)))

Please update on how Pea is doing?

Pea update: I had posted an update in the General Health Forum, but will do an update to the update here Pea is doing fine. After his multiple tests showed nothing at all with exception of low bone density due to possible vitamin A deficiency, the vet put him on an antihistamine. He also has a sun lamp and of course I continue with my twice-daily spoon feeding veggie mash, in spite of what the vet said. Pea loves the extra attention this practice gives him, and Clover benefits because she'll eat veggie mash over my shoulder, (while I spoon feed Pea, holding the bowl casually at shoulder height).....but only when I'm not looking

Pea has gained some weight, he's 105 grams now. I have thrown his expensive vet collar away because it sheared off all the feathers he had on his neck, and cut his shoulders when he flapped his wings. I've made a collar out of a thin sheet of clear Poly-something, cut a hole big enough for his head to go through, and lined the opening and the edge of the circle with fleece. The thing is easy to put on and take off and very obviously more comfy than that other torture collar the vet put on him.

I took Pea to another vet and we went through some more tests, but with the same result. Pea is healthy, and whatever his problem is, is behavioral. He spends many hours per day without collar (under supervision) and has only bit himself twice, but not badly. He does it almost as if he wants to make a POINT at the end of a play session. Sort of when we put an exclamation mark behind a sentence when we want to make a strong point. So much for my psycho-analysis... I just don't know what his point is !

His once so bare shoulders and back, and private areas (lol) have feathered up nicely and he has begun to preen, which is something he didn't do at all during the first two months I had him. There are even some leg feathers growing and one of these days I'll have to take a close-up photo because it looks quite funny. Yesterday he flew from the top of his cage all the way to the family room where I was sitting at the computer. He missed my shoulder by about a foot and ended up ice-skating on top of the piano, where he came to a halt crashing into the music stand, but he was very proud of himself.

Things are much better in Pea's life. He now has a more suitable home, diet, cage, and name. Sweet Mr. Flaco Peabody. (Flaco as in "The thin one", not as in "the flakey one"). This is the best behaved, nicest, sweetest, funniest Quaker Parrot EVER. I trust him with my eyeball! (Which is not something I would ever trust Clover with).

I am SO glad he is doing better! Those vet collars are seriously the worst and restrict their movement way too much.

Great news !

Sounds like a very positive update. I hope he continues to improve.