*SIGH* in depth experienced advanced help required

[lene1949]

I'm really nervous about it, but trying to keep an open mind. Even if he has PBFD he will be a good role model for the regulation/banning of import/export for resale. I am lucky to have traced his origins back, but others may not be so lucky. They may never know something is wrong until their bird has died of acute PBFD or begins to show symptoms of chronic PBFD.

He has some dodgy powder down feathers that make me nervous. Some excessively long ones around his rump area that stick out of his feathers and some small curved pinfeather type ones around his head. But Galahs and cockatiels can live a long happy life with the disease and don't go bald and die the same way a white cocky does (thank you who ever mentioned that, I looked it up and got more specific info).

I'm waiting, waiting for the tests to come back... I am so much praying for a good outcome... *HUGS*

 

[lene1949]

Any news??????

 

[Thingamagigs]

no, still no news unfortunately I feel a bit sick waiting, because he has rather a few odd looking feathers.

 

[lene1949]

Oh... thank you... I'll keep my positive thoughts pointing your way...

How long would such a test take?

 

[Thingamagigs]

it takes 1-3 weeks depending on how busy they are

 

[lene1949]

Sending you *HUGS*...

Gotta have a certain amount of keystrokes to post...

 

[crimson]

I keep checking to see if you have found out anything...I've been thinking about your 'situation', and no matter what the test results show, you did the right thing by saving him...you have a good heart!

 

[Kiwibird]

I know it's "common" advice, but I would really suggest you try to curb the screaming (and the attention seeking) with self-rewarding behavior techniques ASAP. Kiwi used to go NUTS when my husband left for work, like falling off his perch, screaming loud enough you could hear it down the block freaking out. He was a rescue, and this was actually pretty low on our lists of priorities with him when we first got him, but we eventually did get around to working on the attention screaming issue (contact calling isn't the same as a tantrum). Since your new baby is doing pretty much the same thing as Kiwi was, I can give first hand suggestions of how we corrected this behavior (don't have any advice on the peas issue though)-

Since we were easily able to tell exactly when his worst "fits" would start, we began with diversions in the morning before my husband left. Instead of feeding Kiwi immediately when we woke him up (around 7am), we waited until my husband was literally walking out the door (around 8:30, so he wasn't starving till noon or anything). We figured it would make him nice and hungry, so he would focus more on food than my husband leaving. While I prepped his food, my husband took him out and placed foraging treats around his cage. I put the dish back in as he was on his way out the door, so Kiwi naturally immediately started eating. It was a near instantaneous behavior modification. He was quite hungry by that point, and so interested in his food and getting himself some treats he didn't seem to notice or care about my husband leaving. It barely took a week before he stopped the morning tantrums. You could easily do this by waking your bird an hour or so before you need to leave, and giving her breakfast on the way out the door. Him starting to scream when we left the room, however, was a much more difficult issue to correct since there wasn't a specific time/situation we could pinpoint, nor could we withhold food all day until we left the living room. We actually contacted the lady at the rescue network we adopted him through on this one. She recommended training him for "independent play" ( which a surprising number of bird owners, us included, have never thought of/heard of). It's a simple concept that trains the bird to be less dependent on their flock for entertainment. Obviously, they do play when your gone, the key is to train them to begin playing as soon as you leave rather than pitch a fit and then play once their bored with screaming. We used small segments cut off toilet paper/paper towel rolls to cue him in that it was time to start playing. When we were about to leave the room, we would hand him a segment and slip away once he had pulled it through the bars and became distracted with it. This took a lot longer, and there were quite a few times he dropped the segment and started screeching instead, but the concept eventually took root. Once he had easily destroyed the segment, he was excited to move on to bigger/better toys. It's a type of self rewarding behavior, where he learns you leaving the room means it's now time to do something fun and rewarding for himself (destroy and forage lol). This one took some persistence, but Kiwi did eventually catch on, and our eardrums no longer fear leaving his sight. And just to be clear, we no longer need to cue the behavior by giving him chewing material when we leave the room, that was just a way to introduce the concept. He's learned us leaving means it's time to start playing. Best of luck, and I hope this has helped.

