Advice for Unusual Self-Destructive Macaw

[Lovinglyjaded]

I own a verified male blue and gold macaw named Jessy. I adopted him from a non-profit zoo in south Texas where he has lived since 2013. I worked at that zoo for 2 years from mid 2016 to early 2019. He bonded to me while I was working there and I ended up adopting him before moving to Oklahoma just a couple months ago.

There was no record on where Jessy came from before he was donated to the zoo. However, he has always had some very peculiar self-destructive behaviors that I have never seen before and still have never seen in any other parrots.

The worst one is when he will stick his wing out (he'll do this with either wing, but tends to favor his left one) and he will step on it with one foot, then regurgitate food onto it in a big messy clump. He will usually NOT preen it off either which leads to the mess hardening on his feathers. It becomes so sticky that if he DOES attempt to get it off himself, he gets frustrated and ends up tearing out his wing feathers. His wings, as a result of all of this, are very patchy with lots of missing feathers, chewed feathers, and jagged ugly looking feathers. Some of the feathers (I'm not sure if they are even considered feathers at this point) are just the shaft with nothing else. The remaining feathers that don't get pulled out or chewed up look dull and feel dry and brittle to the touch. He will allow me to spread his wings for inspections but it hurts him and he will only tolerate it for a moment before he squawks and pulls away.

Whenever I took possession of him and gained some more of his trust, he began allowing me to give him baths. Initially I tried just misting him with the hopes that it would prompt him to clean himself, but he will not attempt to get the regurgitation mess off of himself. I have a feeling it's because he has associated attempting to preen the mess off with the pain of his feathers getting ripped out because it is so sticky and hard and has just sort of given up on trying to get it off himself, but he still regurgitates every single day onto his wings no matter what. Some days are worse than others with the amount he does it. I give him daily baths now and gently scrub the mess off with a toothbrush (which I have to do very carefully or else he reacts like he is being hurt).

Another behavior he does is very reminiscent of an anxiety attack. Sometimes he will stick his wing out, step on it, then jam his beak into it repeatedly ripping at the feathers. This usually does not result in them being ripped out, but it results in more jagged, mishappen feathers.

Now, as for his current living conditions, Jessy has a MASSIVE indoor cage (Prevue Hendrix Signature Series Wrought Iron Dometop Cage) that is regularly filled with natural wood perches and toys galore. He receives fresh, filtered ice water every day. While he was at the zoo, he ate primarily Mazuri brand pellets with fresh fruits and veggies and a small percentage of seeds and nuts. I switched him to Zupreme attempting to see if a change of pellets would change the regurgitation behavior (it did not but he LOVES Zupreme). I am his primary bonded person and he is extremely aggressively possessive of me, but if I am at work, then my partners can handle him quite well as he has grown to trust them. Jessy spends at least 2 hours every day outside on his free-roaming outdoor perch under their supervision and at least 3-6 hours out of his cage in general every single day. I also have taken care to get daily weights on him in lieu of the regurgitation, but his weight does not ever fluctuate in a significant way. It has always stayed within 100-200 grams of 1100 grams total.

Jessy is the only bird we currently have. I considered adopting another blue and gold from that same zoo, but Jessy has only ever gotten along with ONE other bird the entire time he was at the zoo. It was a red-fronted macaw and when the two began to bond with one another, Jessy's behaviors got worse. That, and he would attack that bird and any other bird if I so much as stepped into the same enclosure. Again, extremely aggressive possession issues. So that is why he doesn't have a feathered companion as of right now.

I received a response from my local avian vet on how much it will cost to get him checked out for any blood or skin related illnesses and I should be able to afford it later next month. Jessy has also never had a full vet work-up before, not even at the zoo he was at. The other zoo employees and administrators assumed the regurgitation and wing picking were all purely behavioral related, but they were all too apprehensive to work with him as he has always been very aggressive. (I definitely have a few scars from before he became bonded to me.)

I'm just curious if anyone else has every had a parrot or knows of one like Jessy. The regurgitation on himself is the strangest thing, I think. I also welcome any advice on how I can better care for him. I feel like if there IS something physically wrong with him that it would be something feather or skin related. Whenever he is not hurting himself or regurgitating on himself, he often throws his head back while doing his normal preening like he's itchy. The first step is getting a full vet work-up done, which is in the works. Please let me know if you have any ideas. Jessy and I would both appreciate them!

 

[Scott]

Welcome, thanks for a lovely introduction to Jessy. While the baggage he brings from prior home(s) is unknowable, there is not doubt you are providing an exceptional environment.

