For years I have studied feather destructive behavior. And the long-term prognosis for birds with this problem is often mutilation and death. Chloe, the umbrella cockatoo that inspired our sanctuary, has had this problem since at least 2001 according to veterinary records. Sydnie, our most recent rescue, has a severe form of FDB and has extremely mutilated herself.
All of the medical texts that we have pointed to no solution. I had heard of psychiatric drugs that had been used in these cases but from the references I had studied the results were inconclusive. Psychiatric drugs as far as I knew were to be used only in the short term. I had ruled out their use on our birds unless further knowledge came to light.
Recently Chloe started losing weight. Her weight dropped from 625 g to 537 g in six months. If this pattern were to continue then we would lose her. She was losing approximately a pound a week if you compared her to a human of 200 pounds. This accelerated to 2 pounds a week or roughly 6 g. She reached a weight of 502g. Melissa, one of our Directors, urged me to get a second opinion since our primary veterinarian at the time had no answers. I made an appointment immediately with Dr. Jenkins at the Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital in San Diego. It was to change my viewpoint of the world.
The x-ray and the blood work came up negative. But after discussing her behavioral issues such as constant nesting, shaking, and other anxiety issues Dr. Jenkins said we could solve the problem. He described to me exactly what the process is in the brain that causes feather destructive behavior. Drawing on my study of physiology and biology of psittacines I listened to what Dr. Jenkins said and realized that there might indeed be a path to saving birds with this problem.
The primary cause of anxiety in parrots is the current method of hand-raising birds. Because they are not given the enculturation that they need by their parents in their juvenile dependency they do not have rounded personalities. In many ways they are much like autistic children. Mutilation and self-destructive tendencies are common in autistic children. This also is the foundation of high anxiety in parrots and cockatoos.
In a nutshell this is how feather destructive behavior occurs as I understand it now. The situation is similar to human suicide attempts where people slice their wrists and then call the paramedics. Chemical changes occur in the brain as anxiety increases causing the dopamine level in the brain to rapidly escalate. When our human subject attempts suicide and cuts their wrists endorphins are released and the dopamine level in the brain quickly drops. This is when they call for help; the chemical changes in the brain release the anxiety. After days or months pass the situation is often repeated. As the anxiety level increases so does the dopamine. As in the earlier case the victim of this cycle may attempt suicide again and again due to this chemical imbalance. First the anxiety builds and then the release comes. Pondering this one can see that this is a classic pattern of addiction; the difference is that the addiction is to chemicals stored and released in the brain.
Feather picking and mutilation of the flesh in birds follows exactly the same pattern. Dopamine levels in the brain rise and feather picking begins. A feather is pulled out and endorphins are released; a moment of relief is obtained. When this behavior is just getting started, the anxiety and I dopamine levels may drive the bird to just preen intensely. Pulling out a feather by accident can start the cycle by giving a short period of release from intense anxiety. Other patterns may be seen prior to this and after the mutilation begins—pacing, repetitive actions of the feet, stroking the bars with their beaks.
So what is the solution? For cockatoos, African grey parrots, Conures, and Quaker parakeets the solution seems to be a drug named Haloperidol (Haldol®). Haloperidol is a dopamine antagonist. Given low doses this drug stops the cycle by reducing the amount of dopamine in the brain. Since dopamine levels remain low there is no release needed and therefore there is no need to feather pick or mutilate. As an analogy, if you remove the trigger you will find it difficult to fire a gun.
According to The Manual of Parrot Behavior (Leuscher 2006) the use of this drug has been successful in cockatoos and several other species (listed earlier). The dosage needed to achieve the results is low compared to when it is used with human subjects. Although it may have side effects in the first 48 hours (lack of appetite and vomiting) these are rare. After this period side effects are rarely if ever seen in the birds listed above. Its use is not indicated in Macaws. I was shocked to see that some of the references in this essential text date back as far as 1993; this knowledge has been circulating for quite a while but only in veterinary circles. The articles cited in this book are mostly drawn from The Association of Avian Veterinarians.
It is also noteworthy that Haloperidol has been effective in reducing aggression and compulsive behaviors. If anxiety and dopamine levels are the cause then Haloperidol can mitigate the illness.
Some birds might require the orally administered drug for their entire lifetime. In other cases the drug may be discontinued. In one study (Leuscher p274) two African grey parrots were given the drug for seven months and their FDB was cured. In other cases Moluccan cockatoos were kept on Haloperidol for seven to nine years in a successful FDB solution.
Chloe has blossomed under the drug—her anxiety level which had remained high after the fire is now low. She no longer sits at the bottom of the cage on toys as if she is hatching them. She prefers to interact with the other birds now and the humans who visit. For the first time since the fire Chloe has sounded off regularly with her “happy sounds” and parades around with her crest high and eyes bright. Her weight is rising steadily. I have noted that the drug must be administered after eating since it tends to make her drowsy for 20 minutes to half an hour. I suggest that the drug be administered only after feeding.
Sydnie is also making strides under this protocol. With extreme cases such as hers the Haloperidol has also proven effective. Dr. Jenkins presented a strong case complete with one case study and a long history of successes. This is for obvious reasons. If you balance the level of dopamine then no “pleasure” is obtained by self-mutilation.
In the coming months I will be investigating the pharmacopeia used to treat psittacine behavioral issues. I cannot but wonder if there are other drugs that may help us treat severe behavioral issues in our extended flock. I feel as if blinders have been removed and I see new possibilities to help our feathered friends. Once again, Chloe has been the catalyst to teach me to open my eyes and look around. Sometimes she makes me feel as Mrs. Gresham made C.S. Lewis feel in Shadowlands.
