Can't find an answer to this strange behavioranywhere! Help!

[rosemaryalice]

Mr. Pickle became very stressed a couple of weeks ago when I was at work and one of the other ringnecks got out of its cage (they are all in the screen porch). My husband who does not take care of the birds normally was the only one home and he had to catch it with a net and put it back. Pickle started turning really fast in circles and doing sommersaults he used to have a beautiful straight tail. Now it is curved and he keeps preening it which is curving it more. He still does the turning thing but not as much. He is eating normally and still whistles at me. We also added a larger aviary for all of the finches to the screen porch and it is next to his cage. Could he be stressed? I want to put him back in the same cage with the female he was with before the breeding season but he is acting so weird that I am hesitating to put them together. I would appreciate an answer as I am concerned about him. Has anyone experienced anything like this?

[ringneck]

Hey rosemaryalice,

I don’t know what has caused him to act like this, but this is not normal Indian Ringneck behavior. I would take him to a vet to see if he has some type mental ailment. I had a breeding hen for many years that started seizuring on me very similar to what you are talking about. I took her to the vet and the vet did all kinds of tests on her. Unfortunately, we were not able to determine this on set of seizuring.

She too started in circles and before long she could not stand on her perch anymore. I then took several towels and made her bed inside a smaller cage as I knew she would not last long inside the aviary. I kept her for about a week then unfortunately she passed away—it got to the point where I was feeding her with a crop needle.
Be sure to take your ringneck to the vet as it could be trauma by being caught, a parasitic invasion, lack of minerals or vitamins (Calcium), or some sort of infection.

I hope this helps shed some light! Good luck and we are thinking about your ringneck !

Best Wishes,

IMRAN-C

[rosemaryalice]

It has been a year since I posted this and he calmed down after mutilating his beautiful tail and has been fine for a year. He molted and grew it back to normal. He managed to get out of his aviary last week (I have several in the screen porch) and I had to catch him to put him back. Same turning and sommersaults have returned. I do think it is stress related as his behavior is angry and he is not his usual self. He has lots of toys and good food with fresh food every day. He is eating well just acting terrible and putting a bend in the tail he just grew back. I am hoping he will get over it again. Anyone else ever have a problem like this?

[ellieelectrons]

Hi RosemaryAlice

I'm sorry to hear about Mr Pickle. I'm wondering if he had more to do during the day if he would be less likely to be stressed? You could try increasing foraging so that he has to work for 80-90% of his food. Here are some links on foraging:
http://www.indianringneck.com/forum/vie ... 01&p=69400
http://www.indianringneck.com/forum/vie ... =4&t=13466
http://www.parrotenrichment.com/ - this site has some free ebooks to download

Ellie.

[rosemaryalice]

Thx for your reply. He has lots of toys which I change regularly and is in a 6 foot long 6 foot wide 3 foot deep aviary. There are lot of other birds and aviaries in the screen porch and he can see outside. He has a large treat bar in a plastic container hanging in there that he has to work at to get the treat. I am around most of the time and he wolf whistles at me when I go past his cage. I talk to him a lot an give him treats from my hand. He has natural tree branch perches which he can strip and corn on the cob pieces that he holds and eats like a sandwich. I have a feeling he just gets stressed easily if he gets caught in the net and it takes a while for him to calm down. I do appreciate any input because I don't want to miss anything that might be important as I am more attached to him than my other birds. The last time it happened it took him weeks to calm down and then he was good for almost a year. Any ideas are welcome!

[ellieelectrons]

RosemaryAlice - I don't think I described it quite right. There's having things to do and there's being forced to do things. It's like, I want to clean my house but I don't because the need doesn't seem urgent enough, however, if you were coming over for dinner, it would seem urgent, and I'd get it done. That's how I see foraging. I may provide lots of toys and distractions for my bird but if my bird has to engage in a task to eat, that's different. I hope that makes sense.

But you're right, it may not be the solution your problem but I'd encourage you to read my first post here before you make up your mind:
http://www.indianringneck.com/forum/vie ... 01&p=69400
It describes a vet visit that opened my eyes to foraging.

I'll stop preaching now and let you make up your own mind.

Best wishes.

Ellie.

[rosemaryalice]

Thanks for the info. I will try some of those ideas. He is a very smart bird and it is possible he could be bored. He has been cranky lately too. He had a girlfriend but he was mean to her and so I moved her to another cage. They were together a year and had a nest box but never went in it and never bonded and she finally became afraid of him. He really has a lot of personality and when he is normal is friendly to me. Not hand tame but comes up to the side of the aviary and chats with me (in bird talk) and wolf whistles when he sees me.

[MissK]

Hi Rosemaryalice,

I wish you and your birds the very best.

-MissK

[rosemaryalice]

Hi! The aviary he is in is on a raised deck and the side he is on faces about 20 feet of cleared space with a fence and then trees and bushes. The whole porch is plastic sheeted for wind and cold protection. It has a roof with an overhang. His aviary has a corner that has wood around it for a sleeping space that does not leave him feeling out in the open. There are several areas on either side of the screen porch with all different kinds of birds in them. The net has always hung on a nail next to the wood corner of his cage which I don't think he could see. I took it in the house just in case that could be bothering him now.