 

[Thingamagigs]

I got excited when I read the start of your post, I thought someone had a very similar comparable situation. Unfortunately that isn't what Manny does.
The tantrum isn't the problem, the constant panicked contact calls are the problem. I haven't been able to get video of it unfortunately because the second I am looking at him, he starts with begging instead. On the other hand I have a lot of video of him begging!! LOL
He starts the contact calls and freaking out the moment we are awake and moving around, which is two hours before I have to leave. When I come back the calling begins again and peters out towards the end of the day.

He is given food a few minutes before I leave (its a ritual I have done for all my birds, as you said, to distract them from the fact I am leaving... and it worked for every other bird I have ever owned!) but food is low on his priority every morning. His aim is to get to me and be on me, every morning. Thats not something I want to encourage.

We are working on his independence, if he had wings it would be a lot easier! Unfortunately no one can give me any solid clues on how to deal with his serious anxiety.

 

[Kiwibird]

I hadn't read posts back this far yesterday, but since your already working with an avian vet about the potential PBFD (which I hope the tests are negative for), talk to the vet about the anxiety too. God knows what this poor little bird may have been through before you got her thats triggering these issues. A good avian vet can work with her on getting her on the right dosage of anti-anxiety/depression medications, as well as have some more sound/professional advice regarding her fits (I'm still not quite convinced what your describing is contact calling). Have you tried setting a camera up, then leaving the room so you can trigger her to start doing this on video? It would probably be helpful for the vet to see this reaction. It may not be a ideal thing to put your bird on anxiety meds, but if she needs it, she needs it. Even if it's just on a temporary basis, to calm her down enough you can get through to her using other training techniques so she doesn't have to be on meds forever. Wishing you the best.

 

[Thingamagigs]

unfortunately all I have is my phone, I've tried to set it up to record but its a phone, I havent figured out a way to get it to not slip during filming LOL
Its definitely contact calls, I've spent my whole life around galahs (it is Australia ).
He is desperate to get to me and contact calls repeatedly while scrambling all over the front of the cage, or back and forth on a perch. Are you familiar with a galahs contact call?

I have linked a video. At the beginning of this video, you will hear the galah calling to his girlfriend (another galah) in the other room. This is what Manny does that is a problem.

The end of the video is the galah version of a happy dance, the tantrum a galah throws is similar... but instead of sounding kind of cheerful and relaxed, there is more guttural screaming. Manny throws a tantrum when he is frustrated, as all galahs do... its not a problem, its a natural behaviour.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPxqE8xMqHo]Galahs as first birds/How loud are galahs - YouTube[/ame]

Im not a fan of medicating, Im more a fan of behavioural modification. I will have a talk to the avian vet... perhaps a small dose of meds initially will help in the long term.

 

[Thingamagigs]

I have news!!

Test results have come back... no disease detected

Also... HE is a SHE!! She we have renamed her "Mana" (I was calling her "Mana bird" anyway lol). She appears to be bonding with my partner, we have swapped around who takes her out in the morning and this has made a huge improvement on her calling. Another improvement was her lady beetle... who she drags around with her everywhere like a security blanket.

I'll upload some video soon

 

[kc_y0]

I am so so so happy to hear that she is well!!!! That is the best news!

 

[Thingamagigs]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP1EUjsv_mw"]mana - YouTube[/ame]

 

[OOwl]

Oh, gosh, she's cute. I'm usually just a reader here, but I have been following your story, and was hoping for the best (my entire family actually, because this story has been dinner conversation). We're RB cockatoo lovers, too. We share our home with a ten-year-old male that we've had since he was weaned. Happy news to hear your girl is okay. Whew!

 

[Thingamagigs]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVojEaeQFco"]manabegging - YouTube[/ame]

 

[lene1949]

Oh my goodness... I think my sigh of relief could be heard outside!

That is such good news... Congratulations on your girl...

 

[Thingamagigs]

I was so happy when I got the results I had to SMS my mother at 11pm LOL
Piña and Colada wont come back, my sister was so keen on them (and this year was rough for her) so they will stay Not sad news at all because I see them regularly.

Mana is currently an only bird for now we will get another soonish which I think will only help with her anxiety. Fingers crossed they like each other! lol

 

[JerseyWendy]

BEST NEWS EVER!!!!! I, too, have been anxiously following Mana's story. I am ELATED over here.

 

[wenz2712]

Thats brilliant news

I just love her lady beetle That is so cute.