Depressed, Angry, Hormonal...

[PrettyBirdy]

I am... At a loss.
I have had Remmy for almost 6 years, since he was not ever a year old. I was with him through his adolescents, through loss of trust, gaining it back.. I am beyond committed to his health and happiness.
He has always been...Ornery, you could say. His hormones were always huge drivers of his behavior, of his actions as well, but the last seven months have been a nightmare.

His aggression seems so random, so frustrated. This behavior doesn't fit his typical hormonal time line, but it feels that way. I know that sometimes conures will 'break up' with each other if their bond is broken and this feels oddly like that. I'm not sure what to do.

As well as that, around the same time this started, maybe a month or so after, his weight dropped. Physically, he's still healthy (vet approved), just thinner, and his enthusiasm for food has lessened. He says his favorite words less, he just seems... Not himself. Depressed almost.

My number one concern is HIS happiness, and despite the fact that I have never actively longed for a pair of green cheeks (nor am i against it.) I am considering searching for a mate for him. I am prepared for him to regect the other bird, though he has always loved being around others of his own species. I am also prepared for our relationship to change. I'm just desperate for him to be happy and himself again.

Does anyone have any thoughts, feelings suggestions?

Also, anyone else who has gotten their gcc a mate/friend, how did you go about the selection process?

Thank you so much for reading.

 

[expressmailtome]

Bump.

 

[sunnysmom]

@webchirp ?

 

[webchirp]

Well, I have a wide variety of cheeks with issues...

First and foremost, sexual frustration can be a bigger issue with birds. We have taken away what they would do in the wild. Some birds are okay with a human mate and weathering the frustration a bit better. Others not so much...

Tuck I believe used to be a fairly tame cheek. He was bounced a bit from aggressiveness to others. Split from his first mate for plucking her I think. But sometimes mates do that...when he came to our house, of course my little Jewel pulled him in easy peasy. She is one hot cheekie from the way the boys are drawn to her. Mind you, she already had two boyfriends she shared her time with...but she shared her cage with Rocco and visited/visits Zephyr when out. Then she gravitated to Tuck when out. I pretty much had the aggression towards others under control but once we cycled around to the hormonal period, he chewed a hole in his leg. Fast forward...Rue was evicted from the Akron cheekie gang...I put Rue and Tuck away from everyone (probably not an issue for you since you have no other cheekies) in cages side by side. Eventually, I started letting them out together. Then once they started going into each others cages for bedtime before I put them away, I let them share a cage. Tuck is still on gabapentin because I think he did some damage to that leg. He will still pluck it when we cycle around to hormones or stress. Right now I have another little wild girl making eyes at him. I'd keep her and let Tuck have a threesome if I didn't think Rue would kill her. Literally.

If Remi is okay with other birds, I think that is half the battle. And perhaps he does need a girlie of his own. I've found little wild cheekie girls are more apt to bond with a boy. They have no use for humans and prefer their own kind. You may continue to find that Remi may continue to be frustrated even with a girl although I would think it would be less severe. They still want to nest and have babies to do their thing in life. But be aware (if you get a girlie), you could still be in a cycle with him being frustrated yet still wanting to be with his friend yet taking it out on her. So you have to keep them apart but he wants to be together and you've compounded the situation. Worst case scenario...

I'd first try foraging the heck out of him and stuffing his cage full of things to do @Mizzely (the foraging queen)...additionally, research training from @Monica. He needs his mind occupied...

You could ask the vet to try a Lupron shot...didn't work well for Zephyr but that doesn't mean it won't work for yours...

You could try gabapentin...I have two mutilators on it...Tuck and Giggie. It does not make them droopy or any noticeable effects but I have seen it make another cheekie look really out of it and she had less than half of what my two take.

 

[Monica]

Webchirp has some great suggestions!


Sometimes getting a friend may help, other times it may not. Fostering two cheekies at the moment, one that is shy but friendly with humans and the other that is hands off but kind of friendly. The shy but friendly, Scooter, seems like he/she would be fine being an only cheekie but could potentially warm up to another bird. Scooter was at least caged with a quaker parrot, so it seems like it's possible but Scooter doesn't really seek out other birds. Merlin on the other hand has an obvious desire to be with other cheekies. His personality seems like he'd do great with a confident and human friendly cheekie that also likes other cheekies. He'd be a follower. Merlin wants to interact with Scooter but Scooter is perfectly fine keeping a distance. They can be kind of close together, but not *too* close.


You know Remmy best, so only you can decide if you feel like another cheekie would be beneficial. That said, it can certainly help to keep him busy both physically as well as mentally. Mentally - foraging and trick training. Physically - flight and trick training. If Remmy isn't currently flighted, then this will require allowing his flight feathers to grow out. Keep him busy and worn out, and he'll have less energy to act out.