Prozac

[tattoo]

Ok.. need some advice...
this new little girl i got as a rescue is mutilating her feathers. She had already started doing it when i got her and she now is down to no tail feathers (not even the little ones in the back, she is working on her chest and back. She isn't plucking them she is breaking them off.
What has been done...
-changed her diet from just pellets to a much wider variety and things the vet told me to add (that I can get her to eat
-teaching her how to play with toys
-wetting her in the shower
-keeping her with me as much as possible so i can re-direct her to other things
-had all the testing done at the vet to rule out any medical problem

She has lost a little weight and she looks like a baby chick. seems happy and is very sweet... but this feather things can't keep going on. She even tries to chew her toenails.

I called the vet this morning and i will be seeing them later today. The person i spoke to said that what usually happens at this point is to put them on prozac liquid form to stop the behavior.

I know the mutilating is worse then plucking and can cause long term feather damage...if it already hasn't. I can't keep my eyes on her every second and i don't know what else to do.

Anybody else go this route?

[zazanomore]

I've heard of parrots, horses, cats and dogs being on prozac. I guess if you have tried everything, and the vet suggests it, that it may be worth a shot.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I will try to read the section in the "Parrot Behavior Manual" on meds and plucking as soon as I get a chance and I can let you know what it says. Assuming an SSRI is really safe in birds, the worst thing that could happen is that it could make things worse either temporarily or permanently. SSRIs (Prozac and other drugs in that class -- Selective Serotonin Re-Uptake Inhibitors) work by subtly altering the balance of naturally occurring chemicals that effect brain function. They aren't sedating and they aren't really feel-good meds per se, but in humans, anyway, they can help bootstrap brain chemistry that has gotten out of whack back into a more normal state.

Never heard of it in a horse, though! Tranquilizers, yes. Prozac, no. I'll have to check that out.

[zazanomore]

Yeah, my friend owns horses, and when the one had to be put down, the other went into depression and had to be put on it.

[tattoo]

ok.. so little girl is on...
flagyl
Gabapentin Suspension
Meloxican Liquid

and got an injection of Lupron
and we go back in 10 days.

The vet can not figure out why she is mutilating her feathers. She isn't upset, or jumpy. Seems to be doing well with me...except for the feather thing.

She did lose a little weight but she is eating so i hope that changes quickly. Vet tech said she looks like a easter peep!

[birdvet]

It sounds like prozac is the way to go. You've done an extensive workup by the sounds of it so when behavioural enrichment doesn't work, especially in a mutilation case, then the only step left is pharmacological therapy.

Hopefully you'll be able to wean her off the meds, but be prepared that she may be on them for the rest of her life.

Keep us posted on her progress

[notscaredtodance]

Sometimes feather mutilating is just a bad habit. He could be content now, but enjoys chewing on his feathers as a way to pass time. I'd try a lot of shreddy toys. Balsa wood, pine wood, post it notes (with the glue strip taken off. Idk if its toxic or not, but better safe than sorry. Cardboard pieces. Paper towel rolls. etc.

[tattoo]

Good news guys... (knocking on wood) its been a little more than a week since little Peeps has plucked or mutilated a feather! I am so excited.

First of all her name is now Peeps... (as in easter peeps) since when we went to the vet a few weeks ago the tech said.. she looks like a peeps.. which she did. and it stuck.

Here's what we are doing...
She is on 2 meds that she gets 2 times a day
2mgs of gabapentin
and 2 mgs of meloxicam

I know it has made a difference because when she was off of it for a few days she got REALLY bad at plucking. Her chest was featherless.. and her wings were almost there too.

i also found some Great shredding items that seem to work.
I purchased a while back egg crates that are the flats. They were new, not used. I thought i would sound proof a room with them but never did. Anyway, i break off pieces and attach it to the cage... she just makes tiny pieces of it..
I also gave her a book, she cant read but she rips it apart and makes great shredded paper..
Last thing that seemed to spark all the shredding is a toy that Jenn got Peeps at Petsmart in the hamster department. It is called a "Ware's Corn Buffet"
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... Id=4193665
i have gone through 3 of them so far.. she loves it.

She is SOOOOO sweet. She loves to lick my face... She has 4 tailfeathers and a bunch of flight feathers coming in.. almost 1 inch long and her chest is getting fuzzy.

[a.susz]

glad to hear she's doing better sometimes a change of environment, better care, more attention, and a good diet makes all the difference necessary for them to let their feathers grow back!!

[Jenny]

that's wonderful news! We'll keep our fingers crossed that Peeps' progress continues.

I gotta admit though, Peeps looks really cute in this picture. I don't know why I find it so sweet, but I do - maybe it's 'cuz my brain knows she's doing better!