Anxiety and over-preening

veimar

New member
Feb 5, 2014
1,150
4
Chicago, IL
Parrots
gcc Parry; lovebird Coco; 3 budgies (Tesla, Franky and Cesar); cockatiel Murzik, red rump parakeet girl Onyx
Hi guys, haven't been here for a long time.
I have a question for experienced conure owners... My gcc Parry has terrible anxiety, all the time. He is always pissed off, makes these angry sounds at me and Coco (my lovebird), always wants to bite me, etc... He screams, bobs his head, draws lines with his beak on the table and exhibits other aggressive behaviors. He is about 3 years old, and this behavior began about 1.5 year ago. He also started over preening a few month ago. He even had one little bald spot on his chest (that is gone now). I took him to the vet, and everything was normal. The vet said that it was the anxiety. I don't know what to do! :( My other six birds are fine. I'm so sorry for him. I'm at home a lot, and they are cage free whole day and get plenty of attention. Maybe there is some medication for that? Or what can I do to make him calmer? It doesn't matter if I'm in the room or not - I often hear him angrily shred the papers or fight with the bell toy. :) Or is something wrong with his hormones? I'm at loss...

Thank you!
 

PickleMeDickles

New member
May 17, 2015
375
10
Southern California
Parrots
SassyByrd (DYH Amazon) JoJo (GCC) Betty (GCC) DEARLY LOVED fids lost to “Teflon Disaster� 12/17 RIP Pickles (GC),RIP Winston (Sun), RIP Lady PLEASE TAKE 5 MINUTES &TOSS OUT ALL YOUR TEFLON NOW!
Hi,
I would make sure he has lots of energy outlets. A daily bath seems to help calm mine. In addition, I would invest in lots of shredding / preening toys. My birds go nuts for this:
https://www.amazon.com/Wesco-Origin...F8&qid=1481652451&sr=8-1&keywords=bird+kabobs

and preening toys like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Paradise-13-...1652561&sr=8-14&keywords=parrot+preening+toys

It took me awhile, but I finally realized a few years back that bird toys, in general, are SUPPOSED to be destroyed. In fact, the more surfaces and textures you can provide the better. And I really do mean it about bath time, it really does calm the beasts.

I hope that helps. I hate to see animals that are stressed from boredom. I just got a new horse a few months ago. It cribbed, which basically meant it sucked on the round pipes because it was going crazy stuck in a little stall. It is almost impossible to stop, but a combination of a huge stall, lots of exercise and riding, mastering new feats, and getting to play with other horses has almost eliminated the behavior. Good luck!
 

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