Petey

[aooratrix]

Today, I got Petey out of his cage for out time and a bath. Of course, getting him out is a euphemism for coaxing him to step on a 5' long piece of pvc for about 10 minutes. He tolerated his bath and spent his time on the java tree posturing, gaping, and screaming. He does not like the pvc perch, but I don't like donating blood, so I stepped him up again to return to his cage. Wonder of wonders, right before I hit the dining room, he flew! He got about 10' and landed on the ground by his cage. That is a positive I'm taking away from the hormonal anger.

 

[Macawnutz]

Holy crap! You better become friends before you let him do practicing! Lol!

 

[Hankmacaw]

Matthew, have you thought about or talked to a vet about Lupron shots for Petey? We probably know now why he was neglected and up for adoption. Lupron will many times work on male birds and calm them down through extreme hormonal behavior.

I hate so much to see Petey like this - he was so sweet with you.

 

[aooratrix]

Matthew, have you thought about or talked to a vet about Lupron shots for Petey? We probably know now why he was neglected and up for adoption. Lupron will many times work on male birds and calm them down through extreme hormonal behavior.

I hate so much to see Petey like this - he was so sweet with you.

I had not thought of Lupron, but I'll ask Dr. Riggs about them. Can't hurt. I have ongoing dread of living years with a bird that targets me as the source of his rage. Ugh. I ignore the aggression and don't interact directly with him until he stops striking. Usually, he doesn't. If he turns out like my friend's scarlet (turned hormonal and aggressive for going on 4 straight years), I'm in for trouble and more bites. It's hard to constantly keep your guard up. I don't look forward to doing it for years. It's depressing.

 

[doodadz]

I had to do lupron with Peachie, my male Moluccan. He had a transition that just didn’t quit. Much like your fid, he would track me around the cage, banging his face , clawing and biting and hissing at me. Every time I went past... it was quite the experience to wrestle him into a travel cage to drive to the vet for his monthly shot. It did make a difference in his behavior, maybe 25 or 30%?... I did it for 18 months??? Can’t remember... it was at least a year. I did end up rehoming him. All the rest of my birds are female and I think part of his problem was estrogen overload. He now lives with a friend who has no other birds. He lords it over her dogs and whatever animal she is pet sitting at the moment. He is in hog heaven and loves it. I don’t bleed anymore, either blood or money. Winner winner chicken dinner....

 

[faislaq]

I didn't know Lupron was for males, too. Wouldn't it be wonderful if he calmed down long enough to go back to his gentle self?

 

[MommyBird]

yes lupron works for males, it was helpful for my Hahns.
There is also an implant, desloran (spell?), if you need longer term control.

 

[aooratrix]

I'm hoping he cycles out of it. I ordered a t perch from Foster & Smith to facilitate handling him.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

I wondered if Petey could fly. That's a whole new ball game if he has skill in flying to and successfully landing where he wants to. At least you know he has a ten foot distance in flight... which means.... you have to be at least 11-12 feet from him for safe passage... I had a thought ... in my little pea brain.
A while back someone posted a video of a cockatoo having a blast spinning on a wheel and John loved it.. wanted to make one. Now, I can't imagine a macaw enjoying the same activity but what if... you had a slow rotating barrel type device kind of like an external hamster wheel easy enough for a macaw to be on so that as it rotated the bird would have to "walk" to stay on top. Might not work but it was one of those random thoughts to come up with a simple solution to have him do as an activity for 10-15 minutes. Sort of like a birdy stepmaster or treadmill. A hanging swing? Something that would encourage him to move about more and spend some of that "pissoffedness" in a positive manner and use up some energy. On the downlow.... he would get a lot stronger and fly further..... hmmmm... always something to ponder. Anyhooo... I'm still sending positive energy that this too will pass. Henry is still wanting his nightly head scritch before his dinner ... no hormonal activity now for the past two years. I'm always on guard for the next event. Lola, is hormonal now and wants me to pet her. She has been for the past couple of years letting me scratch her head and would fluff her head feathers in enjoyment. Now, she keeps her head feathers pressed tight , eyes wide open and as soon as I touch her head she leans forward and goes butt up ... clucking like a little green chicken. I have to stop petting her to not encourage her desire to mate. After I stop touching her head she's pretty unhappy and lurches out to bite every time I walk pass her. I've become quite proficient at ducking my elbows just out of bite range.