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IrishGypsy
Egg
Joined: 20 May 2008
Posts: 8
Location: Chicago, IL |
| MizWiz Obsessive 'Nesting' Behavior |
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Well, here's the story (a long one, please bear with me): MizWiz is a 6-1/2 year old Mustache Parakeet (obviously mature!). She is bonded to my hubby, who is home with her all day, but likes me well enough. He doesn't have a lot of patience and MizWiz was supposed to be mine, but we all know how that goes! 
She has always gone berserk during the Spring for about 2 months time, seeking dark hidey places (under the couch, in the entertainment center, beneath cushions, behind doors - you've got the picture). If she gets to a spot that she thinks is a possibility, she won't let us near her and lunges and growls. We have to use a 'feather duster' to get her home, which she latches on to and hangs from until she reaches her cage, then we have to shut her in.
Last Spring we tried letting her have a little place in her cage and she wound up laying an egg. It was abnormally large, we took her to the vet, she was fine, we removed the 'cage nest' and she slowly came out of her hormone-induced frenzy. This has been the routine for about 3 years.
This year is absolutely horrible. Even when I'm paying complete attention to her and distracting her for a bit, she won't let my hubby leave the room, seeks him out, listens for him to come out of his office and when he does take her, she immediately goes to the floor and runs for the bathroom, where she currently thinks there is prime nesting real estate. This has been going on for 3 months now and shows no signs of letting up. In fact, she is getting worse. Every time she does this, we 'retrieve' her and put her in her cage. It is to the point she is spending most of the day in there, screaming or pouting and she is totally miserable. As are we are!! She is a very loving and funny bird when not in this 'mode' and we miss her, but it seems we are at such a loss we are almost ready to give up. We live in an apartment and we can't go on like this, and neither can she. I know she's miserable.
We've been to the vet and have had to take all newspaper out of the cage due to encouraging the nesting. She gets at least 12 hours, albeit not in a separate location. She is in front of a large balcony window and has a full spectrum lamp during the day. The Vet suggested having my hubby live somewhere else for awhile!!!! Umm, can you say, not an option! 
Any and all suggestions are welcome. We don't want to give up on our Wizzy - we've had her almost 6 years. We also cannot afford a behaviourist.
Thank you!! |
Tuesday May 20, 2008 5:08 pm |
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Cathy
Kamikaze pilot
Joined: 02 Apr 2005
Posts: 6673
Location: Omaha, NE USA |
WHAT!!!??? Hubby wont move out for awhile each spring  LoL!
I can't help you much, but it may help to know that you are not alone! My amazon has been acting the same way, she has her particular nesting spots in the house & it's VERY hard to keep her away from them! As soon as I cover up, or take away 1 spot, she finds another & it is exasperating! I am also very tired of putting her back in her cage & have ended up just giving into her a little bit, fortunately she hasn't layed eggs yet tho. And she is not real fond of my hubby, but she does consider me as her mate - along with the glass entertainment center doors, the coffee pot & anything other reflective surface she can find!!
I've kind of resigned myself to just trying to ride it out, & she is slowing down a little bit with her hormonal behaviour.
Have you tried keeping the house a little cooler & limiting the daylight hours?
I really wish you & MizWiz the best & hope you get thru it soon! |
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Thursday May 22, 2008 2:39 pm |
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IrishGypsy
Egg
Joined: 20 May 2008
Posts: 8
Location: Chicago, IL |
Thanks for the reply. You helped by letting me know I don't have a one-of-a-kind demon on my hands! Can I ask how old your Amazon is? Do you have pix of her on this board? What's her name? Has she done this before and if so, how long did it last? I'm so nosey! 
I think she might be pulling out of it a bit. The last couple of days she's been able to stay out of the cage for longer periods of time. I still have to chase her down, but not every second, lol. Plus, I've been able to make her step up from the floor without lunging, unless she totally finds her hidey. We'll see. I have today off and the Holiday weekend. Hubby (we'll call him da-da from now on, because that's how he refers to himself in relation to MizWiz, lol) totally cannot handle it - he tries, but patience isn't one of his strong points.
Gotta go - hope to take some more pix of Wizzy this weekend.
IG |
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Friday May 23, 2008 4:53 pm |
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Cathy
Kamikaze pilot
Joined: 02 Apr 2005
Posts: 6673
Location: Omaha, NE USA |
I'm glad to hear that she is slowing down a bit with her behaviour. That's great that she'll now step up from her spot on the floor! I use a dowel when doing that with Kewi, that's the only time she ever lunges at me, so we just handle it with a dowel.
And it's great that you've got a long week-end at home now to spend some time with her
This is the first spring Kewi has been with me, I adopted her this past Nov. I was told that she was about 3 years old, but according to her leg band she's 5, LoL! She really is so great, but I do have to be cautious when she's hormonal.
Sorry, I don't have any pics of her on here, but I do have a web page with some photos:
but I haven't updated it recently either
http://pic3.piczo.com/LifewithManu/?g=25551835
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Friday May 23, 2008 5:11 pm |
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IrishGypsy
Egg
Joined: 20 May 2008
Posts: 8
Location: Chicago, IL |
She's gorgeous! Looks like a very happy bird from those first week shots. How does she get along with Manu and what kind of Fid is Manu? We were thinking of getting a little keet as a companion for Wizzy to maybe take the edge off the obsession with DaDa, but chickened out after reading up that it might not work out and we'd have a whole new set of problems to deal with. We already have a nice big cage for another small bird and I used to raise keets.
Anybody else have some input? It would be very welcome!
IG |
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Saturday May 24, 2008 9:05 am |
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Cathy
Kamikaze pilot
Joined: 02 Apr 2005
Posts: 6673
Location: Omaha, NE USA |
Thanks IG! Manu is a male 5 yr old blue & gold macaw. He & Kewi tolerate each other. They don't actually play together, but Kewi flys over to the play top of Manu's cage most days to play & Manu basically ignores her. Of course, I watch the very closely.
Honesty, I really don't know what to tell you about getting another keet. I guess it may help the situation/it may not.
Do you & your hubby avoid scrithing what I think of as the birdy "g-spots"- the back & under wings, basically anything other than her head, that will encourage mating behaviour? Otherwise it sounds like you're really doing everything you can!
Heading out of town for the long week-end! Hope you all have a great one |
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Saturday May 24, 2008 12:27 pm |
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IrishGypsy
Egg
Joined: 20 May 2008
Posts: 8
Location: Chicago, IL |
Thought I'd just update that we finally broke down and bought a baby parakeet. Well, that caught Wizzie's attention! It seems to have snapped her out of the nesting thing and some of the obsession - she still has an interest in the bathroom, but not as bad. Have to barricade it with a poster board still or she will try to eat her way through the door/molding!  But it's better than it was.
She tolerates Doc, the new kid in town. I'll post more about that probably in our profile, hopefully tomorrow, lol. Just getting kind of late tonight. I have pix, too.
Well, thanks for looking and hope to be on here more. Didn't hear much from anyone else in the forums, but really appreciate Cathy's input and chat.
We'll be back!
IG |
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Monday September 1, 2008 12:58 am |
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Cathy
Kamikaze pilot
Joined: 02 Apr 2005
Posts: 6673
Location: Omaha, NE USA |
Oh good! I'm so glad to hear things are going better with Wizzie 
And CONGRATULATIONS on your new baby, how exciting! I'm looking forward to hearing more about Doc & seeing some pictures!
Thanks for the update! I really am glad to hear things are good! |
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Tuesday September 2, 2008 1:33 am |
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