First stop ought be, as you suggested, full workup from a certified avian vet or equivalent. Ruling out physical health issues is paramount, though the ultimate locus of care may be his mind. Mutilation and repetitive behaviors are difficult to treat, please read this thread concerning plucking even though Jessy is not a textbook case: http://www.parrotforums.com/behavioral/52217-plucking-search-answers.html

A variety of psychotropic drugs have benefited parrots, though it is far too premature to seriously discuss. If helpful, I'll share the story of my female B&G who was treated with Haloperidol.

Good luck, please keep us updated with Jessy's status.

 

[SilleIN]

I have a lot of rescue parrots and a lot of them came with self-mutilating behavior. I have seen a lot of things and I have a military macaw with a similar behavior. He would place one of his wings in front of him on the perch and sit on it. He also would flip both wings on the front side of the perch and this would wear the middle feathers leaving only the stalks.

I took him to a professor at the veterinary school and she gave him some laser treatment and that helped a lot. It's still there and he will revert to the wings on the front of the perch when he's stressed, but it has helped a lot. He doesn't regurgitate though, but the sitting on the wing sounds similar.

It seems like a good idea to bathe him every day, at least to soften the mess on his wing, maybe someday you can get to the bottom of it.

Most of the self-mutilators I have dealt with has been pluckers and the answer was to let them get through the motions of plucking, but not letting them get the reward of plucking (the endorphins). This was done with putting a protective sweater in them, so they plucked the sweater.

I find it difficult to figure out what the reward for your Jessy is.

Alternatively you can look to pharmaceuticals for help, but this should only be considered once all other options have been explored. I have a BG macaw on haloperidol twice a day and he's doing well.

 

[noodles123]

Hello and thank you for all of the details! Welcome!

I am glad you are taking him to the vet. That is always a good idea.
Plucking and over-preening can be tough habits to break once they start, but they can often be improved somewhat over time by reducing triggers and providing replacement behaviors (easier said than done, but worth a shot). As mentioned above, there are medications that birds can take to help with OCD and anxiety behaviors, but you will need blood-work results before you decide to try any medication (as some impact the liver etc).

The fact that he is regurgitating and the fact that it got worse around another bird makes me think there are hormonal factors at play (coupled with ingrained patterns of behavior etc).
It is possible that he is getting too much sunlight---not that sunlight is a bad thing...A bird who is getting a lot of sunlight can become overly hormonal. Have you tried reducing the amount of sunlight slightly? You want to get them on a solid light/dark schedule, but you may need to reduce the amount of sun he is getting daily.
What is his sleep schedule like (how much sleep each night)?
Does he have access to any cave-like or shadowy spaces in or around his cage (e.g., boxes, piles of blankets, under furniture, baskets, low ledges etc)? If so, I would strongly advise that you remove access to these items/spaces, as shadowy spaces also stimulate hormonal behavior.
When you pet him, do you stick to touching the head and neck only? Petting elsewhere is perceived to be sexual by parrots and it can trigger hormones as well.
Also, are you feeding him any warm/mushy foods? These can mimic the texture o regurgitation and promote hormones too.

Unrelated question: Is there a reason you give him ice-water and not cool water? I doubt it has anything to do with his behavior, but in the wild, water wouldn't ever be that cold.

It is smart to get his blood-work done. All healthy parrots should have a CBC and gram-stain done at least 1x per year (for general upkeep). A swab of the mouth is also not a bad idea, as gram-stains don't show everything. A swab/ stain is going to tell you about bacteria and yeast only.

From there (if there are any red flags in the CBC), many vets will opt to run more specific panels to hone in on thyroid, liver/kidneys etc.
Note: A CBC will not detect common viral illnesses, such as PDD, or PBFD (CBC levels are not always impacted, but if they are, you will still have to do specific antigen tests for most viruses). Aspergillosis can also hide on a CBC if a bird has had it long enough that the white-count has normalized.

When he goes to the vet, you might consider a skin swab of the places he preens most (just because certain fungal infections can be present on the skin).
Since he spends time outdoors (and even if he didn't) mites are also a possibility with regard medical causes for itching/over-preening.

Last thing---
Macaws have very sensitive respiratory systems---as do all birds, but especially macaws----do you use any scented products in the home (lotions, perfumes,
standard household cleaners, oil burners, air resheners, hair-spray, etc etc)? These things can cause respiratory and skin irritation.
If you do use any of these products in the same home with your bird, I would suggest that you stop.
f10 sc, vinegar + water, grapefruitseed extract + water and a few other natural cleaners are safe to use around birds. Not all natural cleaners are safe though. Chemicals on human hands (including nicotine and personal care products) can transfer to bird's feathers during handling and cause itching etc.

If you don't already have one, you should also invest in a non-iodizing/ non-ozone-producing hepa air purifier.