Lewis: Well, I don't really go in for seeing the sights.
Gresham: Oh. So what do you do, just walk around with your eyes shut?
All of the medical texts that we have pointed to no solution. I had heard of psychiatric drugs that had been used in these cases but from the references I had studied the results were inconclusive. Psychiatric drugs as far as I knew were to be used only in the short term. I had ruled out their use on our birds unless further knowledge came to light.
Recently Chloe started losing weight. Her weight dropped from 625 g to 537 g in six months. If this pattern were to continue then we would lose her. She was losing approximately a pound a week if you compared her to a human of 200 pounds. This accelerated to 2 pounds a week or roughly 6 g. She reached a weight of 502g. Melissa, one of our Directors, urged me to get a second opinion since our primary veterinarian at the time had no answers. I made an appointment immediately with Dr. Jenkins at the Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital in San Diego. It was to change my viewpoint of the world.
The x-ray and the blood work came up negative. But after discussing her behavioral issues such as constant nesting, shaking, and other anxiety issues Dr. Jenkins said we could solve the problem. He described to me exactly what the process is in the brain that causes feather destructive behavior. Drawing on my study of physiology and biology of psittacines I listened to what Dr. Jenkins said and realized that there might indeed be a path to saving birds with this problem.
The primary cause of anxiety in parrots is the current method of hand-raising birds. Because they are not given the enculturation that they need by their parents in their juvenile dependency they do not have rounded personalities. In many ways they are much like autistic children. Mutilation and self-destructive tendencies are common in autistic children. This also is the foundation of high anxiety in parrots and cockatoos.
In a nutshell this is how feather destructive behavior occurs as I understand it now. The situation is similar to human suicide attempts where people slice their wrists and then call the paramedics. Chemical changes occur in the brain as anxiety increases causing the dopamine level in the brain to rapidly escalate. When our human subject attempts suicide and cuts their wrists endorphins are released and the dopamine level in the brain quickly drops. This is when they call for help; the chemical changes in the brain release the anxiety. After days or months pass the situation is often repeated. As the anxiety level increases so does the dopamine. As in the earlier case the victim of this cycle may attempt suicide again and again due to this chemical imbalance. First the anxiety builds and then the release comes. Pondering this one can see that this is a classic pattern of addiction; the difference is that the addiction is to chemicals stored and released in the brain.
Feather picking and mutilation of the flesh in birds follows exactly the same pattern. Dopamine levels in the brain rise and feather picking begins. A feather is pulled out and endorphins are released; a moment of relief is obtained. When this behavior is just getting started, the anxiety and I dopamine levels may drive the bird to just preen intensely. Pulling out a feather by accident can start the cycle by giving a short period of release from intense anxiety. Other patterns may be seen prior to this and after the mutilation begins—pacing, repetitive actions of the feet, stroking the bars with their beaks.
So what is the solution? For cockatoos, African grey parrots, Conures, and Quaker parakeets the solution seems to be a drug named Haloperidol (Haldol®). Haloperidol is a dopamine antagonist. Given low doses this drug stops the cycle by reducing the amount of dopamine in the brain. Since dopamine levels remain low there is no release needed and therefore there is no need to feather pick or mutilate. As an analogy, if you remove the trigger you will find it difficult to fire a gun.
According to The Manual of Parrot Behavior (Leuscher 2006) the use of this drug has been successful in cockatoos and several other species (listed earlier). The dosage needed to achieve the results is low compared to when it is used with human subjects. Although it may have side effects in the first 48 hours (lack of appetite and vomiting) these are rare. After this period side effects are rarely if ever seen in the birds listed above. Its use is not indicated in Macaws. I was shocked to see that some of the references in this essential text date back as far as 1993; this knowledge has been circulating for quite a while but only in veterinary circles. The articles cited in this book are mostly drawn from The Association of Avian Veterinarians.
It is also noteworthy that Haloperidol has been effective in reducing aggression and compulsive behaviors. If anxiety and dopamine levels are the cause then Haloperidol can mitigate the illness.
Some birds might require the orally administered drug for their entire lifetime. In other cases the drug may be discontinued. In one study (Leuscher p274) two African grey parrots were given the drug for seven months and their FDB was cured. In other cases Moluccan cockatoos were kept on Haloperidol for seven to nine years in a successful FDB solution.
Chloe has blossomed under the drug—her anxiety level which had remained high after the fire is now low. She no longer sits at the bottom of the cage on toys as if she is hatching them. She prefers to interact with the other birds now and the humans who visit. For the first time since the fire Chloe has sounded off regularly with her “happy sounds” and parades around with her crest high and eyes bright. Her weight is rising steadily. I have noted that the drug must be administered after eating since it tends to make her drowsy for 20 minutes to half an hour. I suggest that the drug be administered only after feeding.
Sydnie is also making strides under this protocol. With extreme cases such as hers the Haloperidol has also proven effective. Dr. Jenkins presented a strong case complete with one case study and a long history of successes. This is for obvious reasons. If you balance the level of dopamine then no “pleasure” is obtained by self-mutilation.
In the coming months I will be investigating the pharmacopeia used to treat psittacine behavioral issues. I cannot but wonder if there are other drugs that may help us treat severe behavioral issues in our extended flock. I feel as if blinders have been removed and I see new possibilities to help our feathered friends. Once again, Chloe has been the catalyst to teach me to open my eyes and look around. Sometimes she makes me feel as Mrs. Gresham made C.S. Lewis feel in Shadowlands.
Lewis: Well, I don't really go in for seeing the sights.
Gresham: Oh. So what do you do, just walk around with your eyes shut?
