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Managing Phobic Behavior?

Jobot

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I have a 3yo male parrotlet that has become quite phobic. He's a plucker/barber, and may or may not have some brain damage. He has days where he is insanely afraid of everything, even my hands or clothing, even things he has had contact with or has been in the same rooom as since I brought him home. Other days, these things don't bother him, and he carries on in a relatively normal way. He has been like this since he had a bad fall and hit his head on our tile floor. It looked like he had a seizure on the ground. I honestly thought he was a goner. But we're trying to manage his phobias and keep his quality of life up.

I have been trying a lot of positive reinforcement to lessen his fears. I try very hard to make being with me as pleasant as possible, because every time he panics it feels like we take 3 steps backwards. And considering how phobic I have made him in the past, we actually have a lot of trust. I use conditioning, and try to take it at his pace. If he is too uncomfortable, then I let him go back to his cage where he feels safe. I manage his diet, make sure he gets 12 hours of darkness a night, have tried Avicalm to no avail, give him the best diet he will eat, use clicker and target training, have a nice full spectrum UV bulb for him, have warmers and a heat lamp, encourage bathing, implement lots of foraging, see a vet regularly, have him on good quality pellet diet as well, have lots of toys in his cage... There are probably things I'm missing.

We finally got to the point of medicating him because his phobic behavior is now starting to become dangerous to him. The last straw was recently when he suddenly panicked and jumped, badly bruising his beak on a piece of furniture. So now we're doing Hydroxyzine in his water, in the hopes it will help curb his plucking, and maybe reduce his general anxiety. I was hoping we wouldn't need to, but here we are.

I just wanted to know if anyone else out there has a bird as phobic as mine. What did you do to help them? Can you point me to any good resources? I love him so much, and it's hard to know how best to help.
 

Davi

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So sorry to hear about his phobia. :-( But I'm so impressed by how much you're already doing to give him the best quality of life he can have in his current scenario. I don't have a phobic bird per se, but my crimson-bellied conure can act in very similar ways to the ones you described, at least some of the time. He'll all of a sudden freak out about something he's seen a million times before, for example. The one thing I can think of is perhaps adding some very calming music to his day. Often times, at least with humans, music can quickly take you to a calmer, less phobic state (especially music you've enjoyed before). So perhaps gradually introduce some quiet piano songs or something along those line (see what he might prefer) and help him associate this music with good quality time spent together with you. Just a thought. Hopefully others with more experience in this area can chime in. But I'm so happy you're asking for some suggestions and already doing so much for your little guy (Flynn?).
 

Tiel Feathers

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I’m sorry don’t really have any advice, but I just wanted to say that it sounds like you’re doing wonderfully with him. Maybe try some calming tea, like chamomile?
 

Lady Jane

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Has this bird been diagnosed by an avian vet as being "phobic" or is that your interpretation? Have you thought of taking him to a vet for an overall check up to see if this is anything medical?
 

Jobot

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Has this bird been diagnosed by an avian vet as being "phobic" or is that your interpretation? Have you thought of taking him to a vet for an overall check up to see if this is anything medical?
I told his vet about this behavior, and Flynn actually demonstrated a complete panic attack during the examination. She agrees that his behavior is phobic, given the history I've given her and what she has seen. I have a follow-up appointment in 3 weeks. She was very reluctant to do a full blood panel given how tiny Flynn is. The amount needed would be a considerable portion of his blood, and she thinks it would be risky. But if the hydroxyzine doesn't work, then we do have a couple other options.
 

Fergus Mom

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I told his vet about this behavior, and Flynn actually demonstrated a complete panic attack during the examination. She agrees that his behavior is phobic, given the history I've given her and what she has seen. I have a follow-up appointment in 3 weeks. She was very reluctant to do a full blood panel given how tiny Flynn is. The amount needed would be a considerable portion of his blood, and she thinks it would be risky. But if the hydroxyzine doesn't work, then we do have a couple other options.

I am so hoping the hydroxyzine will work for Flynn. He sounds like he is very loved, and I can only imagine how heartbreaking it would be to see him doing dangerous things or harming himself in any way! :sadhug2:
 

Lady Jane

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Please update us when you can.
 

Jobot

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im sorry, my goffin is like that too. have you tried clickervtraining, it hel0s you both talk.
We love clicker training! It's been very helpful to us, but I've been trying to decide how to apply the principles to his phobic behavior. What have you done with your goffins? I would love some pointers.
 

Jobot

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Please update us when you can.
Thanks for listening, all. It's helpful just to talk about it.

So far, he seems to have calmed down a little. He's doing more exploring and playing, which he hasn't done in months. He's getting into a little mischief, which is a good sign, I think! Hopefully it keeps up!:D
 

Lady Jane

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That means he is more comfortable so you see you are doing ok!
 

fashionfobie

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Poor little dude. I am sorry he had such a traumatic event happen to him. I am glad you are regularly working with an avian vet. Has the vet ever inspected his vision? I am wondering if he does have some brain damage he may not see properly. If his field of vision has changed it could cause things to be extremely startlingly, like something that was there the whole time may seem to just sneak up on him. Does he ever have panics at night? Or is it only during the day?

