Parrot Prozac?!?!

[Savery]

Love-sick parrot put on 'Prozac' - Telegraph

Anyone know any more about this? What drug they're referring to?

[jenseits]

The article says the drug is called "Haloperido". Not sure how I feel about drugs instead of behavioral training... I'm guessing the article leaves out a lot of detail about conversations the woman had with the vet. They must have tried/discussed alternatives, not simply given the bird drugs because it was behaving inappropriately.

[mmr]

I was thinking...avicalm. is that what it is called?

[Dana64]

ok... I'm jumping in. My Mackie is on AviCalm and also Featherific (by AviTec)...

I honestly don't know if there is such a drug that is prescribed by an avian vet that is like "Prozac". However, I have often compared AviCalm, and also King's Cages product Pluck No More, "like Prozac for birds". I have never taken Prozac nor do I know anyone who has taken Prozac, but I always thought (correct me if I am wrong please) that Prozac is prescribed for humans who have bi-polar disorder. It keeps humans on an "even keel". AviCalm and Pluck No More do pretty much the same thing for birds. I must also add, however, that these products are HOMEOPATHIC (sp?), they have NO "prescription strength" or "narcotic quality" in them... you cannot overdose your bird... Again, correct me if I am wrong, but I think Prozac is a tranquilizer-type drug and ONLY prescribed for humans.

AviCalm and Pluck No More keep the parrot "calm", or "on an even keel" for a long enough time that they stop (or greatly diminish) their need to pluck or pick at themselves. That's the purpose of the product. AviCalm (if being used for plucking) must be used in conjunction with Featherific. AviCalm on it's own will not do the trick.

As pretty much everyone here is aware (because I talk ADNAUSEUM) about him, my Mackie has some very serious mental health issues due to years of abuse and neglect from his previous owner. I am pretty certain that AviCalm will forever be a part of his daily diet....

[jenseits]

Dana64 - you make some good points. Certainly I'm not saying drugs are never warranted. (Heck, I was on Prozac for many years - it's an antidepressant), but the way the article was written it really didn't seem to me to that the bird's issues were so severe that hardcore drugs should be the first go-to remedy. (I looked it up online and Haloperido is an antipsychotic used to treat schizophrenia ... whereas it sounded like the bird in the article was overbonded to the woman and sexually frustrated... NOT psychotic/phobic/etc). Again, I'm sure the article doesn't tell the whole story, but it seemed to be kind of nonchalant about prescribing drugs to the bird for a situation that might be addressed other ways first... by trying, for example, something like Avicalm.

To be honest, I feel uncomfortable making arguments or presenting strong opinions about this matter since it is pretty far outside the realm of my expertise. I'm not a doctor and have no experience with this substance. My knee jerk reaction was simply that I hoped other people reading that article don't think they should just reach for anti-psychotics for their bird when in quite a few cases the people are exacerbating the problem behavior in the first place (e.g., by not discouraging overbonding or sexual stimulation, by not training their bird to decrease aggression, etc). I know training isn't a cure-all, but the article just kind of confused me.

[r2rusmc]

Did ya'll notice the part about...

Parrot expert Neil Forbes but the bird on Haloperido, a drug nicknamed 'parrot Prozac', and encouraged Mrs Greenslade to re-establish the correct relationship with the bird.

She said: "He has to sit on my elbow rather than my shoulder and she is now more at ease with the world.

Now since the drug used is not just some OTC med (Not 100% sure outside of US), I'm making the assumption that a vet prescribed it.

The owner is working on behavior modification.

I see no problem with a bit of chemical assistance while concurrently working on the problem. Why let the bird suffer by plucking? Why risk everyones safety?

I wish more humans that seek chemical assistance realized they still need to fix the underlying problem. At least the birds owners realize it is just a temp fix and working to correct the problem.

[Lisa B]

Psychoactive drugs designed for use in humans seems a like drastic solution for feather plucking/training. I have read about the changes in plucking and personality in some birds that were prescribed Haldol (Haloperidol) but the outcome is not always positive.The birds were often noted in a comatose state, or not being there mentally at all. There have been some not-so-happy endings following the use of these and other strong pharmaceutical drugs intended for human treatment when treating parrots.

My thoughts, and I am NOT a vet, is that we should try all the safe options before resorting to any psychoactive pharmaceuticals that were not intended for use in birds.
As I understand it, the use of Haldol for plucking parrots is mainly "experimental". We do not know the long term effects of this or OTHER human drugs on our parrots.

[Dana64]

I agree with Lisa. The only products I will EVER try on Mackie will ONLY be "homeopathic"... I will NEVER take him to an avian vet and have him prescribed any kind of chemical or narcotic-type medicine. If I can't "fix" (and I use that term for lack of a better one) Mackie on my own, then I will accept that he will never be a "pet" and will just forever be a severely anti-social bird and he will live out the rest of days with US and we will just have to learn how to deal with it. It's not my first choice, it may end up my only choice... I cannot "re-home" him... nevermind the guilt of pawning his behaviors onto someone else, but I could never abandon Mackie... he deserves better than that.

We started the AviCalm and Featherific on December 23rd/08... he has made HUGE progress since then. We also changed his sleeping arrangements and rotated his toys, etc. These were ALL positive changes because he is doing exceptionally well.

He bit me pretty hard this morning but that was the first time since October and we both recovered pretty quickly today... he's playing and eating and his tantrums and meltdowns, which were occuring several times per DAY, now only occur ONCE every 3-4 days.... a MEGA HUGE improvement...

As I said in my previous post, I can accept that Mackie may be on AviCalm for a very very long time, maybe even the balance of his life (I hope not)... but the product cannot do him any physical harm (like a narcotic over long term definitely can) and it does NOT put him into a "comotose like" state... he is still Mackie, he plays, hangs upside down, sings opera, chats up my other FIDs and my children, he interacts with the household, all things he did not do when he was not taking it.... before AviCalm, all he did was screech, pick, pluck, bite, swear, have temper tantrums, rages, fits, meltdowns... all very stressful behaviors, and very hard to live with...

[Savery]

Didn't really have time to post a full thought last night as i found it right before i went to sleep...

but my main question i guess was if anyone knew if this was a trial or just somebody who thought "let's try this!"

I'm glad someone mentioned the Avicalm. Although i just happened to run across this article in the news, I also have an ADHD sun conure that has gone FULL THROTTLE over the past month... Seriously, if i could make him run on a treadmill with a generator, I wouldn't have to pay an electric bill ever again!

His favorite hobbies now are:

Screaming
running around on anything
screaming
picking fights with the macaw
screaming
harassing senegal
screaming
wondering why macaw and senegal don't like to be harassed
screaming
engaging in screaming match with macaw
screaming....

I think i'll have to try the avicalm until they come out with parrot ritalin!

[Monica]

I don't suppose you've allowed Buddy to be fully flighted and flight training him indoors???