Birdie Prozac question

[Lynneand7fids]

Hi everyone! I have a question on prozac for plucking. I have read every piece of literature (at least that is what it feels like!) on treatments and reasons for plucking. I have tried rescue remedy and avi-calm in her water as well as regular baths and misting with aloe juice (which she HATES). So far nothing seemed to help. The only reason I can think of for her to have started plucking is my 13 yr old son was in the hospital for a week about 3 months ago & she went from at least 8 hours a day out of cage to maybe 20 minutes a day by the time I got home from visiting hours at the hospital. This lasted the whole week he was in the hospital and about a week after he got home since he needed alot of care (heart problems) and she wouldnt let him sleep when she was out of the cage. By the end of the 2 weeks of little or no out of cage time she had plucked most of her chest and neck and a little bit under her wings. So after 3 vet trips, my avian certified vet put her on .15ML's of prozac 2 x's a day as an anti anxiety solution. So far she has been on it 3 weeks now & she doesnt seem to be plucking any worse but she also oesnt have any new feathers coming in yet unless she is pulling them as soon as they breakthrough the sin. So have any of you used prozac before? Any other ideas to help her feathers grow back? Any advice is much appreciated! Thanks!!!

[lovemyGreys]

Hi Lynne hope your son is ok now

 

I don't personally have any experience with Prozac but from what i have heard is that it may have a place and a short term effect in some cases, but usually once Prozac is withdrawn, the plucking will recur if the bird's circumstances are unchanged.

I'm hoping Dave who has a vast knowledge will be able to help out here when he see the thread

[Dave007]

I haven't used Prozac before. First time I heard that it was used.

Concerning the plucking..it isn't unusual for a grey to start plucking if it's out of cage time has be drastically shortened. 8 hours to 20 minutes is drastic. It's good that she seems to have lessened the plucking now. Many people aren't that lucky. I can tell you that the plucked feathers are probably take a long time to grow back. First the white basic downy feathers have to come in. Then the outer grey feathers will come in on top of the downy feathers. All of this takes time and also has to do with how drastic the plucking was. Some lightly pluck, some really mess themselves up. After the breast/neck area, the next areas tobe plucked are usually the flight wing feathers or tail feathers but it's stopped now. Get back to his regular out of time routine as best as you can. You can give toys but I feel the best thing to give as far as toys would be small pieces of wood that she can vent her frustrations on the wood. many greys like wood and it should be a staple along with other toys. They like to destroy wood. As far as the drugs..Keep in touch with your vet and tell him about progress or no progress. As far as extra feathers being pulled, you'll just have to examine the bottom of the cage daily. Lightly blow the feathers to the side of the cage and see if there's new ones on the cage floor. A little bit of Palm oil mixed in with their food ( preferably on pellets will also be good for future feathers.

 

PS--Personally, I wouldn't vacuum out the cage to clear new feathers that might be plucked cause it'll scare the bird even if the bird is away from the cage. Right now, your grey is very hyper,and the last thing she needs right now is to get more nervous. Try to get back to basic routines. Be relaxed around her and don't make a big deal with the plucking around her.

 

Another PS---3 weeks isn't a lot of time concerning anything a grey does. They're creatures of habit. Once they start something, they'll continue and gradually stop so expect some more plucking. Greys don't usually get aggressive with the owners when a bad change is made in their lives. Instead, they decide to take it out on themselves and since greys are known to be one of the worst pluckers around, second only to cockatoos, changes can make them self mutilate. If your grey wasn't a plucker before your problems started, more than likely she'l eventually go back to her old ways.

 

Post edited by: MrSpock, at: 2007/11/28 18:36<br><br>Post edited by: MrSpock, at: 2007/11/28 18:52

[judygram]

And as always, Dave comes thru again with a fine post about giving Prozac, I haven't heard of giving it to greys for plucking problems until now.

 

Good luck with it Lynne and be sure to keep us updated on how it works out for you.

[BMustee]

I never heard of Prozac being given but I have heard of anti-anxiety meds being given to pluckers. From my understanding it works pretty good for your type of situation where you know the exact cause of the plucking and the situation has been corrected. The only drawback I have read is that it's kind of a one-time treatment. Lets say it's 2 years from now...your grey stops plucking, the feathers all grow back and everyone is happy again when all of a sudden something interrupts the routine and your grey starts to pluck again. The meds the second time around most of the time will not work as well and may not stop the plucking. So, if this treatment works be very careful to not interrupt the schedule again as drastically.

[ziggy]

Hello Lynne,

I have to say Dave hit the nail on the head for your question. I will add if your grey is stressed in any shape or form this could also be a reason for the sudden plucking. Hope you can get it under control for the sake of the bird. I hope you are ok also.