I am glad to hear training is going well. Parrotlets are very food motivated so they are fantastic at tricks :) Keep up the great work.
 

fashionfobie

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I told his vet about this behavior, and Flynn actually demonstrated a complete panic attack during the examination. She agrees that his behavior is phobic, given the history I've given her and what she has seen. I have a follow-up appointment in 3 weeks. She was very reluctant to do a full blood panel given how tiny Flynn is. The amount needed would be a considerable portion of his blood, and she thinks it would be risky. But if the hydroxyzine doesn't work, then we do have a couple other options.
Correct blood panels can't be done on parrotlets so they are very fragile little birds to keep. So much harder to find out what is wrong with them. It sounds like you have a good vet.

For reference if you want more information :geek: Bird blood cells have a nucleus, this is different than mammalian blood. It makes it very fragile and the blood changes during transport if not handled properly. So the amount of blood that can be safely taken from a parrotlet is too minuscule to yield accurate tests, if it does survive transfer to a testing facility there simply isn't enough to use in tests.

There was a great article I read in a vet journal that was specifically about blood collection in parrotlets and I cannot find it again to save my life. Here are a few technical reads on blood collection if you want to dig deeper.
Avian Blood Collection and Hematology - WSAVA 2015 Congress - VIN
https://www.abaxis.com/sites/default/files/resource-papers/Avian Blood Collection Techniques.pdf
 

Jobot

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Poor little dude. I am sorry he had such a traumatic event happen to him. I am glad you are regularly working with an avian vet. Has the vet ever inspected his vision? I am wondering if he does have some brain damage he may not see properly. If his field of vision has changed it could cause things to be extremely startlingly, like something that was there the whole time may seem to just sneak up on him. Does he ever have panics at night? Or is it only during the day?
You know, the vet hasn't mentioned anything about his vision being bad, but I'm definitely going to bring it up when I see her again in a week. It's entirely possible that he may have some vision problems now. Thanks!
 

LaSelva

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Temple Grandin PhD, in her books "Animals In Translation" and "Animals Make Us Human," goes into great detail about the specific topic of phobias as they relate to, for example, predator or prey species, and also addresses how to properly understand and eliminate negative emotions, such as fear, as a path to captive animal welfare. Her books invoke research into the anatomy and neurochemistry of emotions as underlying causes of behavior and draw upon current studies in this field (affective neurology).

That being said, have you ever considered your UV lighting as a source of agitation for your bird? If the spectrum originating from these bulbs is not balanced it can negatively affect mood and behavior.
 

Jobot

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Temple Grandin PhD, in her books "Animals In Translation" and "Animals Make Us Human," goes into great detail about the specific topic of phobias as they relate to, for example, predator or prey species, and also addresses how to properly understand and eliminate negative emotions, such as fear, as a path to captive animal welfare. Her books invoke research into the anatomy and neurochemistry of emotions as underlying causes of behavior and draw upon current studies in this field (affective neurology).

That being said, have you ever considered your UV lighting as a source of agitation for your bird? If the spectrum originating from these bulbs is not balanced it can negatively affect mood and behavior.
I have often wondered this, but I thought I was crazy when it seemed to me that his UV light makes him crazier. But then I feel like a bad owner depriving him of light. UGH.
I bought a ZooMed avian full spectrum bulb. Is that one not balanced?
 

AviaryByTheSea

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The last straw was recently when he suddenly panicked and jumped, badly bruising his beak on a piece of furniture. So now we're doing Hydroxyzine in his water, in the hopes it will help curb his plucking, and maybe reduce his general anxiety. I was hoping we wouldn't need to, but here we are.
From a behavioral standpoint, managing phobic birds can be extremely challenging. Positive reinforcement is absolutely the best way to shape his behavior and help overcome his fears.

Because of everything you have said... I would have my avian vet test for Avian Bornaviral Ganglionitis and Avian Bornavirus, I would also bring the vet a fecal sample and test it for bacteria.
 

Jobot

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From a behavioral standpoint, managing phobic birds can be extremely challenging. Positive reinforcement is absolutely the best way to shape his behavior and help overcome his fears.

Because of everything you have said... I would have my avian vet test for Avian Bornaviral Ganglionitis and Avian Bornavirus, I would also bring the vet a fecal sample and test it for bacteria.
How do they test for Avian Bornaviral Ganglionitis and Avian Bornavirus? I'll ask about doing a fecal test next time I'm at the vet. She was super reluctant to do any blood testing because he's so little. Even a drop is a significant amount of his blood.

If it does end up being either of those viruses, what can be done?
 

AviaryByTheSea

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I believe the Avian Bornaviral Ganglionitis is blood only and treatment is managing the symptoms using a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory.

The ABV can be tested by swabbing. However, there can be a lot of false negatives as the bird apparently will only test positive If it is actively shedding the virus.
 
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