He is eating well , very responsive and whistles at me when I come out there but has that repetitive behavior and is crabby. It is really upsetting to see him act like that but if it was an illness I don't think it would go away and come back a year later with the same set of circumstances. He looks great except for his tail which he grabs when he turns in circles.

I just don't know what to do for him except wait and see if it subsides like it did before.

Rosemary

[MissK]

Molossus, thanks. That means something to me, actually.

[ellieelectrons]

Good post MissK. I think you demonstrate the level wisdom that marks you for a good bird keeper.
We as humans fail to consider birds for their own instincts and habits and this disturbs the balance of healthy natural behaviousr.
MissK pointed some relevant behavioral trigger mechanisms...eg the catch net.
Since the subject interests me and in my opinion requires much discussion I will include myself in it if you so desire Rosemary.

I would agree with Molossus. The standard of thought from MissK and Molussus in this thread is great. Thank you both! And I must say, I've noticed that on all of the threads you both answer.

RosemaryAlice, I hope Mr Pickle gets better soon and that something might help.

Regarding MissK's ideas on keeping notes, I think it's a really good idea. Sometimes people keep their notes on this forum (depending on how detailed they are) so then they can come back to them later and others can benefit from the experience too.

I've had crazy behaviour from my female this year due to breeding season so I gave in and let my girl have a nestbox. Their instincts can be really, really strong. Just after I joined the forum and I had only had my IRN for a short time, sometimes people would talk about how their bird was flying at them and attacking them. I was horrified that this could happen. The recommendation at the time was to clip their wings and the behaviour stopped. However, when it started to happen to me this year, after help from people on this forum, I realised that in my case, it was because she was being protective of prospective nesting spots.

The escaping from the cage could also be a symptom of the problem and not necessarily the cause? If it's breeding season maybe he's trying to find a mate (if he doesn't have one that is)?

Ellie.

[rosemaryalice]

Mr. Pickle had a mate for a couple of years but they never bonded and lived side by side in the same aviary. Neither one ever entered the nest they had and he eventually was mean to her and she would stay on the bottom of the cage out of his way. She is green and her name is Dilly (Dill Pickle).She is sweet and semi tame. I think he is bonded to me even though he is not hand tame. He whistles at me every time he sees me and he comes up to the side of the cage to be near me and chatters to me in his own language. She is in a flight cage across from him but he shows no interest in her at all. I would think of a health issue if it hadn't happened before and resolved itself and if he was acting the least bit sick. He is peppy and his feathers look beautiful (except for the tail that he has curved and chewed). He plays and eats really well and he is the most chattery of all my birds. He just finished molting (it is the end of summer here) and grew a beautiful long tail after having a short ragged one all year from the last episode. He was looking great until he started this. I have racked my brain trying to think of what it could be and the common factor was the net. The only other thing was the addition of some new birds but that happens various times during the year and sometimes he can see them and it doesn't seem to bother him. This time they are way down at the other end of the porch and he can hear them but not see them. They are opaline red rumps. He slipped out when I was changing his food and water dishes. He usually just goes up an a branch and waits for me to do it. That is when the whole thing started.

[MissK]

Ellie, thank you as well; I appreciate your opinion.

-MissK

[rosemaryalice]

I really appreciate all the feedback. I really get upset when he does this because of all the birds I have he is by far my favorite. I think I am his too! When he grows out his tail he is really beautiful, turquoise with dark turquoise wings and tail and a bright green head. He just got back into perfect feather after moulting and looked beautiful until he did this. I have 4 ringnecks including him, 5 rosey bourkes, 5 turquoisine grass parakeets, 2 opaline red rumps, 2 diamond doves, finches , 2 parrotlets, an old rescued lovebird, 15 parakeets and a canary with a beatle haircut named Ringo. Also 2 rescued miniature schnauzers, one that is 5 and one 12 that is diabetic and blind but you wouldn't know it to see him run around here and play. I will post any changes and I hope he calms down soon. I have heard of things you can feed them that are calming. Does anyone know anything about that?

[ellieelectrons]

I once read of a product called "AviCalm" but I have never seen it here in Australia. I think it was a calming "tea" for birds? I'm have never read anything about how it works and whether it has any bad side effects for the birds. Personally, I'd be extremely cautious before using products like this with my bird.

Ellie.

[MissK]

Did you ever get that hen back?

-MissK

[rosemaryalice]

I never did find her ): My birds are in aviaries in a screened in porch and I have no idea how she got out of both her aviary and the screen porch. The only thing I can think of is she flew against the door and knocked it open. She was a violet green, the mate to my blue cinnamon. They had laid eggs that were infertile and I was hopeful of a clutch from them this past spring. She was young at the time. I went back to the breeder I got her from and got another hen from the same parents to put with him. So this year I had a young hen again. I am hopeful that in the Spring they will have some little ones. He is 12 years old so I am hoping they do something soon before he is too old. They are very bonded just like he was with the first one. They don't like people, only each other. With birds it is is a case of "don't count your chickens before they're hatched". No matter what you want them to do sometimes they have their own ideas.