M&M Ninja
Strolling the yard
We recently experienced what I believe is regression, so I thought I’d share our experience for anybody else going through this. We brought home a 3 month old gold capped conure on Saturday. She had been active, lively, acrobatic, wild and silly at the breeder’s house. She had been weaned onto pellets and fresh foods a few weeks prior.
She was in her carrier for maybe 45 minutes while we transported her to our RV. She was acting stressed and confused during that time, running laps and trying to climb. Once she was in her main cage, she continued this behavior. Eventually, I had the house all secure and was able to take her out to be with me. She calmed down. Didn’t eat or drink that night.
It was like somebody came in overnight and switched my bird out with a baby. She was wobbly and uncertain. Eventually she started the ‘feed me’ cry. By the time noon rolled around, she was no longer very erect. She was a low blob with low wings. When she would go to a perch, she would sit with her wings low and her head rocking forward and back.
At one point, while she was out on the table, she latched onto my pinky and started doing the jerky baby-feeding motion. I dislodged my finger and redirected her to playing with a toy.
We had expected that she might not eat at first, but we decided to intervene around 2pm. My husband took her out and started feeding her one pellet at a time. She acted like the first two were unfamiliar, just letting them sit in her mouth for a few minutes. Eventually she started eating them. After about 10 pellets, he put her in the cage right in front of her food bowl, went around to the bowl from the outside, and started feeding her from there. He’d take a pellet from the bowl and hand it to her. After several minutes of that, he stopped. She then started taking pellets herself.
It was several hours of uncertain eating. She’d eat for a little while, climb to a higher perch, wobble and mutter there for 20 minutes while she napped, back to the bowl to eat, etc. By bedtime, she was flying and acting less like a baby.
Monday, she was nearly normal and Tuesday, she was totally normal.
TLDR: We brought her home Saturday night, she regressed, nursed her back to independence Sunday, totally herself again by Tuesday.
PS. I recently found this thread. It sounds like baby regression is common. I don’t know why google hid this result from me on Sunday!
She was in her carrier for maybe 45 minutes while we transported her to our RV. She was acting stressed and confused during that time, running laps and trying to climb. Once she was in her main cage, she continued this behavior. Eventually, I had the house all secure and was able to take her out to be with me. She calmed down. Didn’t eat or drink that night.
It was like somebody came in overnight and switched my bird out with a baby. She was wobbly and uncertain. Eventually she started the ‘feed me’ cry. By the time noon rolled around, she was no longer very erect. She was a low blob with low wings. When she would go to a perch, she would sit with her wings low and her head rocking forward and back.
At one point, while she was out on the table, she latched onto my pinky and started doing the jerky baby-feeding motion. I dislodged my finger and redirected her to playing with a toy.
We had expected that she might not eat at first, but we decided to intervene around 2pm. My husband took her out and started feeding her one pellet at a time. She acted like the first two were unfamiliar, just letting them sit in her mouth for a few minutes. Eventually she started eating them. After about 10 pellets, he put her in the cage right in front of her food bowl, went around to the bowl from the outside, and started feeding her from there. He’d take a pellet from the bowl and hand it to her. After several minutes of that, he stopped. She then started taking pellets herself.
It was several hours of uncertain eating. She’d eat for a little while, climb to a higher perch, wobble and mutter there for 20 minutes while she napped, back to the bowl to eat, etc. By bedtime, she was flying and acting less like a baby.
Monday, she was nearly normal and Tuesday, she was totally normal.
TLDR: We brought her home Saturday night, she regressed, nursed her back to independence Sunday, totally herself again by Tuesday.
PS. I recently found this thread. It sounds like baby regression is common. I don’t know why google hid this result from me on Sunday!
