Bottom of the cage (but I'm thinking hormones)

noodles123

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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
So, over the last 2 months or so, Noodles started going down to her cage bottom while I was gone (or part of the time when the cage was covered) and pulling the paper-towels up from below the grate. I kept them (and the grate) very clean because I was worried she would get poop in her mouth) and I also was worried about her getting some sort of blockage. She always would go down to the same corner and pull them up from there, and this happened off and on until, it started to become a daily issue (with larger portions shredded). I know it wasn't an all-day affair, because I live-streamed her to see what she was up to. Usually, it would be under 30 minutes of time towards the end of my absence after a longer stretch of hours (aka boredom?). She has lots to do in her cage...she just enjoys this new-found pastime.


On Saturday, I decided to stop putting towels beneath the grate because if it is hormonal, I don't want that, plus, I am concerned that she could get a blockage from accidentally ingesting some of the paper (she doesn't appear to be doing so, but, I digress)....

My point is, since I have removed the paper towels, she has been going down to that same corner at night. I believe she spends most of her night sleeping on the perch (as I can hear her dropping things and moving from time to time), but at some point---probably around 4 or 5am, she is climbing down to that fascinating bottom corner and doing God knows what (NOTE: Her butt is positioned away from the cage-wires whenever I have watched her do this via live-stream and when I uncover her, so I don't think there is any self-stimulating behavior happening). Again, she isn't spending her whole night down there, as I can verify that she is on her perch for most of that time.

For the past 3 mornings, when I have uncovered her, she has been down in the corner (even though towels are gone), with her butt slightly in the air (not super high or extreme, but kind of crouching) and looking at me with a contented "chomp chomp". She comes up afterward and all is well...I know she is not staying down there all night, but it is weird.

She shows no issues climbing, eating, or perching....so I am hoping this isn't illness or an egg-laying situation...Sometimes when she is bored during the day, she will also go down to that corner, but she tends to come back up when she gets bored after a few minutes.

Thoughts?
 
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Laurasea

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Can you put a bowl of water in that corner before going to bed? I lean hormones, but I would not like it either.
 

EllenD

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Well, if we go with the typical explanation, I'd say she's broody....However, usually by the time they display "nesting" behaviors like this, they usually are already carrying an egg, or at least have formed Follicles...Does she look at all bloated or is her lower abdomen "rounded" at all? It's odd that she has kept doing it even after you removed the "nesting material", though they do usually like one particular spot in the cage to lay...

Have you noticed her pulling any of her belly/chest feathers/fluff out?
 

Sunnyclover

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Sometimes my Finley (not a cockatoo) goes to the bottom of his cage when he's mad. He stays there for quite sometime and will periodically flap in anger. Is it possible Noodles is angry with you? Just a thought.
 
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noodles123

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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
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Well, if we go with the typical explanation, I'd say she's broody....However, usually by the time they display "nesting" behaviors like this, they usually are already carrying an egg, or at least have formed Follicles...Does she look at all bloated or is her lower abdomen "rounded" at all? It's odd that she has kept doing it even after you removed the "nesting material", though they do usually like one particular spot in the cage to lay...

Have you noticed her pulling any of her belly/chest feathers/fluff out?


She messed with feathers on her chest a bit but that was following a major transition and she is a historical over-preener in that area (and stress induces that type of behavior). She only did it for 2 or so days after we returned from a 3 week trip together (being back was quieter and so she always has to re-adjust)--That would have been around January 9-10th? She has been periodically going to that spot in the cage (when apparently bored) for a few weeks but then it intensified (so I removed the towels---she wasn't acting obviously hormonal until the day I removed them--she does enjoy shredding things).

I don't notice any bloating....ughhh....
 
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mgarvie

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If it was my Amazon you were describing........

He would be at the bottom of the cage because he can see the bottom of the cover. He doesn't like a cover and either wants if off or wants out in the real world. He would dig a bit to see if that got him out from the cover. Next, he would shred the bottom because he is PISSED!

..........only what my Amazon would do.
 
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noodles123

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If it was my Amazon you were describing........

He would be at the bottom of the cage because he can see the bottom of the cover. He doesn't like a cover and either wants if off or wants out in the real world. He would dig a bit to see if that got him out from the cover. Next, he would shred the bottom because he is PISSED!

..........only what my Amazon would do.


I have wondered this---maybe she wakes up and goes down there because she is bored and looking for light etc---She has shredded paper during the day (uncovered) but at night, I know she was doing it immediately after being covered, or within 1-2 hours of being uncovered...It's just weird that it is that same corner..and she does look a bit goofy when I uncover her (then again, she is a cockatoo, so she is kind of prone to sexual stuff, even though I only ever pet her on the head and she has no dark spaces---unless you count her cage cover....)
 
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noodles123

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Can you put a bowl of water in that corner before going to bed? I lean hormones, but I would not like it either.


I put 2 of her filled steel water dishes down in that corner, along with a large plastic lego/block toy that she isn't too fond of (not scared of...just throws it whenever it is in her space and ignores it otherwise).
 

EllenD

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It could be just about anything, who knows, but female Cockatoos do tend to find a spot they like to be "broody" and just sit there (sometimes in a "chirping" kind of trance that is weird and alarming until you realize they're sitting there masturbating on something...Don't ask, I had a weird moment with a Goffin at the Rescue once that was embarrassing for both of us...)...

I'd say just watch her overall behavior, and maybe start weighing her every morning to see if she's gaining or losing...Losing something is wrong...gaining and it's spring-time, lol
 
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noodles123

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I blocked that area in the cage (with filled water dishes and a yellow plastic toy that annoys her a bit lol) and today, at 5:10 AM, as soon as the lights came on, she started going down to investigate, but she didn't go down there ahead of time like she had been, so that is some progress.
Vet trip tomorrow for toe-nails, so she will check her abdomen etc at that time just to be sure.
 

EllenD

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Good idea, just to be sure...Especially if she's been messing with her feathers in that area; I know she's a former plucker, but you never know...That Goffin I had the special moment with laid an egg a week or two later, so there ya go...
 
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noodles123

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Lol- my fear is that the vet will just make this worse if it's hormonal---Noodles likes getting toweled a little too much....LOL/EEK
 
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noodles123

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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
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Stomach/abdomen etc felt fine to the vet (not egg bound)
Feather is looking better.
Toenails are clipped.
Skin swab test was negative for any yeast etc (under microscope)
Fecal gram stain was negative for any nastiness.



I asked them to do a throat swab and that showed some gram negative bacteria (small amount) so we are starting her on a 7-day course of antibiotics and going back for a follow-up swab in 2 weeks...
One dang thing after another lol
 

EllenD

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I feel your pain...Bowie's beak puncture has to be filled-in with acrylic after the wound inside it completely heals, but it has to be filled-in in steps because of how it's cracked...We're looking at several trips where he has to be put under with Iso gas...I'm not happy about it, he's not happy about it, and now Dylan, my Ringneck Dove, has something weird going on with the skin on his feet and his legs. So he's going with me on Tuesday when I take Bowie...uhg...
 

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