Young Personality Change

[charmedbyekkie]

So Cairo is 14mo (yay hatchdate knowledge) - he's doing his big 1yo molt and he recently got a bit traumatised by a groomer (he saw this groomer with his previous family, but this was his first time with us and his toes and beak hurt a little afterwards I think).

He's changed a little bit - he's back to eating normally, which is good. But he's also napping a little bit more (I don't really blame him - he has a crazy amount of pin feathers all over his body). On the flip side, he's chattering away a whole lot more! Nonstop talking, fun sounds galore, vocab practice, etc. Plus he just started saying his name as an 'alert, I'm concerned that you're going to upset me'. And wow! I thought I was doing a good job reading his body language when he was in the beginning stages of becoming upset, but now he's letting me know the potential triggers beforehand.

Big question: is this all completely normal and expected? I'm surprised it all happened within the span of a week. I know they say if there's significant personality changes or anything like that, then you should bring them to the vet. But this doesn't seem like necessarily a negative change? Unless you count his napping, which I'm chalking up to molting and the holiday season (Chinese New Year is a big deal with a lot of visiting family and friends for several days).

 

[chris-md]

Normal/exprcted? Not how I would describe it. Sounds like he’s just being a happy birdy. It’s not like it’s a progression to hormones or some similar concept. just sit back and enjoy the ride

 

[EllenD]

I would only be concerned about the frequent "napping", or lethargy. Everything else you describe is pretty typical for a 14 month-old parrot, they are coming-into their own and developing their adult personalities, and learning more and more each day. So all of that is normal..

He's eating normally, so that's huge. When they go through a large molt they use-up a lot of energy, but it's also important to remember that they are also being caused quite a bit of pain and discomfort, and it's all over their bodies, so this can certainly make them feel not so great, and it can also cause them to not sleep as well as they normally do. So his sudden lethargy could very-well be the result of the molt...

I would wait and continue to watch him until one of two things happens; either #1) He finishes his molt and the increased lethargy goes away, or #2) He develops ANY OTHER signs/symptoms of illness in addition to the lethargy, such as less of an appetite or anorexia, constantly being "fluffed-up" all the time out of nowhere, sleeping throughout most of the day every day, hanging out on the bottom of his cage and avoiding perching, any vomiting or loose, watery droppings not due to a change in diet, a sudden decrease or complete stop in vocality, etc. If he develops any other signs/symptoms of illness in addition to the increased lethargy, or the increased lethargy continues after he finishes the molt entirely and no-longer has any pin-feathers, then that's another reason to get routine Blood-Work run again...

 

[noodles123]

A bird usually changes some when it is 1) brought into a new environment/stressed, 2) when it finally adjusts to that new environment, 3)when it becomes sexually mature,4) if there are hormonal issues and 5) if there is pain or illness.



Pinfeathers can make birds grumpy and they require a significant amount of energy to regenerate.



I agree with what Ellen said--just read her post after typing this lol.

 

[Anansi]

Great advice above. I agree. A lot of the behavioral stuff simply sounds like he's adjusting more to your home and is getting better at communicating to you how he feels about certain things. And the increased chattiness is also a good sign of his comfort level.

But lethargy would indeed be an issue. If you're talking a few more naps during the course of the day, that's one thing. you could chalk that up to a heavy molt. (as with increased nippiness) But if there's a significant change in the amount of time spent sleeping, yes, I'd be concerned.

 

[Scarlet61]

I had a similar experience with my female eclectus who was then nearly 12 mos. old. I advise you to see an Avian vet at once. I did and my parrot has been diagnosed with Avian Borna Virus. My parrot underwent a complete personality change and was tired as you say your parrot is. ABV has been linked to a serious parrot disease called PDD. Google this and verify my information for yourself. I do hope your parrot is fine but please do not delay. Seek a reputable Avian vet and take your parrot to be seen at once.

 

[HEEDLESS]

My baby Kise has been changing too.. She is more talkative, doesn't like to be touch a lot, when she is on top of her cage, there is no easy way to get her down unless I turn off the light and said "It's night nite baby" then she goes to my hand and put her in her cage... sometime she refuses to let go of my hand. :XD


She is very playful while I am at work because I can see her via camera through my phone. I can hear her chatting, see her flying/playing around.



And one thing that doesn't change is her best picky eating habit. She won't eat things she doesn't like and will wait until I cook the noodles/egg/sweet corn, then she stuff herself.


Chopped veggies and birdie breads, she will just look at it and goes to her TOPs pellet, or just eat the nuts that I mixed on the bird breads that I baked.


I have the best pickiest eater ever!!!








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[ChristaNL]

Oh...and there is never anything "normal" ...we are still dealing with parrots, right ?



Just keep an eye on the little fellow - molting is hard work, so I would not be surprised if he perks right up (and yes, all the extra exitement may also contribute - every time my parrots get into a socializing-situation they love the challenge/interacting but seem tired afterwards)