Cons and Pros of putting a bird on Prozak?

[Sthere]

Thanks I bought the Avicalm from the website among other things to try...

I am at a loss on what to do with her. This never happened before but my bird ambushed me yesterday. This was the worst bite by far. I place her down, turned around and she jumped on my back and ran after my neck. She clamped down and wouldn't let go! I had to rip her off of my neck and there was a puncture hole and it swelled up, it's killing me now to just turn my neck.

I just don't know what to do with her. I can't handle her. Maybe it's me it's my fault. I will try the avicalm. I feel like I have no support. There should be more training offered for birds like dogs when you first get them since their 1st year is so important. Really when you get a parrot you are on your own as far as figuring things out and I feel like a failure. These are my only options, I might have to try the prozak or just rehome her. That will kill me, but I just want the best for her.

[liz]

Wrap a towel around your neck so it can't happen again. Yes that will look silly but if you are protected you will not have to react to it. Your bird will learn that it can't hurt you and give up. Wear long pants and shoes to protect your legs.

I keep a hand towel on my left shouler to protect from Myrtles talons.

[Andromeda]

I'm really sorry your macaw ambushed you. I've never had a bird larger than a Poi mainly because I know I couldn't stand the bite of anything larger. I can't imaging what it's like to be bitten by a macaw.

It's spring so your bird is probably hormonal which could be why she attacked you. I know that sexually mature macaws in particular can be extremely aggressive when hormonal.

The good news is that Avicalm can help with aggression. If you use Avicalm for a few weeks and don't see any improvement you can try the Rescue Remedy and see if that helps.

I'm sorry you have no support but I'm glad you're at least posting on some forums to try to get advice. I know it's not the same as having someone there with you but hopefully it helps a little bit.

I agree that the current state of aviculture in general is horrid. Most people have no clue what it's like to own a bird and the larger the bird, the bigger the problems. Some breeders are very responsible and require their prospective clients to thoroughly educate themselves but I think those are few and far between. Pet shops are even worse. Statistically the average parrot goes through five homes in its lifetime, which is horribly sad. One of my parrots is a rescue and the other is a re-home. I could get off onto a whole tangent about the practice of keeping birds as pets but it'll just make me angry so I'll stop here.

I know you want what's best with your bird and I can completely understand how you're at wits end right now but the bottom line is that it would be very hard to re-home your bird in its current state---a plucking, aggressive macaw with a beak large enough to crush finger bones. Honestly you'd probably be hard-pressed to find a rescue as well because most rescues are already overflowing with unwanted birds with extreme behavioral problems.

Please don't underestimate clicker training. The cost is minimal: a clicker only costs a few dollars and you can use a chopstick as a targeting stick. It might seem at face value that teaching your bird "tricks" has nothing to do with addressing severe behavioral problems but the truth is that's the best way to address the problems you're having, period. It's not about the tricks. It's about building trust with your bird and teaching it new, desirable behaviors that it can then substitute for undesirable behaviors.

If you use positive reinforcement to reward a behavior, that behavior will increase over time. The more the behavior is rewarded, the more it will increase. That's called operant conditioning and it works. It not only works, but it works well and you will see results very quickly. Once your bird learns a few simple tricks it will suddenly have something to do other than pluck and bite, and it will offer these new behaviors because it knows that if it does, it will be rewarded.

Basics of Parrot Taming and Training

If it comes to it (due to aggression) you can even teach targeting from inside the cage before trying it outside the cage. You can also offer the food reward from a measuring cup on a handle if you're afraid the bird will bite your fingers when you offer a treat.

And hey, if worse comes to worse and you have to re-home your bird at least you can "advertise" the fact that she knows some tricks.

[liz]

Keep in mind that it is the season. She should be coming out of it in the next month.

[Sthere]

Thanks for the post. I have lost feeling in my neck, so she must have crushed a nerve. I am not being a drama queen, it was some bite! I hope it subsides next month.. It made it even more depressing that after happened she pulled all the feathers she regrew on her chest out again the very next day. If anyone knows anyone in nj on this forum maybe who is experienced that could help me out that would be great!

[Grey_Moon]

I'd scrap the Prozac or any SSRI's as (as someone on them) if she's already wacky--it will only get worse and if her aggression is hormonally-related it will also possibly make it worse. SSRI's in human females do sometimes cause prolactin levels to rise and galactorrhea---not that birds make milk, but I would be wary about what it would do to her hormones and body.

First is to get a complete blood work up on her, check organ function and all that. Second, get an x-ray to check for injuries you cannot see. After that, try a lot of showers and avoiding letting her sleep and live in the same cage---the only time a bird spends 24/7 in the same spot is breeding season. Set up a sleep cage in a separate room and playgyms in yet another, each away from her day cage. If she's on a high-protein or fat diet/getting a lot of soft fresh and table foods (like eggs, oatmeal) cut those out and try putting her on a lower fat and protein pellet. Offer greens and raw veggies, but nothing soft n mushy.

[Sthere]

I did do blood work on her. Everything is in normal range, including calcium levels. Calcium was like a 7 or 8 right in normal range. They tend to see hormonal birds at a 14 with calcium levels. I also cut her food intake down, no more mushy food for the past 2 months!! Only pellet diet and only 1 tablespoon of seed per day! She gets zero fruit and no cooked mushy pasta any more. She does in the shower with me every day! All this plus I installed UVB lightning, I bought her about 5 different foraging toys and the screaming just doesn't stop. She has been on the avicalm for 3 days and haven't seen any changes. She attacks the water bottle and throws it off her cage. I found this animal communicator maybe try her with a last ditch effort to see what's bothering her. She says she works with parrots.

[Andromeda]

I did do blood work on her. Everything is in normal range, including calcium levels. Calcium was like a 7 or 8 right in normal range. They tend to see hormonal birds at a 14 with calcium levels. I also cut her food intake down, no more mushy food for the past 2 months!! Only pellet diet and only 1 tablespoon of seed per day! She gets zero fruit and no cooked mushy pasta any more. She does in the shower with me every day! All this plus I installed UVB lightning, I bought her about 5 different foraging toys and the screaming just doesn't stop. She has been on the avicalm for 3 days and haven't seen any changes. She attacks the water bottle and throws it off her cage. I found this animal communicator maybe try her with a last ditch effort to see what's bothering her. She says she works with parrots.

Well you're definitely doing everything within your power to help your bird. I know how frustrating it can be to try everything under the sun and still have a plucking bird.

Again, I can't recommend clicker training enough. It's a tried and true method and it addresses (among other things) aggression, screaming, and plucking. And it's free. You may not see results overnight but if you give it a serious shot it is possible that you will at least see some results within a few days or even a week.

I tried everything with my plucking brown-headed parrot and that's the only thing that helped the plucking. He hasn't completely stopped but the severity has decreased by maybe 90%.

Best wishes to you and your bird.